Guide
The Beliefs of Pharisees and Sadducees
1st Century BCE–1st Century CE
By Carol Bakhos
According to Josephus, three philosophies characterized ancient Judaism: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. The Essenes believed that the soul was eternal and that after death, the righteous would be rewarded and the wicked punished (see “Lifestyle and Beliefs”). The Pharisees believed in fate but also affirmed the ability of people to choose between good and evil. Like the Essenes, they believed in an afterlife in which reward and punishment would be meted out. The Sadducees, in contrast, rejected the notions of fate and of an afterlife. This distinction between the beliefs of Pharisees and Sadducees is corroborated in the New Testament book of Acts.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
Divergent Conceptions of Fate
Josephus
The Jewish War 2.119, 162–166
Jewish doctrine in fact takes three forms. The adherents of these sects are called Pharisees, Sadducees, and, thirdly, Essenes. [ . . . ] Of the two schools mentioned first, the Pharisees constitute…
Primary Source
Pharisees on Fate and the Afterlife
Josephus
Jewish Antiquities 18.12–15
Now, as for the Pharisees, they live simply and forgo luxurious foods, and they follow conduct directed by doctrine and do what their doctrine prescribes as good for them, and they believe they should…
Primary Source
Pharisees and Sadducees on Resurrection
Acts 23:6–10
When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the…