An early reference to the Essenes can be found in the writings of a Jewish philosopher called Josephus, who writes that this sect was in existence about 166 BC. Other sources are Philo, also a Jewish philosopher, two church historians, Eusebius and Epiphanius and also in non-Christian writers such as Solonus and Pliny.

The Essenes lived a pure, Spartan life. They were so strict in their laws that they withdrew almost completely from contact with other Jewish groups. As a result they became a separate, almost monastic school, and by strict adherence to their principles produced a remarkable society. Celibacy was practiced and all material things were held in common. The group had to be self-sufficient and each member was therefore allotted a specific task in the production of necessities. One result of their emphasis on celibacy was that a membership increase had to rely upon the initiation of new members. The potential member progressed through two stages in the course of three years and, at the end of that period, he became a full member. There was also a third level during which the initiate took a solemn vow to love God, to be just to all men, to practice charity, to maintain truth and to conceal the secrets of the sect.

The three degrees were named Aspirant, Associate and Companion each, of which, had several divisions to indicate the candidate’s advancement to a state of holiness. A member expresses assent at a meeting by extending his right arm parallel to the floor. The earliest reference to any kind of voting procedure is found in Anderson’s Constitutions, 1738: "The Opinions or Votes of the Members are always to be signified by each holding up one of his Hands.".

God was acknowledged as the sole authority of the nation and to command something without His approval was a sin. David, therefore, had to appease the wrath of God by some means to stave off a severe punishment being inflicted on his subjects...

The words "So Mote It Be" occur on several occasions in Masonic ceremonies.

They seem to have been familiar to stonemasons as early as the fourteenth century. They appear as the last two lines of the Regius MS., c.13

"Amen! Amen! So mote it be!

So say we all for charity. "The words are also found in the Cooke MS., c.1410. Its meaning is simply "so be it" and it occurs at the end of prayers in the Middle Ages. Although the words often included "Amen," the Masonic usage of today has omitted the word "Amen.".

The year on Masonic documents is prefixed by AL, which indicates Anno Lucis (in the year of light). The system of Masonic chronology is based on a pre-Christian tradition that the Messiah would be born 4,000 years after the creation of the universe. The calendar, therefore, in early Christian times, counted the creation or Anno Lucis as 4,000 BC...

In 1611, Bishop James Usher published his famous Chronology with the computation of 4,004 years up to the beginning of the Christian era and many editions of the Authorized Version of the Bible printed his dating in the margins. At the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century the Craft adopted the pre-Christian tradition and used the early figure of 4,000.