Meaning of
Name: |
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Descendants of Zadok, members of the old (pre-Hasmonean) High Priestly family |
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"Separatists"
— probably because their special dietary restrictions and purity rules limited their social interactions with outsiders |
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Possibly "healers" because of their reputation for performing miraculous cures |
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| Attitude towards the Hasmonean Rulers: |
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Opposed their usurping of the High Priesthood (which had previously belonged to the Zadokite dynasty) |
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Opposed the Hasmoneans' combination of Priestly and political power | |
Apparently opposed to the non-Zadokite priesthood.
Their founder, the "Teacher of Righteousness," had been persecuted by a Hasmonean king. |
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| Social Class: |
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Aristocratic priests |
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Common people | |
N/A |
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| Figures of authority: |
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Priests |
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Scholars and Scribes They challenged the importance of the priesthood, limiting it to the performance of Temple rituals. |
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The "Teacher of Righteousness" The apparent founder of the sect was probably a Zadokite priest who rejected the Jerusalem leadership |
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| Attitude to Bible: |
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Literalist:
As a hereditary leadership they did not have to justify their authority, and did not have to develop special skills in interpreting it.
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Sophisticated scholarly interpretations: This was proposed as an alternative to priestly authority: Leadership had to be earned through knowledge and ability, not inherited.
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"Inspired Exegesis"
— distinctive intepretations of their own sect, especially those of the "Teacher of Righteousness" |
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Attitude to
"Oral Torah": |
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Accepted only what was explicitly written in the Torah |
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Believed in authority of "ancestral traditions" even if they had no basis in the Torah. |
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The Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate their distinctive Biblical interpretations and rules, similar in purpose — but not in content — to the Pharisees' "Oral Torah." |
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| Practices: |
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Based directly on the Torah | | Accepted many additional laws and interpretations based on the "Oral Torah" and their own interpretations. | | "Inspired Exegesis"
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| | Emphasis on priestly rituals and obligations (which enhanced the priests' holiness and and authority) |
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Extention of priestly laws (e.g., purity of food) to non-priests |
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Accepted many additional laws and interpretations based on their own interpretations. |
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"Luni-solar" calendar |
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Solar calendar |
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| Beliefs: |
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Rejection of ideas that have no clear basis in the Bible, such as life-after-death. |
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Acceptance of some non-Biblical beliefs that had been accepted by the people, e.g., Physical resurrection of the dead. |
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Believed in spiritual survival after death. |
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Assertion of human freedom and accountability for their actions.
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Believed in limited free will: "Everything is in the power of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven."
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Dualistic determinism: Humanity has been divided into "Children of Light and Children of Darkness," who will soon clash in an apocalyptic war.
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