Hemerobaptists ( Heb. ''Tovelei Shaḥarit''; "Morning Bathers") were a minor Jewish sect and a subsect of the

Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st c ...

. The most important feature of the Hemerobaptists is the common use of

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

. Hemerobaptists would baptize every day, rather than once and for all. Baptism was performed before praying every morning in order to be able to pronounce the Name of God with a clean body. In the ''Clementine Homilies'' (ii. 23),

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and his disciples are mentioned as Hemerobaptists. John's followers may later have been absorbed into the Christian church although some may have gone to the

Mandaeans Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They ...

in lower

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

. The Mandaeans have been associated with the Hemerobaptists on account of both practicing frequent baptism and Mandaeans believing they are disciples of John the Baptist. Hemerobaptists are part of the minor Jewish sects, including the

Bana'im Bana'im were a minor Jewish sect and an offshoot of the Essenes during the second century in Palestine. Other minor sects of Judaism include Hypsistarians Hypsistarians, i.e. worshippers of the ''Hypsistos'' ( el, Ὕψιστος, the "Most Hig ...

and the Maghāriya.

Historical references

Hegesippus mentions seven sects of the Jews, one of them was the Hemerobaptists. The sect was also mentioned by

Justin Martyr Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...

referring to them as "baptizers."

References

{{Reflist Apocalyptic groups Esoteric schools of thought Ascetics Jewish asceticism Jewish religious movements Judaism-related controversies Messianism Mandaeism Mandaeans Israelites de:Hemerobaptisten