Second Temple Jewish Groups Overview

Overview

Judaism in the 2nd century BCE was diverse, with multiple groups practicing different interpretations of faith. Four main groups emerged: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, each with distinct beliefs and practices that would later interact with Jesus in the New Testament.

Major Jewish Groups of the 2nd Century BCE

Group	Core Beliefs	Key Practices	Historical Significance
Pharisees	Written law (Ten Commandments) and oral law; believed in afterlife, divine reward/punishment, and coming Messiah	Individual prayer, synagogue assemblies; followed post-temple traditions	Spiritual fathers of modern Judaism; blue-collar Jews
Sadducees	Only written law; literal interpretation; no belief in afterlife	Temple-focused rituals; incorporated Hellenism; maintained priestly caste	Disappeared after 70 AD temple destruction; no writings survived
Essenes	Believed Pharisees and Sadducees corrupted city and temple	Monastic desert life outside Jerusalem; lived near Qumran	Likely connected to Dead Sea Scrolls community
Zealots	Political activists believing land control was God's will	Armed rebellion against Romans	Some were Jesus' disciples expecting military leadership

The Great Sanhedrin

Jewish Supreme Court with 71 members interpreting civil and religious laws.
Composed of both Pharisees and Sadducees serving together.

The Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd discovered ancient artifacts in a cave near the Dead Sea.
Manuscripts found are now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Contained fragments of the earliest known Old Testament copies.
Material similarity between scrolls and modern scriptures confirmed biblical authenticity.

The Samaritans

Residents of Samaria region between Judah and Galilee; capital of Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Two disputed origin theories exist for this population group.
Old Testament and Josephus claimed they were Assyrian colonists from conquered lands.
Samaritan version claimed direct descent from Israelite tribes Ephraim and Manasseh who survived 722 BCE.
Jews viewed them as "half-Jew, half something else," causing significant prejudice.
Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan would have been highly offensive to Jewish audiences.