Category:Second Temple Judaism (subject)

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Second Temple Judaism denotes a stage in the history of Judaism and the Jewish people, from the Babyblonian exile to the Jewish War and the Bar-Kokhba Revolt.

< Major Events : see Babylonian Period -- Persian Period -- Ptolemaic Period -- Seleucid Period -- Hasmonean Period -- Roman Period >

< People : see High Priests -- Zadokites -- Tobiads -- Hasmoneans -- Herodians -/- Babylonian Kings -- Persian Kings -- Ptolemaic Kings -- Seleucid Kings -- Roman Emperors -- Roman Governors of Judea >

• See People -- Places -- Artifacts -- Events -- Texts -- Topics
• See Second Temple Studies -- Second Temple Scholars

Overview

The Second Temple Period is the period from the Babylonian exile (6th cent. BCE) to the destruction of the Temple by the Romans (70 CE) and the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (135 CE).

Three major features:

• (1) Second Temple Judaism was very different from Judaism as we know it today. It was centered on Temple / sacrifices, not on synagogues / torah. It was led by the authority of priests, not rabbis.

• (2) Second Temple Judaism was very diverse. Jews were Jews by birth, but then belonged - by choice - to different parties / denominations. This should not be a surprise as Judaism has always been very diverse. Yesterday as today.

• (3) Second Temple Judaism was the cradle of both Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Christianity was not born from Rabbinic Judaism. Both Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism were born from Second Temple Judaism, as parallel developments from the ancient tradition of Israel.

Jewish groups of the Second Temple Period (summary)

Judaism during the Second temple Period was divided in four major groups:

• Sadducees
• Hellenistic Jews
• Pharisees (and Zealots)
• Apocalyptic movements, including Enochic Judaism, Essenes, and the movements of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth

At the foundation of these divisions is a different understanding of the origin of evil. From different understandings came different theologies, different practices, different messianic ideas, different models of authority...

Sadducees

• Sociology: Ruling party (upper class / priests "sons of Aaron")
• Focus: Temple / sacrifices / this world / Covenant / Free will
• Ideal figure(s): Aaron as the High Priest -- the priests
• Sources of Authority: The five Books of Moses (Mosaic Torah) as a Priestly code
• Moral Goal: Obedience to the cultic requirements of the Torah -- God is in charge
• Retribution: During lifetime
• Messianism: No Eschatological Messiah / the Priests as God's messiahs
• Survival: The Karaites (Karaite Judaism) claim to be the heir of the Sadducees.

Hellenistic Jews

• Sociology: Jews of the diaspora + God-fearers (gentile sympathizers)
• Focus: Wisdom as the creative order of the universe / The absolute power of God on this world / Free will
• Ideal figure(s): Solomon -- Moses as lawgiver and philosopher -- the Jewish philosophers (lovers of sophia = wisdom)
• Sources of Authority: The Natural Law for all human beings + The five Books of Moses (Mosaic Torah) for the Jews according to the Greek translation (Septuagint)
• Moral Goal: To live according to nature (wisdom)
• Retribution: During lifetime / Immortality of the soul
• Messianism: No Eschatological Messiah / Kings, Priests and Sages as God's messiahs
• Survival: Hellenistic Jews remained the majority group under the Bizantine Empire up to Muslim Conquest (7th cent. CE).

Pharisees

• Sociology: Reform movement (middle class / levites)
• Focus: The Torah / this world and the world to come / human responsibility
• Ideal figure(s): Moses -- Ezra -- the sages
• Sources of Authority: The five Books of Moses (Mosaic Torah) as a Moral code + Traditions of the Fathers
• Moral Goal: To live according to the moral requirements of the Torah -- to rebuild the kingdom of God in this world
• Retribution: During lifetime and afterlife (universal resurrection)
• Messianism: The Eschatological Messiah Son of David
• Survival: The Pharisees were the driving force that led to the development of Rabbinic Judaism.

Apocalyptic movements

• Sociology: Reform movement (lower class / poor)
• Focus: The end of times / the Messiah / the remedy against evil / the world to come / Satan as the god of this world
• Ideal figure(s): Enoch -- Daniel -- the visionaries
• Sources of Authority: Mosaic Torah + "hidden books" (tradition of Enoch)
• Moral Goal: To resist evil and temptation -- the coming of the Kingdom of God
• Retribution: Afterlife (universal resurrection)
• Messianism: The Eschatological Messiah Son of Man
• Survival: Christianity is a Jewish apocalyptic group which survived and developed as an autonomous religion.

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