[3] In his work "Panarion" (also known as "Against Heresies"), 4th century heresiologist Epiphanius of Salamis described the Hemerobaptists as Jews in every sense, but unlike other sects, they believed that eternal life could only be attained if a person was baptized every day.
Scholars have suggested a potential identification of the Hemerobaptists with the Tovelei Shaharit (Hebrew: טובלי שחרית, lit.
'morning bathers') mentioned in the Tosefta, though this connection is unclear, and the latter group might have been an extreme faction within the Pharisaic tradition.
[5][6][7][8][9] Multiple scholars highlight the similarity between the Hemerobaptists and the Essenes, a Jewish sect that flourished during the late Second Temple period.
Josephus wrote that the Essenes insisted on daily immersion for purification, likely just before noon (Antiquities 2.129), and the concepts of purity and sanctity of water are also mentioned in the "Community Rule" (1QS) iii.4-9, iv.21, v.13-14 and other texts, while another similarity arises from the description in the "Apostolic Constitutions": the communal meal of the Qumran community is referred to as "Taharah" in the Dead Sea Scrolls.