Second Temple Judaism
Second Temple Judaism contained many institutions, practices, local communities, and schools of interpretation. A three-sect chart is a doorway into that world, not a floor plan of every Jewish life. We identify what Josephus, the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and later rabbinic texts can each show—and where the historian should leave a question mark at the table.
Pharisees and the Oral Law: What the Sources Claim
In first-century sources, the Pharisees kept ancestral traditions not written in the laws of Moses.
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.
Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots: Reading Josephus
Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes form Josephus's familiar three-school comparison.
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…