All articles

Everything on The Shared Table Archive, organised by topic.

Gospel Context

• Jesus and the Pharisees: Reading the Disputes in Context — Jesus–Pharisee disputes in the Gospels are best read as arguments within first-century Judaism over Sabbath observance, purity, authority, meals, and…

After the Temple

• From Pharisees to Rabbinic Judaism: What Continued? — Rabbinic Judaism has substantial Pharisaic ancestry, especially in traditions of legal interpretation, named sages, and forms of practice that did not…

Second Temple Judaism

• Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes: A Careful Guide — Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes were distinct Jewish schools or movements in the Second Temple period, described most systematically by Josephus.
• What Does Pharisee Mean? Name and Later Usage — “Pharisee” names a member of a Jewish movement in the Second Temple period.
• When Did the Pharisees Start? — The Pharisees have no recoverable founding year. Josephus places Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes in a passage set during Jonathan's Hasmonean leadership…
• Who Were the Pharisees? History Beyond the Stereotype — The Pharisees were a Jewish movement or school active in the late Second Temple period, known from Josephus, the New Testament, some later rabbinic…