First-century historian Josephus observed that there were three sects among the Jews: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Essenes. Historian Pamela Nadell examines these once-flourishing sects that thrived in the late Second Temple era until the war between the Jews and the Romans (66–70 A.D.) sealed their fates.
By the time the Second Temple burned in 70 A.D., the Sadducees, with their strict construction of biblical law, were gone. So, too, were the Essenes, though their library would eventually survive as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Only the Pharisees remained. Their interpretations of Jewish law, based on principles well developed in the ancient Greco-Roman world, would set the future course for Judaism. Their descendants became preeminent teachers and rabbis, and saw themselves standing in a chain of transmission that stretched back to Moses.
Nadell, professor and the Patrick Clendenen chair in women’s and gender history, directs the Jewish Studies program at The American University.
Other Connections
Take a look at the ruins of Qumran, where the Essenes worshipped and the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
