Pharisees claimed Mosaic authority while Sadducees represented the authority of Solomonic priestly privileges and prerogatives.
By Dr. Rebecca Denova
Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies
University of Pittsburgh
Pharisees
Overview
The Pharisees were a Jewish sect that emerged c. 150 BCE and promoted the idea of priestly purity for all Jews, belief in providence or fate, and the concept of the resurrection of the dead, and taught that besides the commandments, Oral Law was also passed down by Moses. Early Rabbinical Judaism in the 2nd century CE claimed spiritual descent from the Pharisees.
Origins
After the conquests of Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE) in 330 BCE, Greek government, language, philosophy, religion, and education, were adopted by the conquered people in the Mediterranean Basin. When Alexander died in 323 BCE, his empire was divided up among his generals during the Wars of the Diadochi. One of these generals, Seleucus I Nicator founded the Seleucid Empire in the region of Syria. In 167 BCE, the Seleucid Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175-164 BCE), outlawed all Jewish customs, which resulted in the Maccabean Revolt led by the Hasmonean family, where the Jews were successful in repelling the Greeks and establishing their own kingdom.
However, not everyone was happy with Hasmonean rule, which combined the office of the king with the high priest of the Temple in Jerusalem. Kingship in Israel was to be held by a descendant of King David’s tribe, Judah. During this period, the high priest had to derive from the descendants of Zadok, the last high priest under the reign of Solomon. The Hasmoneans could claim neither line.
This is the period when we find evidence of what scholars term ‘Jewish sectarianism.’ Various groups of Jews formed sects within the religious body. All agreed on the basics under the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets. One of the dominating issues was how to live in this now cosmopolitan Greek culture and yet retain the unique identity markers and traditions of the Jews. Among these sects, we see the emergence of a group known as Pharisees. Their name remains problematic; it may either mean “to be separated” or “smoothers of rough things” in Hebrew.
Pharisee Concepts
The book of Leviticus outlined special purity rituals and criteria for the priests serving in the Temple. All ancient religions had ritual purity laws, and many of them utilized water rituals, but it was not necessarily related to hygiene. Ritual purity was a state of being. Pharisees promoted the idea that all Jews should adopt this priestly purity as well as Temple rituals in their everyday lives.
Pharisees were often quite literal in organizing daily life. They built their houses near one another so that they could share meals and visit on the Sabbath, which restricted how far one could walk. They built mikvaim (singular: mikvah), a stone pool of natural, flowing water to restore ritual purity in front of their houses. During meals, Pharisees symbolically measured a tenth (the tithe) of the meal and set aside as belonging to God.
Because of such views, Pharisees were often at odds with the party of the Sadducees who oversaw the daily operation of the Temple. According to later Rabbinical writings, Pharisees disagreed with the Sadducees over ritual purity issues in the ways in which contagion could be transferred from stone vessels.
The Sanhedrin, the ruling council in Jerusalem, consisted of Sadducees, Pharisees, the high priest, other priests, and aristocratic leaders who had demonstrated the ability to act as sages. One of the more famous of these sages, Hillel (c. 110 BCE to 10 CE) became the source for later teachings that were organized in the first Rabbinical schools (see below). One of his more famous teachings was: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.” (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a). This was incorporated into the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, known as the ‘Golden Rule.’
The Oral Law
The Pharisees were noted for their claim that in addition to the Law of Moses (incorporated into many books in the Jewish Scriptures), Moses also passed down oral traditions that were not written down at the time (Hebrew: Torah she-be-‘al peh, “Torah that is in the mouth”). These were given to the Elders who were at Mount Sinai and taught to each generation down to their descendants, the Pharisees. The Oral Law included interpretations on codes of conduct, rituals, worship, interpersonal relationships, dietary laws, festivals, marital relations, and claims for damages.
One of the functions of the Oral Law was to either reinterpret Mosaic Law or to update it in the sense that, over time, certain issues and concerns were not addressed in the original legislation. For example, it was forbidden to work on the Sabbath. However, ‘work’ was not defined in detail. The Pharisees found a passage that said if your ox falls into a ditch on the Sabbath, of course, you rescue it. By extension, the Pharisees taught that life always takes precedence over any laws of the Torah.
The Theology of the Pharisees
The God of Israel was considered the creator of the universe and all life on earth. He was believed to be omnipotent, all-wise, all-knowing, and all-present. When humans were created, they were given two impulses; to do evil or to do good; according to this belief system, humans have free will to choose. The study of the Torah was to be interpreted through rationality (given to humans by God), considering the conditions of every age since the revelation of the commandments at Sinai. At the same time, however, although humans were free to choose, they also promoted the idea of providence or fate.
In reflecting on the national disasters of Israel (the Assyrian conquest of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BCE and the Babylonian conquest and destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 587/586 BCE), the Prophets of Israel had predicted that God would act in human history one time, in the final days. At that time, all the enemies of Israel would be destroyed in a final battle, followed by a final judgment. All the dead would be raised and judged, either to be condemned to Gehenna (the Jewish form of Hell), or to live in a new utopia, the Garden of Eden on earth, as originally planned by God. The Pharisees were one of the first Jewish sects to promote the concept of the resurrection of the dead.
The Great Jewish Revolt of 66 CE
From the 30s to the 60s, the Roman government sent a series of corrupt and inept magistrates to the region, which resulted in a revolt against Rome led by the sect of Jews known as Zealots. The revolt ended in disaster when the Roman emperor Vespasian’s (r. 69-79 CE) son, Titus (r. 79-81 CE), laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple complex. According to the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (36-100 CE) and later Rabbinic traditions, a Pharisee by the name of Yohanan ben Zakkai negotiated with Vespasian to leave the city in a coffin (along with others). Claiming that the Pharisees only wanted peace with Rome, he established a school at the town of Yavne along the coast. With the Temple gone, he taught that Jews should focus on the teachings of Moses, stressing prayer over sacrifices. Other Pharisees settled in Galilee and developed similar schools.
This is the beginning of Rabbinical Judaism, and from these sources, later texts were developed that are now incorporated into the Talmud, or the entire collection of Jewish thought. One of the first undertakings was to commit the Oral Law to writing, known as the Mishnah. This was completed under the auspices of Rabbi Judah the Prince by c. 200 CE. The rabbis also wrote on Halakah, or the details of Jewish law for everyday life, and the Aggadah were commentaries on biblical narratives. A Sanhedrin was reconstituted as a law court.
An historical problem with the study of the ancient Pharisees is that prior to the destruction of the Temple, very little literature has survived from their early history. The early Rabbinic literature dates to the 2nd century CE. In those writings, the rabbis claim spiritual descent from the Pharisees. However, when they discuss specific teachings and issues, we cannot determine which ones were relative for the earlier period. The writings of only one Pharisee in this period have survived, that of Paul the Apostle. Paul had much to say concerning whether the new Gentile believers should undergo Jewish identity markers, but throughout his letters he consistently praised the Temple and its practices.
The Pharisees in the New Testament
The Pharisees are well-known for their role in the four gospels of the New Testament. Mark, the first gospel (69/70 CE), argued that from the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, the Pharisees were determined to kill him. In the ‘conflict dialogues’ (Jesus and Pharisees in debate), the Pharisees play the oppositional foil for the teachings of Jesus. The negative polemic against the Pharisees (and the Sadducees) was the rationalization of why God had permitted the Temple to be destroyed. Mark blamed the death of Jesus on the Jews and not Rome because Mark’s Jews had to live in the Roman Empire.
The historical problem remains that modern theologians and historians continue to utilize the polemic of the gospels to reconstruct what Pharisees thought and taught in the 1st century CE. Polemic, however, is not evidence. The Pharisees are frequently blamed for oppressing the poor and keeping salvation from their people, but as one of a several Jewish sects, the Pharisees had no authority to impose their ideas on all Jews.
Sadducees
Overview
The Sadducees were part of the upper-class aristocrats and provided much of the priesthood, categorized through the lineage of priestly houses. They served on the Sanhedrin, the city council that organized law courts and regulations, which were established throughout Israel. The Sadducees were a distinct sect of Judaism from roughly 200-150 BCE to 70 CE, when the Temple complex in Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome.
The name Sadducee most likely derives from Zadok, the last high priest to serve in Solomon’s Temple before its destruction by the Babylonians in 587/586 BCE. The root form means “to be right, just.” When Cyrus II (r. c. 550-530 BCE), founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, conquered the Babylonians, he permitted the captive Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple (539 BCE). Cyrus the Great ruled over hundreds of native cults and permitted them to practice their ancestral traditions. However, his rule was done through local Persian governors, the satraps; there was no longer a king in Israel. In the absence of a king, this period saw the dominance of the high priest and the Temple priests taking charge of the civic organization of towns and cities. This theocracy became the center of religious as well as political leadership.
The Responsibilities of the Sadducees
The Sadducees were responsible for the maintenance of the Temple cultus, or all the elements of Temple worship. Their main function was to preside over the sacrifices, which were conducted at the large altar inside the Temple complex. There were living quarters for priests in the complex as well. They organized the three major Jewish religious pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Succoth, and Tabernacles. Priests rotated in serving in the Temple.
The position of the high priest was enhanced because he was the only one who was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the Temple, on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). On that day he performed the ceremony of the two goats. One was sacrificed and the other was sent into the wilderness and given to Azazel. The meaning of Azazel remains unknown but could indicate either a demon or simply a region of the desert. The purpose of this ceremony was to achieve collective atonement (a covering up of sins) for the people, as “The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness” (Leviticus 16:22).
In what we would deem their civic responsibilities, the Sadducees represented the state in international negotiations, collected taxes, equipped and led armies, and served as judges in domestic law courts. With the Roman conquest of Jerusalem by Pompey the Great (106-48 BCE) in 63 BCE, the Sadducees worked in concert with both magistrates of the Roman government and the local Roman client-kings, the Herodians. What concerned the Sadducees the most was never allowing Rome an excuse to close the Temple. This provided oppositional criticism by other Jewish sects that the Sadducees were collaborators with the enemy.
Theology of the Sadducees
The sources for the Sadducees are some references in the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Essenes), the writings of the 1st-century CE Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (36-100 CE), the New Testament, and the writings of 2nd-century CE rabbis. All of these sources are historically problematic because no literature from the Sadducees survived the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome. It is difficult to obtain a clear picture because all of these sources were written by opponents who were critical of the Sadducees and the way in which they were operating the Temple.
Sadducees held to a more traditional anthropomorphic concept of God, rejecting the Hellenistic influence of an abstract, pure essence. They opposed the Pharisees’ claim of an oral law that had been also passed down by Moses. For the Sadducees, what is contained solely in the written Law of Moses was viable. Humans were created with free will to choose good or evil. According to the Acts of the Apostles, the Sadducees denied the existence or influence of angels. In relation to salvation, only the Temple rituals were of benefit. They denied the resurrection of the dead. They did not believe in the immortality of the soul; there was no afterlife. Instead of rewards and punishments after death, all the dead reside in Sheol, the Jewish place of the dead.
Sadducees in the New Testament
Modern understanding of the Sadducees is drawn from their portraits in the gospels. Like the Pharisees, the Sadducees play the oppositional foil for the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. They are often depicted in scenes where they challenge Jesus with trick questions to find reasons to accuse him of violating Mosaic Law.
The template for the view that the Sadducees were corrupt officials of the Temple stems from the scene known as the Temple Incident in Mark’s gospel. Jesus drove out the animal-sellers and overturned the tables of the money-changers, citing a combined quote from Isaiah and Jeremiah: “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?’ But you have made it a ‘den of robbers'” (Mark 11:17).
All ancient people charged a fee for sacrificial animals. Where this temple differed from others was the presence of the money-changers. Jews banned images, but coins carried in purses had images of the Roman emperor and sometimes gods. A fee was charged for this exchange.
Outside of Mark, we have no evidence that either the animal-sellers or the money-changers were cheating people. This conviction comes from the reference to a “den of robbers” or “den of thieves,” depending on the translation. However, a “den of thieves” does not mean stealing; it is a safe haven where they distribute the loot. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah criticized Jews for the assumption that the Temple was a safe haven where they could perform the sacrifices, thinking that would save them from the coming judgment. Without true repentance, the sacrifices meant nothing, but neither Isaiah nor Jeremiah ever suggested that the sacrifices and rituals should stop.
Mark’s word for “thieves” is lestes, Greek for “bandits.” This may have been his reference to the Zealots who roamed as bandits, attacking Roman convoys. The Zealots eventually seized the Temple and slaughtered many of the priests, resulting in the Great Jewish Revolt of 66 CE against Rome.
Mark (followed by Matthew, Luke, and John) claimed that it was this incident that led to the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. At the same time, the story was presented as a rationale for why God permitted Rome to destroy the Temple in 70 CE because of corrupt practices.
Prominent Sadducees
The sources for prominent Sadducees during the 1st century CE are found in the works of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus and the New Testament. Joseph ben Caiaphas is notable for presiding over the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus. He was the son-in-law of a former high priest, Annas (in office 6-15 CE). Mark, Matthew, and Luke have the trial before Caiaphas, but the Gospel of John claimed that Jesus was taken first to the house of Annas, and then to Caiaphas. Caiaphas took center stage when he asked Jesus:
“Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death. (Mark 14:61-64).
Mark presented Caiaphas as a liar; claiming to be the messiah in Judaism was not blasphemy. John’s gospel related the story that the Sanhedrin was worried about the crowds following Jesus after the raising of Lazarus:
“Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” … So from that day on they plotted to take his life. (John 11:47-53).
In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and John appear before Annas and Caiaphas after they healed a cripple in the name of Jesus. When questioned how the Apostles have such authority, Peter (full of the holy spirit) claimed that Jesus was the source of their power. Peter and John were ordered to stop doing this, but Peter replied: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).
In The Antiquities of the Jews (Book 20, 9.1), Josephus told the story of the stoning of James, the brother of Jesus. The high priest Ananus ben Ananus ordered his death for violations of Mosaic Law, but without detail. He lost his position because he had acted before the arrival of the new Roman procurator.
In 1990, workers found a limestone ossuary (bone box) in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Tor. An Aramaic inscription on the side reads: “Joseph, son of Caiaphas.” The bone fragments are of an elderly man of the period. However, some scholars doubt the relationship, as there is no mention of the title high priest, the spelling is debated, and it is not the ossuary of an aristocrat.
Bibliography
- Bond, Helen K. Caiaphas: Friend of Rome and Judge of Jesus?. Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
- Gunter Stemberger & Allan W. Mahnke. Jewish Contemporaries of Jesus. Fortress Press, 1995.
- Neusner, Jacob & Chilton, Bruce D. In Quest of the Historical Pharisees. Baylor University Press, 2007.
- Sievers, Joseph & Levine, Amy-Jill. The Pharisees. Eerdmans, 2021.
Originally published by the World History Encyclopedia, 02.02/01.31.2022, under a Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.