Sadducees (Gr. saddoukáios, “supporters of justice”; transliteration of the Heb. tsadûqîm, which could come from the verb tsâdaq or from Tsâdôq, the name of a high priest of the time of David, from whom all high priests claimed to be descendants that came later). Minority religious-political Jewish party of NT times, representing the wealthy, liberal, aristocratic, and secularized wing of Judaism. Almost nothing is known about its origins or the first stage of its history. In the time of the Maccabees, Alexander Janeus (103-73/75 BC), son of John Hyrcanus I, 1029 favored the Sadducees to the point of crucifying a considerable number of Pharisees.* But towards the end of his life he became he alienated them, and on his deathbed he advised his wife to favor the Pharisees, which she did. After his death, the Sadducees sided with his son Aristobulus II, the younger and more capable of his 2 sons, and supported his claim against his brother John Hyrcanus II. Later they allied themselves with the Herodian party and collaborated with the Romans. They took a keen interest in the secular affairs of the nation, gladly accepted various public offices, and wielded an influence far in excess of their numbers. During the Roman domination and rule of the Herods, the conduct of the political activities of the Jews was largely in their hands. Unlike the Pharisees and the Essenes, who left a number of writings with information regarding their beliefs, the Sadducees did not bequeath works of this nature. Therefore, our information about his views and doctrines is rather scant, and we must base our knowledge of them largely on Josephus and the NT. As a religious party, they prided themselves on their strict interpretation of “the Law”, that is, of the 5 books of Moses, which were the only ones they accepted as inspired, to the point that they rejected any doctrine that did not have explicit support in them. . Surely this is the Basis for Jesus’ accusation that they erred “ignoring the Scriptures and the power of God” (Matt 22:29). By denying the resurrection, future life, and the idea of a coming punishment (Mat 22:23; Act 23:8), they gave prominence to the secular and material interests of life. They believed that God paid little attention to human beings and manifested little interest in their affairs, while maintaining that man was the arbiter of his own destiny. They denied the existence of angels and spirits (Acts 23:8). Both the Sadducees and the Pharisees were subjected to the stinging denunciations of John the Baptist (Matt 3:7). They joined the Pharisees in asking Christ for a sign from heaven (16:1-4), and Jesus warned his disciples about both (vs 6-12). After the ascension, they joined the priests in persecuting Peter and John (Acts 4:1-3). There were Pharisees and Sadducees present at Paul’s trial before the Sanhedrin, and the apostle, realizing this circumstance, began to argue with each other (23:6-10). A Sadducean high priest presided over the Sanhedrin responsible for the death of James, our Lord’s brother, and other Christians. When the temple was destroyed in AD 70, with the disappearance of the Jewish state, the Sadducees ceased to exist as a party. Bib.: FJ-AJ xiii.10.6; xviii.1.4; FJ-GJ. ii.8.14; FJ-AJ xiii.5.9; FJ-GJ ii.8.14; FJ-AJ xx.9.1.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
aristocratic Jewish group, of priestly origin, whose name comes from the priest Sadoq, from the times of Kings David and Solomon. The party of the s. It arose in the Hasmonean era, 2nd century BC. C., and its influence extended until the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, in the year 70 of our era. They were opposed to the Pharisees, and against them they did not admit any tradition outside of the Law or written Torah. His concern was above all political, most of the high priests were from the Sadducee party. Contrary to the Pharisees, likewise, they denied the resurrection of the body, of the angels and of the spirits, because following what was written in the Pentateuch, they said they did not find in it any doctrine on the resurrection of the flesh, Mt 22, 23; Mark 12 18-26; Lk 20, 27-38; Acts 4, 1-2; Acts 23, 8.
John the Baptist called them, like the Pharisees, “race of vipers”, Mt 3, 7. Despite being opposed to the Pharisees, in many cases they joined them against Jesus. The Lord warned his disciples about the doctrine of the s.: † œOpen your eyes and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and s.†, Mt 16, 6; Mark 8, 15.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
It was one of the religious parties that existed among the Jews in the days of Christ and of the early church, though it exercised comparatively little influence among the people. They resisted the truth of the gospel. The root of the word means to be fair. The name is probably derived from someone named Zadok.
The Sadducees were the political party of the aristocratic Jewish priests from the time of the Maccabees until the final fall of the Jewish state. They became the leaders of the Hellenizing movement that began with Alexander the Great. Because of their sympathy for the policy of Antiochus Epiphanes, they did not take part in the Maccabean struggle, which was supported by the Pharisees. The Sadducees under the Romans became the party in favor of the government. Since they were satisfied with the present, they did not look forward to a future messianic age.
The Sadducees had a number of distinctive beliefs, contrasting them sharply with those of the Pharisees:
1. They abided only by the written law and rejected the traditions of the Pharisees. In other words, the Sadducees believed that the Word of God alone was the center of religious authority.
The Pharisees, by contrast, believed that just as binding as the law itself was the supposed oral tradition of the teachings of Moses and the rules of the law made by the scribes through the ages.
2. A second distinctive belief of the Sadducees was their denial of bodily resurrection, personal immortality, and retribution in the afterlife (Mat 22:23; Mar 12:18; Luk 20:27; Act 23:8; compare Acts 4:1-2).
3. The Sadducees denied the existence of angels and spirits (Acts 23:8). A number of factors may have been responsible for this: their general indifference to religion, their rationalistic disposition, and the exaggerated extravagances of the Pharisees’ angelology and demonology.
Four.
The Sadducees differed from both the Pharisees and the Essenes on the matter of predestination and the free will of the human will. They rejected all ideas of divine interposition in the government of the world.
The Sadducees are mentioned by name in the NT only a dozen times (Matt 3:7; Mat 16:1, Mat 16:6, Mat 16:11-12; Mat 22:23, Mat 22:34; Mark 12: 18; Luk 20:27; Acts 4:1; Acts 5:17; Acts 23:6-8); but it must be remembered that when mention is made of the high priests, it practically refers to the same people.
After the day of Pentecost, the Sadducees were very active against the nascent church. They arrested Pedro and Juan and put them in prison. A little later, they arrested all the apostles and planned to kill them (Act 5:17, Act 5:33). There is no record of a Sadducee being admitted into the Christian church. According to Josephus (Antig. 20.9.1), they were responsible for the death of James, the Lord’s brother. With the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. JC, the Sadducee party disappeared.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(A term meaning people of Zadok.)
movement within Judaism. The Sadducees, organized about a century before the birth of Christ, represented the conservative wing of Judaism at the time, despite the fact that they rejected the resurrection of the dead, a doctrine later considered fundamental by Christian orthodoxy. They defended the priesthood of the line of Zadok, who had gained control of the priesthood, originally in the hands of the older line of Aaron. They accepted only the Torah, and their beliefs were therefore limited to those of the Pentateuch.
A large Sadducee sector submitted to the established empires and many of them are attributed a Hellenizing tendency.
Source: Dictionary of Religions Denominations and Sects
See JEWISH SECTS.
Source: Archaeological Biblical Dictionary
Religious group of Jews, relatively small, but important, because many of them were “High Priests”. They believed exclusively in the law, and rejected all kinds of oral tradition; they deny the resurrection, the immortality of the soul and the spirit world: (Mar 12:18, Luc 20:27, Acts 23:8).
They were denounced by John the Baptist and by Christ: (Mat 3:7, Mat 16:6, Mat 16:11-12). They opposed Christ and his Church: (Mat 21:12, Mar 11:15, Luk 19:47, Acts 5:17, Acts 5:33). They supported the Maccabees in their struggle to materially liberate Israel.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
It was a sect that appeared in Israel around 200 BC The most influential elements of society, especially priests, merchants and aristocrats, belonged to it. They dominated life in the †¢temple, which was their particular sphere of activity. Many were members of the †¢Sanhedrin. The name, in Hebrew zedukim, is derived from †¢Zadok, high priest in David’s time (2Sa 8:17), whose family, according to Ezekiel, was chosen as worthy to take charge of the affairs of the temple (Eze 40:46) .
The s. they represented the most conservative part of the priestly lineage. They opposed the Pharisees, with whom they disputed until the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Their biggest difference was related to their attitude towards the law (the Pentateuch) and oral traditions. The s. they only accepted what was written in the Pentateuch (the Torah), while the Pharisees took into consideration the other writings and the oral tradition. It was as well as the s. they denied the Pharisees’ beliefs about the supernatural world. They said †œthere is no resurrection† (Mat 22:23; Mar 12:18), †œneither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm these things† (Acts 23:8). According to them, the Pentateuch does not present bases on which to base these doctrines. The Lord Jesus refuted their teachings by showing them how in the Torah God is presented as “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Exo 3:6), and that “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matt 22 :31-32). They rejected the concept of destiny introduced by Greek culture and denied that God interfered in the affairs of men, being these the ones that caused their good or evil.
the Baptist called the Pharisees and s. †œgeneration of…