Hellenism
During the "silent years" Hellenism was on the rise, even among several Jewish circles.
Essenes
Another Jewish group (like Pharisees, Herodians, etc.) with a lot of debate surrounding them. They were largely men, maybe a few women (which is confusing), that were largely driven by priests. They claim God has abandoned the system the corrupt Pharisees had come to adopt and so they went out into the desert (very sepratist) and basically just prepared for the end times. They condemned the Temple system - because of the corruption - however some Essenes continued to serve in the Temple because they felt they couldn't abandon God's calling on their lives
Scripture
Scripture
16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Je 6:16). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
Dead Sea Scrolls
Essenes are credeited with writing the DSS.
These served to validate basically all of what we have in our modern translated Bibles
Living Water
Can only come from a spring or rain. Living water is what must be used to fill the baptistrys that the Essenes used. So they would dig canals from wadis (pools of water in the desert) to fill their mikvahs (baptistrys).
Scripture
Another passage Essenes hold to is Isaiah 40:
Scripture
40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Is 40:1–5). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
Note
Likely that Zacharia had connections to Essenes movement, and that John was dedicated to the LORD via being raised in an Essene community. The only non-Essene thing he really did was to go out and baptize people whereas Essene-like action is to wait for other to come to them
Sepratists
Unlike Herodians who went out and engaged the world (not that everything they did was good), this is in stark contrast to the Essenes community which is that they are out in the desert, away from everyone, no "crossroads of the earth" idea, and did not go out into the world - one of the negatives