Who were the Pharisees? The Pharisees were the bearers of the ancient tradition of Torah interpretation which had been brought from Babylonia by Ezra the Scribe and his associates when they came to Jerusalem to re-establish Jewish tradition in the community of Jews who had remained in Israel after the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians. The Judeans who had remained in the Land of Israel at the time that the elite of Judah were exiled from Jerusalem, had not had the

In the course of time the Sadducees developed a political-religious philosophy of Judaism which was rooted in the statements in the books of Deuteronomy and Ezekiel which legitimized their claims to supremacy over the people of Israel. From these roots their ideas branched out further, presenting interpretations of biblical passages which, they felt, strengthened their positions. It seems, from the descriptions in Josephus that they were associated with the aristocracy of Is

After describing the garments that the priests should wear in their service and other details that pertain to the priests alone, he goes on to state their authority over the people. 44:23. "They shall teach My people to distinguish between the sacred and the profane and the clean and the unclean." 44:24. "They shall sit in judgment over any disputes and shall judge according to My laws. And My teachings and My law, and all of My appointed times they shall keep and they sh

There is no more powerful assertion of the divinely ordained authority of the Tzadukian priesthood than that stated in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel, who lived in Babylonia after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians, has many fascinating visions which induce passionate, inspiring prophetic utterances. Several of his statements speak of the restoration of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple, in some of which he gives detailed specifications