The Sadducees

The Sadducees arose sometime during the Maccabean period and disappeared around the time of Jerusalem’s destruction. It is difficult to offer a description of their beliefs and practices because we do not possess any written records from the Sadducees, no personal description of their beliefs and practices. Nonetheless, there are multiple sources that speak of their existence in the first century. These sources include the New Testament, Josephus, and some rabbinic texts. These sources, while often hostile towards the Sadducees, do offer a consistent picture of the Sadducees. They show the Sadducees connected to the high priesthood, possessing differing view of the afterlife, and holding different understandings of certain laws. 

Their earliest mention occurs in Josephus’s account (Ant. 13.293–299) of John Hyrcanus (160–143 BC). It is likely that the Hasmonean Dynasty, the heirs of the Maccabean revolt, formed a political alliance with the Sadducees. The Hasmoneans sought to consolidate the power of both the kingship and the high priesthood. Cooperation with the Sadducees offered the Hasmonean dynasty some legitimacy for their seizure of the high priesthood, while the Sadducees gained political influence and power. (Cf. Rudolph Myer, “Sadducees” TDNT 7) However, during the rule of Queen Salome Alexandra (76–69 BC) – a Hasmonian monarch who, as a woman, could not take the role of high priest – support was given to the Pharisee party, which greatly diminished and endangered the Sadducees. (Cf. Josephus, J.W. 1.5.1–3; Ant. 13.15.5–13.16.6.) After Queen Salome’s death, the country fell into a chaotic period as her two sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II (along with the latter’s son, Antigonus) vied for power. This chaotic period ended in 37 BC when Herod the Great, supported by the Romans, seized control and established himself as King. Herod appointed his own high priests whose families came from Babylon and Egypt – high priests who were more favorable to his and to Roman rule. This effectively destroyed the political power of the Sadducees.

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