INTERNAL TENSIONS: CONTROVERSIES OF THE SADDUCEES AND PHARISEES
SOURCES
Josephus; early rabbinical writings (The New Testament. Dead Sea Scrolls)
BACKGROUND
SECTS
Pharisees: Herew- prushim, פרושים, which means "separated ones". Some think parosim, meaning "specifier" since they sought to specify the correct meaning or interpret the correct meaning of the Torah.
Sadducees named after Zadok, the Kohen Gadol. Some think perhaps from Tsaddik, or "righteous".
3. TEXTS
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SADUCEES AND PHARISEES ACCORDING TO JOSEPHUS IN "JEWISH WARS" AND ANTIQUITIES
Pharisees
Resurrection from dead
Existence of angels etc
Believe in God’s providence in the world, along with free will
Punishment and reward in the after life
Friendly to one another and with the general populous “Barbarous” to one another
Belief in oral tradition of laws not written in the Torah
Sadducees
There is no providence. God does not intervene in human affairs. Only free will exists
No immortal soul or resurrection
No punishment or rewards (no afterlife)
Belief only in the written Torah of Moses
WHAT IS THE CORRECT TIMING FOR SHAVUOT? A RELIGIOUS DISPUTE
Text 2a, Lev. 23:15-21-
* Text 2b, Mishnah Menachot, 10:3
– IS A MASTER LIABLE FOR A SERVANT CAUSING DAMAGES? A CIVIL DISPUTE
*Text 3a Exodus 21:35-36
Text 3b Mishnah Yadayim 4:7, pp. 84-85
A question of whose authority is paramount.
Conclusion: Jewish sectarianism and denominationalism- one Judaism or alternative traditions?
Ultimately, Sadducaic Judaism does not survive the Destruction of the Temple, whereas the traditions of Pharisaic Judaism lead to the Rabbinic tradition, with its emphasis on the Oral Law.
Josephus; early rabbinical writings (The New Testament. Dead Sea Scrolls)
BACKGROUND
SECTS
Pharisees: Herew- prushim, פרושים, which means "separated ones". Some think parosim, meaning "specifier" since they sought to specify the correct meaning or interpret the correct meaning of the Torah.
Sadducees named after Zadok, the Kohen Gadol. Some think perhaps from Tsaddik, or "righteous".
3. TEXTS
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SADUCEES AND PHARISEES ACCORDING TO JOSEPHUS IN "JEWISH WARS" AND ANTIQUITIES
Pharisees
Resurrection from dead
Existence of angels etc
Believe in God’s providence in the world, along with free will
Punishment and reward in the after life
Friendly to one another and with the general populous “Barbarous” to one another
Belief in oral tradition of laws not written in the Torah
Sadducees
There is no providence. God does not intervene in human affairs. Only free will exists
No immortal soul or resurrection
No punishment or rewards (no afterlife)
Belief only in the written Torah of Moses
WHAT IS THE CORRECT TIMING FOR SHAVUOT? A RELIGIOUS DISPUTE
Text 2a, Lev. 23:15-21-
* Text 2b, Mishnah Menachot, 10:3
– IS A MASTER LIABLE FOR A SERVANT CAUSING DAMAGES? A CIVIL DISPUTE
*Text 3a Exodus 21:35-36
Text 3b Mishnah Yadayim 4:7, pp. 84-85
A question of whose authority is paramount.
Conclusion: Jewish sectarianism and denominationalism- one Judaism or alternative traditions?
Ultimately, Sadducaic Judaism does not survive the Destruction of the Temple, whereas the traditions of Pharisaic Judaism lead to the Rabbinic tradition, with its emphasis on the Oral Law.