One of the three orders of Jews during the Second Temple Period; priestly and aristocratic Jewish families who interpreted the law more literally than the Pharisees and were much less formal in the observance of rites and traditions; denied the concept of immortality and tended toward materialism.
A relatively small religious and political party among the Jews. They numbered approximately five thousand. Most were priests; many were wealthy. The Sadducees were distinguished by the fact that they based their beliefs solely on the "books of Moses." They rejected the oral tradition, belief in the resurrection or immortality, and in the commonly held view that the Messiah would soon come to destroy Israel's enemies.
A political interest group, probably composed of some of the leading priests and landowners, which existed from the latter half of the second century B.C.E. to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
An early Jewish sub-group whose origins and ideas are uncertain. It probably arose early in the 2nd century BCE and ceased to exist when the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. Sadducees supported priestly authority and rejected traditions not directly grounded in the Pentateuch, such as the concept of personal, individual life after death. They are often depicted as in conflict with the Pharisees.
A Jewish sect linked to the Temple and the high priests.
(SAD·du·cees). The Sadducees, drawing from the upper classes—mainly priestly families and lay families with whom the priests had intermarried—constituted the pro-Roman and pro-Greek establishment of Roman Judea, with reactionary leanings bent on maintaining their control of the vassal Jewish state. More Information.
A Jewish sect of the priestly aristocracy, whose name derives from "Zadok" the high priest in the time of King Solomon. They believed only in teachings based strictly on the Bible and its interpretation, and rejected the teachings of the Pharisees.
This sect of Judaism died out with the loss of the temple in 70CE, since their whole belief revolved around temple work, and not oral tradition.
A party in Judaism at the time of Christ. The Sadducees steadfastly held to a literal interpretation of the Law contained in the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch or Torah), and rejected traditional interpretations favored by other groups of Jews, especially the Pharisees. Sadducees came from the priestly class and rejected the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels. Christ condemned these Jewish leaders for their preoccupation with outward forms, ignoring or neglecting true righteousness of the heart (Matt. 16:1-12).
A group of Jewish leaders, many of them priests, who ruled during the late Second Temple period; Sadducees supported priestly authority and rejected traditions not directly grounded in the Torah/Pentateuch, such as the concept of life after death; they ceased to exist when the temple was destroyed in 70 C.E.
movement of Judaism that existed around the time of the dawn of Christianity. It died out shortly after the destruction of the Temple.
The sect of the Sadducees - from Hebrew Tsdoki צדוקי [], whence Zadokites or other variants - was founded in the 2nd century BCE, possibly as a political party, and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century CE. Their rivals, the Pharisees, are said to have originated in the same time period, but have survived as the later forms of Rabbinic Judaism.
