In this collection of essays, historian Richard Bauckham explores the spiritual and cultural landscape of Judaism during the Second Temple period — the very soil from which the Essenes and early Christians emerged.

He demonstrates how Jewish communities across the Mediterranean, especially in Alexandria, absorbed elements of Greek philosophy and Egyptian spirituality, giving rise to a new mystical synthesis.

Through detailed historical analysis, Bauckham situates the Essenes and the Therapeutæ within this trans-Mediterranean dialogue where the Hebrew prophetic tradition met the Hellenistic mysteries.
The book reveals that the first followers of Jeshua evolved in a network of contemplative schools, where wisdom was transmitted through both intellectual study (Jnana) and ritual embodiment (Bhakti-Karma) — a pattern mirroring the initiatic model of Egypt and Eleusis.