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Pharisees and Sadducees: Difference between revisions
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The '''Pharisees''' were one of the chief Jewish religious sects during the last two centuries <small>B</small>.<small>C</small>. and the first two centuries <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. Their name means “separated ones,” probably indicating their desire to remain apart from all that was “unclean” and from those who did not follow them in the strict observance of the Law. | The '''Pharisees''' were one of the chief Jewish religious sects during the last two centuries <small>B</small>.<small>C</small>. and the first two centuries <small>A</small>.<small>D</small>. Their name means “separated ones,” probably indicating their desire to remain apart from all that was “unclean” and from those who did not follow them in the strict observance of the Law. | ||
During [[Jesus]]’ time, the priests, laity, and almost all the scribes (scholars devoted to the preservation, transcription, and exposition of the Law, often serving as teachers and lawyers) were Pharisees. As the chief interpreters of the Torah (Law), the Pharisees were greatly respected by the people. They led an austere life dedicated to obeying every detail of the Law as spelled out in the “tradition of the elders.” This extensive oral tradition, developed over the centuries by the rabbis to explain the written Law of Moses, governed everything from Sabbath regulations to diet, fasting, and the minutest facets of ritual worship. | During [[Jesus]]’ time, the priests, laity, and almost all the scribes (scholars devoted to the preservation, transcription, and exposition of the Law, often serving as teachers and lawyers) were Pharisees. As the chief interpreters of the [[Torah]] (Law), the Pharisees were greatly respected by the people. They led an austere life dedicated to obeying every detail of the Law as spelled out in the “tradition of the elders.” This extensive oral tradition, developed over the centuries by the rabbis to explain the written Law of Moses, governed everything from Sabbath regulations to diet, fasting, and the minutest facets of ritual worship. | ||
The Pharisees did not view this growing body of religious interpretation as a departure from the Law but as the unfolding of the full revelation of God through an unwritten tradition they claimed had existed since Moses’ time. Eventually, however, their legalistic interpretations became more important than the Law itself, and they looked with scorn upon those who did not measure up to the standards set by the rabbis. | The Pharisees did not view this growing body of religious interpretation as a departure from the Law but as the unfolding of the full revelation of God through an unwritten tradition they claimed had existed since Moses’ time. Eventually, however, their legalistic interpretations became more important than the Law itself, and they looked with scorn upon those who did not measure up to the standards set by the rabbis. | ||