Bible Question: In the New Testament ... the Pharisees and Saducees are mentioned often. Do these sects stil exist? If so, where? Do they go by a different name? If not ... what happened to them and when? Thank you. |
Bible Answer: God's day to you, Aileen, Some more information There were two schools of thought ... the Jews were divided into "four sects," in the 1st century BC. -Pharisees. They were lay people, except for the Scribes. They inluded oral traditions and newer innovations. -Saducees. They were aristocracts and had relationships with the Romans. They followed the written Law. -Essenes. Didn't like P or S, so formed a new group, lived out in the desert (Qumran). May have written Dead Sea Scrolls. Qumran was abandoned in68, when there was an earthquake. -Zealots. Revolutionaries is the best term for them. We know Simon was a Zealot (Mar 3:18). The Zealots died at Masada in 73. Some sources for you http://www.bible.ca/d-jewish-sects-pharisees-sadducees-essenes-zealots.htm http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/sadducees_pharisees_essenes.html http://virtualreligion.net/iho/pharisee.html Searcher |