Qumran flash flood route and sand

The Essenes of the Qumran Community lived on the northwestern corner of the Dead Sea, in the inhospitable land of the Judean Wilderness. Some speculate that John the Baptist was a part of the Qumran Community, though at least one document among the many “Dead Sea Scrolls” found here insisted he was not. The Essenes were radically conservative in both belief and actions. They practiced ritual immersion (sometimes daily) in a land that had no fresh water. They believed that Isaiah had given them a clue of how to usher in the age of the Messiah (Isaiah 40:3-5). They believed that if enough of them got serious enough about religious purity, even to the point of living in the wilderness, God would send the Messiah. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River near Jericho and then entered the wilderness for 40 days as a way of preparing for his public ministry. This video shows the well-worn path of flash floods that race through Wadi Qumran each winter. The Essenes built a dam at the mouth of the wadi and “caught” the flash floods. As long as the dam held, they could catch enough water in a matter of minutes to last them for months. Channels carried the water to the community below. Some of the channels were tunnels cut through the rock. Building and maintaining the water retention system and its aqueducts must have been a year-round job for many of the men in the religious community.