Page 140 - Biblical Backgrounds student textbook

will often hear of the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud was the
earlier version. The Babylonian Talmud was the final and more complete version of rabbinic
commentaries.

There were two major schools in Pharisee thought. One school was taught by Rabbi Shammai and the
other Rabbi Hillel. The Shammai school was strict. They were the school that usually opposed Jesus.
They for instance said paying taxes to Caesar was wrong. They also demanded the purification laws be
strictly observed. Which meant that Jew and Gentile interaction was opposed. The Hillel school on the
other hand was more open. They approved interaction and were far less strict. Alfred Kolatch describes
them this way:

“Hillel's rulings were often based on concern for the welfare of the individual. For example with
regard to the remarriage of an aguna, whose husband is not known with certainty to be alive or
dead, the view of Hillel (and most of his colleagues) was that she can remarry even on the basis
of indirect evidence of the husband's death. Bet Shammai required that witnesses come forth
with direct testimony before she was permitted to remarry. Another example of his leniency as
compared with Shammai involves converts; Hillel favored the admission of proselytes into
Judaism even when they made unreasonable demands, such as one did by demanding that the
whole Torah be taught to him quickly "while standing on one foot." Hillel accepted this person
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as eligible for conversion, whereas Shammai dismissed him as not serious about Judaism.”

The pharisees were known for believing in the resurrection, life after death, the coming of a messiah
and the establishment of a literal kingdom. They also affirmed miracles and the existence of the angelic
realms.

The Sadducees

This sect of Judaism denied that there was life after death. They also denied the existence of an angelic
realm (Acts 23:8). The denied the possibility of resurrection as well. They were primarily concerned with
political power. By the time of Jesus, they had established themselves under Roman rule as powerful in
Judea. As a result of this they strongly opposed Jesus’ rise to prominence. His rise threatened their rule.
One comical scene in the early church is when Paul stands before the Council and recognized some are
Pharisees and some Sadducees. So he cries out to the Pharisees that he was on trial for believing in the
resurrection (Acts 23:6). As he planned, a huge argument developed between the two groups. The
Pharisees wanted to protect him because he agreed with them. The Sadducees saw this as proof of his
guilt.

The Essenes
Many have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found at the caves in the Qumran. It is likely that
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the mystical sect that copied them was an Essene group. They were disenfranchised with the political
and religious corruption of their time and withdrew to live out the purity they believed would entice

181 https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hillel-and-shammai summarizing Judaism 101; Kolatch, Alfred J. The
Second Jewish Book of Why. Jonathan David Publishers, Inc.; Middle Village, New York, 1985; “The
Nullification of the Commandments"
182 Gary M. Burge, Gene L. Green, and Lynn H. Cohick, The New Testament in Antiquity (Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Zondervan, 2009), 65.

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