Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes
This paper will describe the characteristics of the three main Jewish sects that existed at the start of the Christian Era. According to Grant, there were actually many different Jewish movements during that time. Although all of the various Jews "professed complete devotion to the Torah," there were nonetheless "wide divergences of opinion" among the different groups (216). In the first century C.E., the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus claimed that three of these groups were especially important. These were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. The Sadducees arose at about the same time as the Maccabees. The Maccabees were a Jewish family that came to power in Palestine in the second century B.C.E. They continued to hold power there until the Roman conquest of 63 B.C.E. Most scholars believe that the name of the Sadducees is based on the name of Zadok, a high priest who lived during the time of David and Solomon (Porton 892). According to Josephus, the Sadducees were associated with the wealthy, aristocratic class. As such, the name came to be applied to "the aristocratic circles connected with the high priests by marriage and other social relations" (Porton 892). Stambaugh and Balch point out that the Sad
The third Jewish sect identified by Josephus was the Essenes. The name of the Essenes is believed to have been derived from a word meaning "pious" (Grant 218). The Essenes were found in all parts of the ancient world; however, the most famous site associated with the Essenes is a community that was located at Khirbet Qumran, near the Dead Sea. A group of documents, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, has been discovered at this site. These documents provide a great deal of information about the Essenes' beliefs and how they lived. According to the evidence of the scrolls, as well as the descriptions of Josephus and other writers of the time, the Essenes were quite "exclusivist in their ways" (Kuntz 507). Thus, Grant claims that the Essenes differed from both the Pharisees and the Sadducees because of "the way in which they lived" (218). The Essenes retired to "semi-monastic communities," where they devoted "all their time to observing the Torah in every meticulous detail" (Grant 218). Furthermore, in contrast to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Essenes lived a very simple life. They chose to live without money or land, and everything that belonged to the group was regarded as "communal property" (Collins 621). As noted by Collins, the Essenes also had communal meals, which were "ritualized by the prayers of a priest both before and after" (622). Furthermore, Collins points out that the Essenes were strongly concerned with maintaining a sense of "purity." Because of this, the members of the sect were known for such practices as celibacy and the avoidance of oil (621). Saldarini, Anthony J. "Pharisees." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 5. David Noel Freedman, ed. New York: Doubleday, 1992, 289-303. Grant, Michael. The History of Ancient Israel. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984. Collins, John J. "Essenes." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 2. David Noel Freedman, ed. New York: Doubleday, 1992, 619-626. Porton, Gary G. "Sadducees." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 5. David Noel Freedman, ed. New York: Doubleday, 1992, 892-895. Kuntz, J. Kenneth. The People of Ancient Israel. New York: Harper and Row, 1974. Just as the Sadducees were associated with the priests, the Pharisees were associated with the scribes. However, just as the Sadducees were not necessarily members of the priesthood, the Pharisees were not necessarily occupied as scribes. According to Saldarini, the Pharisees were most likely "active in a number of occupations and roles in society and were bound together by certain beliefs and practices and by endeavors to influence social change" (302). In other words, Jewish practitioners did not have to give up their former ties to society in order to adopt the beliefs and lifestyle of the Pharisees. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Pharisees were closely affiliated with the scribes and that the two groups worked together toward increasing their mutual power and influence. Grant says that the power of the scribes increased in the Maccabeean period because schools for the occupation were established during that time. These schools produced a group of professional scribes, which soon came to be rec
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Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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