Sadducees
A Judean sect active until the Temple's destruction in 70 CE.
The Sadducees were a sect of Jews active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. They are described in contemporary literary sources in contrast to the two other major sects at the time, the Pharisees and the Essenes. Josephus associates the sect with the upper echelons of Judean society, and they fulfilled various political, social, and religious roles, including maintaining the Temple in Jerusalem. The group became extinct sometime after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
- Active
- Second century BCE to 70 CE
- Field
- Religion, politics, society
- Nationality
- Judean
- Known for
- Maintaining the Temple in Jerusalem; rejecting the Oral Torah and the afterlife; association with the upper class
Lore & Background
The Sadducees are named after Zadok, a High Priest who served under King David before Solomon's Temple was built, according to Abraham Geiger. (Aaron was the first High Priest of Israel.) The aggadic work Avot of Rabbi Natan tells a story of two disciples of Antigonus of Sokho, Zadok and Boethus, whose teachings led to the founding of the Sadducee and Boethusian sects. These groups lived luxuriously, using silver and golden vessels, and were always mentioned together in later Rabbinic sources. Josephus mentions a figure named 'Sadduc' who was a Pharisee, not a Sadducee, involved in a revolt; Paul L. Maier has speculated that the sect drew its name from this figure, though this is not a widely accepted alternative to the Zadok etymology. Throughout the Second Temple period, the Sadducees likely grew out of the Judean religious élite in the early Hasmonean period. Their religious responsibilities included performing sacrifices at the Temple and presiding over festivals. Politically, they administered the state domestically, represented it internationally, participated in the Sanhedrin, collected taxes, equipped and led the army, regulated relations with the Roman Empire, and mediated domestic grievances. Not all priests or aristocrats were Sadducees; many were Pharisees or unaffiliated. Knowledge of Sadducee beliefs is limited because no writings of theirs survive. They rejected the Oral Torah proposed by the Pharisees, seeing the Written Torah as the sole divine authority. According to Josephus, they rejected fate, believed in free will, denied the immortality of the soul and afterlife, and did not accept resurrection of the dead. Josephus also claims they were rude compared to Pharisees, but this is considered a sectarian insult.
Reader's Guide
The Sadducees are significant as one of the three major Jewish sects during the Second Temple period, representing the priestly and aristocratic elite. Their control of the Temple and involvement in state affairs made them central to Judean religious and political life until the Temple's destruction in 70 CE. Their rejection of the Oral Torah and beliefs such as the denial of the afterlife set them in direct opposition to the Pharisees, whose traditions later shaped rabbinic Judaism. The Sadducees' extinction after 70 CE left the Pharisees as the dominant influence on Jewish practice and thought. Their legacy is preserved primarily through the writings of their opponents—Josephus, the Christian gospels, and rabbinic tradition—which are often hostile. This makes reconstructing their own perspective difficult, but their role as a counterpoint to Pharisaic Judaism is crucial for understanding the diversity of Second Temple Judaism. The Sadducees also appear in later references, such as in the beginning of Karaite Judaism, where followers of Anan ben David were called 'Sadducees,' and in the writings of Uriel da Costa, who reflected on their concept of the mortality of the soul.
Did You Know?
- The Sadducees are named after Zadok, a High Priest who served under King David, not the first High Priest of Israel (Aaron was).
- Josephus associates the Sadducees with the upper echelons of Judean society.
- The Sadducees rejected the Oral Torah and did not accept the idea of resurrection of the dead.
- No writings of the Sadducees survive from antiquity; all extant accounts come from hostile sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who were the Sadducees?
The Sadducees were a Judean religious and political sect active from the second century BCE until the Second Temple's destruction in 70 CE. They were one of three major Jewish groups of that era, alongside the Pharisees and the Essenes.
What did the Sadducees believe theologically?
They accepted only the written Torah as authoritative scripture, rejecting the Oral Torah that the Pharisees upheld. They also denied the afterlife, bodily resurrection, and the existence of angels.
What role did the Sadducees play in Judean society?
They were closely tied to the upper echelons of Judean society and held significant political and social influence. Their most prominent religious duty was overseeing the maintenance and operations of the Temple in Jerusalem.
How did the Sadducees come to an end?
The sect went extinct sometime after Roman forces destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE. Without the Temple as their central institution, they lost their primary purpose and dissolved.
Why are the Sadducees important in Abrahamic religious history?
They represent a major branch of Second Temple Judaism that shaped early debates over scripture, law, and eschatology before those questions were settled in later rabbinic and Christian traditions. Their rejection of oral tradition and afterlife beliefs highlights the theological diversity of pre-Christian Jewish thought.
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