Sadducee

Sadducee
Sadducean, adj.Sadduceeism, n.
/saj"euh see', sad"yeuh-/, n. Judaism.
a member of a Palestinian sect, consisting mainly of priests and aristocrats, that flourished from the 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. and differed from the Pharisees chiefly in its literal interpretation of the Bible, rejection of oral laws and traditions, and denial of an afterlife and the coming of the Messiah.
[bef. 1000; ME sadducees (pl.), OE sadduceas < LL sadducaei < Gk saddoukaîoi < Heb sadhuqi adherent of Zadok]

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Member of a Jewish priestly sect that flourished for about two centuries, until the destruction (AD 70) of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.

Sadducees were generally wealthier, more conservative, and better connected politically than their rivals, the Pharisees. They believed in strict interpretation of the Torah and thus rejected such ideas as immortality of the soul, bodily resurrection after death, and the existence of angels. They viewed Jesus' ministry with mistrust and are believed to have played some part in his death. Their wealth and complicity with Roman rulers made them unpopular with the common people.

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▪ Jewish sect
Hebrew  Tzedoq,  plural  Tzedoqim,  

      member of a Jewish priestly sect that flourished for about two centuries before the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in AD 70. Not much is known with certainty of the Sadducees' origin and early history, but their name may be derived from that of Zadok, who was high priest in the time of kings David and Solomon. Ezekiel later selected this family as worthy of being entrusted with control of the Temple, and Zadokites formed the Temple hierarchy down to the 2nd century BC.

      The Sadducees were the party of high priests, aristocratic families, and merchants—the wealthier elements of the population. They came under the influence of Hellenism, tended to have good relations with the Roman rulers of Palestine, and generally represented the conservative view within Judaism. While their rivals, the Pharisees, claimed the authority of piety and learning, the Sadducees claimed that of birth and social and economic position. During the long period of the two parties' struggle—which lasted until the Romans' destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD—the Sadducees dominated the Temple and its priesthood.

      The Sadducees and Pharisees (Pharisee) were in constant conflict with each other, not only over numerous details of ritual and the Law but most importantly over the content and extent of God's revelation to the Jewish people. The Sadducees refused to go beyond the written Torah (first five books of the Bible) and thus, unlike the Pharisees, denied the immortality of the soul, bodily resurrection after death, and the existence of angelic spirits. For the Sadducees, the Oral Law—i.e., the vast body of post-biblical Jewish legal traditions—meant next to nothing. By contrast, the Pharisees revered the Torah but further claimed that oral tradition was part and parcel of Mosaic Law. Because of their strict adherence to the Written Law, the Sadducees acted severely in cases involving the death penalty, and they interpreted literally the Mosaic principle of lex talionis (“an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”).

      Though the Sadducees were conservative in religious matters, their wealth, their haughty bearing, and their willingness to compromise with the Roman rulers aroused the hatred of the common people. As defenders of the status quo, the Sadducees viewed the ministry of Jesus with considerable alarm and apparently played some role in his trial and death. Their lives and political authority were so intimately bound up with Temple worship that after Roman legions destroyed the Temple, the Sadducees ceased to exist as a group, and mention of them quickly disappeared from history.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sadducee — Sad du*cee, n. [L. Sadducaei, p., Gr. ?, Heb. Tsadd[=u]k[=i]m; so called from Ts[=a]d[=o]k, the founder of the sect.] One of a sect among the ancient Jews, who denied the resurrection, a future state, and the existence of angels. {Sad du*ce an},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sadducee — O.E., from L.L. Sadducaei (pl.), from Gk. Zaddoukaios, from Heb. tzedoqi, from personal name Tzadhoq Zadok (2 Sam. viii:17), the high priest from whom the priesthood of the captivity claimed descent. According to Josephus, the sect denied the… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Sadducee — [saj′oo sē΄, sad′yoosē΄] n. [ME Saducei < OE Sadduce < LL(Ec) Sadducaeus < Gr(Ec) Saddoukaios < Heb tsadoki, prob. < tsadok, Zadok: see Ezek. 40:46] a member of an ancient Jewish party, representing the ruling hierarchy, that… …   English World dictionary

  • Sadducee — noun Etymology: Middle English saducee, from Old English sadduce, from Late Latin sadducaeus, from Greek saddoukaios, from Late Hebrew ṣāddūqi Date: before 12th century a member of a Jewish party of the intertestamental period consisting of a… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Sadducee — noun A member of an ancient Jewish sect possibly formed as a political party in the 2nd century BCE and existed until around the 1st century CE …   Wiktionary

  • Sadducee — n. member of an ancient Jewish sect characterized by its literal interpretation of the Bible …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Sadducee — [ sadjʊsi:] noun a member of an ancient Jewish sect that denied the resurrection of the dead, the existence of spirits, and the obligation of oral tradition, emphasizing acceptance of the written Law alone. Derivatives Sadducean si:ən adjective… …   English new terms dictionary

  • sadducee — sad·du·cee …   English syllables

  • Sadducee — Sad•du•cee [[t]ˈsædʒ əˌsi, ˈsæd yə [/t]] n. jud a member of an ancient Jewish sect, consisting mainly of priests and aristocrats, that differed from the Pharisees esp. in its literal interpretation of the Bible and its rejection of oral laws and… …   From formal English to slang

  • Sadducee — /ˈsædjusi/ (say sadyoohsee) noun one of an ancient Jewish sect or party whose views and practices were opposed to those of the Pharisees, and who denied the authority of oral tradition, the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels, etc.… …  

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