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A Sabbath which was not lunar-based can more clearly be detected from the writings of a
Jewish sect -- who once resided at Qumran (located about 30 miles outside of Jerusalem). Numer-
ous scrolls were recovered from caves near Qumran in the middle part of this Twentieth Century.
The recovered scrolls had apparently been hidden in caves by an ancient sect of Jews. Most schol-
ars conclude that Qumran was inhabited by a group known as the Essenes.

Josephus noted that a Jewish sect known as the Essenes were excluded from performing
sacrifices at the Temple -- as follows:

"The... Essenes...send what they have dedicated to God into the temple, they do not offer
sacrifices...they are excluded from the common court of the temple, but offer their sacri-
fices themselves...There are about four thousand men that live in this way...They also ap-
point certain stewards to receive the incomes of their revenues, and of the fruits of the
ground; such as are good men and priests, who are to get their corn and their food ready for
them. They none of them differ from others of the Essenes in their way of living..." (Antiq-
uities, Book 18, Chapter 1:5).

This exclusion of the Essenes from the common court of the Temple indicates that the first-
century members of the group may have promulgated religious practices which were in opposition
to religious practices adhered to by the Temple priests. The excluded group of the Essenes may
even have followed their own order of priests (apart from the order of priests who officiated at the
Temple).

An analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls seems to show that the Qumran sect advocated a dif-
ferent priesthood -- and it is clear that the group also advocated a calendar change (presumably,
in opposition to the established Temple). (For additional information, refer to Calendars in the
Dead Sea Scrolls: Measuring Time, by Vanderkam).

It is evident from the content of a number of the Dead Sea Scrolls that the Qumran sect ad-
vocated a religious calendar based upon 30 or 31 day months. To the converse of a calendar con-
sisting of 30 or 31 days per month, the early Second-Temple is indicated to have exclusively
adhered to a calendar based upon lunar months.

The seasonal division of the year was seemingly very significant in the Qumran calendar --
where each season was defined by 3 monthly segments (of 30, 30, and 31 days in each month). The
seasonal length (of 91 total days) thus always spanned the length of exactly 13 weeks (where
7-days-per-week for 13 weeks is equal to 91 days). It is significant that 13 weeks in each seasonal
cycle -- as minimally was advocated by at least the Qumran sect -- were not lunar-based-weeks.
Instead, these weeks were nothing more than a continuous chain of 7-day-cycles.

Qumran also stressed that the annual-circle (or all 4 seasons) always be counted in seg-
ments of 52 weeks (where 7-days-per-week in an end-to-end progression for 52 weeks is equal to
364 days). The definition of a 52-week calendar is manifest from some of the presumably later-
written scrolls (authored by Qumran writers). This approximate annual calendar was based upon a
fixed number of 52 weeks (or 52 Sabbaths) in each annual circle (of 364 days).

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