Sadducees and pharisees

Sadducees vs pharisees chart
What did the sadducees do
Sadducees pronunciation

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Ancient Jewish History: Pharisees, Sadducees & Essenes

Of the various factions that emerged under Hasmonean rule, three are of particular interest: the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

The Pharisees

The most important of the three were the Pharisees because they are the spiritual fathers of modern Judaism. Their main distinguishing characteristic was a belief in an Oral Law that God gave to Moses at Sinai along with the Torah. The Torah, or Written Law, was akin to the U.S. Constitution in the sense that it set down a series of laws that were open to interpretation. The Pharisees believed that God also gave Moses the knowledge of what these laws meant and how they should be applied. This oral tradition was codified and written down roughly three centuries later in what is known as the Talmud.

The Pharisees also maintained that an after-life existed, and that God punished the wicked and rewarded the righteous in the world to come. They also believed in a messiah who would herald an era of world peace.

Pharisees were in a sense blue-collar Jews who adhered to the

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Who Were the Sadducees in the Bible? What Were Their Beliefs?

In first-century Israel, Sadducees were a religious faction that wielded societal power in nearly every aspect. These men hated Jesus and were the Jewish aristocrats of their day, known as much for their wealth and corruption as for their religious devotion.

Sadducees Definition

In first-century Israel, Sadducees were a religious faction that wielded societal power in nearly every aspect except military—and for that they had the backing of their Roman benefactors. These were the Jewish aristocrats of their day, known as much for their wealth and corruption as for their religious devotion.

Although we can’t know for certain the origins of their name, a common belief is that it was derived from the name of prominent Old Testament High Priest, Zadok (2 Samuel 15:23-29; 1 Kings 2:35).

Role of Sadducees in the Bible

In Jesus’ time, Sadducees controlled the two most important institutions of Jewish society: The Jerusalem Temple (known as Herod’s Temple) and the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin was the governing b

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Don Stewart :: Who Were the Sadducees?

Who Were the Sadducees?

The World into Which Jesus Came – Question 11

One of the main opponents of Jesus Christ during the time of His public ministry was a group known as the Sadducees. There are a number of important things that we need to know about them. We can sum them up as follows.

1. They Were a Jewish Political Party

The Sadducees were a Jewish political party. They were members of the priesthood who made up part of the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin. The High Priest was taken from the Sadducees. Although they were few in number, they were educated and usually wealthy. We read a description of them in the Book of Acts:

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. (Acts 23:8 RSV)

They had a different perspective on these matters from the Pharisees.

2. They Were Opposed to the Pharisees

From a reading of the New Testament, we discover that the Sadducees were opposed to the Pharisees. The Apostle Paul used their theological differences to ca