Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 17/08/2005 23:47, Shoshanna Walker wrote:

> ... It is interesting to note that, as Rav Cohen 
> points out, the Sadducees (a sect that believed in the literal 
> interpretation of the written Torah and denied the existence of an 
> oral tradition) were a powerful force in Israel only until the 
> Hasmonean uprising which culminated in the Chanukah miracle (Megillat 
> Ta'anit, Ch. 5). Once the Hasmoneans succeeded in uprooting Greek 
> culture from the hearts of the Jewish people, the Sadducees also 
> submitted to the halachic renderings of the Torah-true elders of the 
> generation. The Greek influence on Torah analysis that caused the 
> Sadducees to give credibility to the written word alone was done away 
> with along with the Greek culture. The Oral Torah is compared in the 
> Midrash to a light that illuminates the darkness:
>  

This statement surprises me, because the New Testament among other 
documents bears witness to the continuation of the Sadducees as a 
powerful force in the 1st century CE. Indeed Acts 4:17 tells us that the 
High Priest himself was one of the Sadducees. And Acts 23:8 tells us 
that the Sadducees denied the resurrection, angels and spirits. How does 
this tally with this picture of the Sadducees submitting themselves to 
quite different teachings 200 years earlier?

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/



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