Pharisees, Scribes & Sadducees in Palestinian Society: A Sociological Approach (The Biblical Resource Series)

Widely praised in its original edition and now part of the Biblical Resource Series, this volume offers a superb discussion of the role of the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees in Palestinian Jewish society. Applying a sociological approach to the biblical and literary sources, Anthony Saldarini accurately portrays these three most prominent groups of educated leaders in Jewish society and describes their relationship to other Jewish social movements from 200 B.C.E. to 100 C.E. Featuring a new foreword by James C. VanderKam, Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees in Palestinian Society will remain a standard point of reference for the continuing study of Judaism and Christian backgrounds. Cover......Page 1 Table of Contents......Page 6 Abbreviations......Page 8 Chronology......Page 10 Foreword, by James C. VanderKam......Page 12 PART I: PALESTINIAN SOCIETY......Page 28 1. The Problem of Jewish Groups in Palestine......Page 30 2. A Sociological Approach......Page 39 3. Social Classes in Palestinian Jewish Society and the Roman Empire......Page 62 4. Social Relations and Groups in Palestine......Page 77 PART II: THE LITERARY SOURCES......Page 104 5. The Pharisees and Sadducees as Political Interest Groups in Josephus......Page 106 6. Josephus' Descriptions of the Pharisees and Sadducees......Page 134 7. Paul the Pharisee......Page 161 8. The Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Mark and Matthew......Page 171 9. The Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Luke-Acts and John......Page 201 10. The Pharisees and Sadducees in Rabbinic Literature......Page 226 PART III: INTERPRETATION AND SYNTHESIS......Page 266 11. The Social Roles of Scribes in Jewish Society......Page 268 12. The Place of the Pharisees in Jewish Society......Page 304 13. The Sadducees and Jewish Leadership......Page 325 Glossary of Sociological Terms......Page 336 Subject Index......Page 342 Author Index......Page 344 Index of Ancient Sources......Page 347 Recent research on the Pharisees has paradoxically made them and their role in Palestinian society more obscure and difficult to describe.