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Title says it all. Who were the Magharians? It seems like they were some group of Pre-Christianity Jews or something like that that lived in caves?

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Where is that name used? – Shalom Sep 9 '11 at 14:07
I've seen it in various papers that I've read about Jewish History – Reb Chaim HaQoton Sep 9 '11 at 14:10
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What did those papers say about them? Any context you provide in your question will only help people answer it. – msh210♦ Sep 9 '11 at 15:08
do you mean the mugrabi? – Chalutzhanal Sep 12 '11 at 3:29

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Any of many groups that lived in or used caves could be given the name Magharians (from Arabic).

The tenth century (CE) Karaite Jacob Qirqisani described them as a pre-Christian group with distinctive views about angels, creation and biblical anthropomorphisms.

According to Muslim scholar al-Biruni (973-1048) they used a lunar calendar and observed Rosh ha-Shanah and Passover only on a Wednesday.

In modern times, there have been some suggestions that those using the Dead Sea Scrolls and the caves at Qumran may have been Magharians, theough there are several other theories.

A couple of links: 1 and 2

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Henry, welcome to Judaism.SE, and thanks very much for the informative answer! I look forward to seeing you around. – Isaac Moses Sep 11 '11 at 2:08

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