Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] 5 scrolls or 1

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] 5 scrolls or 1
  • Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 00:14:42 +0100

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/



--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.10.10/73 - Release Date: 15/08/2005





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page