Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes Characteristic Pharisees Sadducees Essenes (a) Hebrew word meaning “separate”; (a) Hebrew word tsadiq, meaning Possibly derived from an Aramaic Possible Origin of Name or (b) Hebrew word meaning “holy”; or (b) the name “Zadok”, the word for “pious”. “specifier”. Aaronic priest who anointed Solomon, which led to the Jewish desire that the High Priest be of the family of Zadok. Around 150 - 140 BC during the Around 150 - 140 BC during the Around 170 or 160 BC, founded by an Timeframe When Sect Appears Hasmonean dynasty. Hasmonean dynasty. (Same enigmatic figure called the “Teacher of timeframe as Pharisees.) Righteousness”. Pharisees were common people, but Sadducees advocated an ironclad link Their isolationist lifestyle precluded an knowledgeable. Taught in the between Judaism and the temple. active role in then-contemporary synagogues and interpreted the Torah They oversee the sacrifices and Judaism. They very likely copied and Role in Judaism and the oral traditions. Well-liked by maintenance of the temple. During preserved scrolls that were deemed the common people. Advocated for most of the intertestamental period scripture; as well as scrolls that social justice. they make up the majority of the defined the rules that governed their By the first century AD, Pharisees Sanhedrin. High Priest is usually a lifestyle and beliefs. became mired in the minutia and letter Sadducee. Minimal intermingling with outsiders. of Mosaic Law, rather than its intent. - Strict adherence to the Torah; oral - Ritual purity. - Oral law and traditions were sacred teachings were noted but not sacred. - Hierarchical system of angels. along with the Torah. - A person’s circumstances in this - The soul lives in a bodiless eternity Beliefs - Literal resurrection of the dead. world are what that person has earned and is temporarily entombed in a - Immortality of the soul. in the eyes of God. worldly body. - Reward and punishment after death. - The soul dies when the body dies; no - No animal sacrifices. - Angels are real. afterlife. - No accumulation of wealth. - Temple was good; but sacredness - No reward or punishment after death. - No slavery. could also be found in the home. - Angels do not exist. - With proper purification, God will help - No temple, no Judaism. the Jews overthrow the pagans. Free will; but God knows the outcome Free will. God is in charge, but God God’s Role & Free Will and can opt to intercede. does not have knowledge of the Predestination. outcome. Social Class Common people. Priests and aristocrats. Unknown. Attitude toward Hellenism Selective; favored some practices, Favored. Opposed. opposed others. Vanished after the Jewish Revolt of 67 Today Today’s rabbis. Vanished within 10 years of the AD; but some Essene churches have destruction of the temple in 70 AD. started up since discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. .