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Click on title of any passage numbered in red to access an English translation.
| 62. | Three Jewish Sects |
| 119 | Τρία γὰρ παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις εἴδη φιλοσοφεῖται, καὶ τοῦ μὲν αἱρετισταὶ Φαρισαῖοι, τοῦ δὲ Σαδδουκαῖοι, τρίτον δέ, ὃ δὴ καὶ δοκεῖ σεμνότητα ἀσκεῖν, Ἐσσηνοὶ καλοῦνται, Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν γένος ὄντες, φιλάλληλοι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πλέον. |
| --- Josephus, Jewish War 2.119 |
| 63. | Argument over Oral Torah |
| 297 | περὶ μέντοι τούτων αὖθις ἐροῦμεν. νῦν δὲ δηλῶσαι βούλομαι, ὅτι νόμιμά τινα παρέδοσαν τῷ δήμῳ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἐκ πατέρων διαδοχῆς, ἅπερ οὐκ ἀναγέγραπται ἐν τοῖς Μωυσέως νόμοις, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ταῦτα τὸ Σαδδουκαίων γένος ἐκβάλλει, λέγον ἐκεῖνα δεῖν ἡγεῖσθαι νόμιμα τὰ γεγραμμένα, τὰ δ᾽ ἐκ παραδόσεως τῶν πατέρων μὴ τηρεῖν. |
| 298 | καὶ περὶ τούτων ζητήσεις αὐτοῖς καὶ διαφορὰς γίνεσθαι συνέβαινεν μεγάλας, τῶν μὲν Σαδδουκαίων τοὺς εὐπόρους μόνον πειθόντων τὸ δὲ δημοτικὸν οὐχ ἑπόμενον αὐτοῖς ἐχόντων, τῶν δὲ Φαρισαίων τὸ πλῆθος σύμμαχον ἐχόντων. |
| -- Josephus, Antiquities 13.297-298 |
| 64. | Principles & Popularity of Pharisees |
| 12 | Οἵ τε γὰρ Φαρισαῖοι τὴν δίαιταν ἐξευτελίζουσιν οὐδὲν ἐς τὸ μαλακώτερον ἐνδιδόντες, ὧν τε ὁ λόγος* κρίνας παρέδωκεν ἀγαθῶν ἕπονται τῇ ἡγεμονίᾳ περιμάχητον ἡγούμενοι τὴν φυλακὴν ὧν ὑπαγορεύειν ἠθέλησεν. τιμῆς γε τοῖς ἡλικίᾳ προήκουσιν παραχωροῦσιν οὐδ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀντιλέξει τῶν εἰσηγηθέντων ταῦτα οἱ θράσει ἐπαιρόμενοι. |
| 13 | πράσσεσθαί τε εἱμαρμένῃ τὰ πάντα ἀξιοῦντες οὐδὲ τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου τὸ βουλόμενον τῆς ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ὁρμῆς ἀφαιροῦνται δοκῆσαν τῷ θεῷ κρίσιν γενέσθαι καὶ τῷ ἐκείνης βουλευτηρίῳ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῷ ἐθελήσαντι προσχωρεῖν μετ᾽ ἀρετῆς ἢ κακίας. |
| 14 | ἀθάνατόν τε ἰσχὺν ταῖς ψυχαῖς πίστις αὐτοῖς εἶναι καὶ ὑπὸ χθονὸς δικαιώσεις τε καὶ τιμὰς οἷς ἀρετῆς ἢ κακίας ἐπιτήδευσις ἐν τῷ βίῳ γέγονεν, καὶ ταῖς μὲν εἱργμὸν ἀίδιον προτίθεσθαι, ταῖς δὲ ῥᾳστώνην τοῦ ἀναβιοῦν. |
| 15 | καὶ δι᾽ αὐτὰ τοῖς τε δήμοις πιθανώτατοι τυγχάνουσιν καὶ ὁπόσα θεῖα εὐχῶν τε ἔχεται καὶ ἱερῶν ποιήσεως ἐξηγήσει τῇ ἐκείνων τυγχάνουσιν πρασσόμενα. εἰς τοσόνδε ἀρετῆς αὐτοῖς αἱ πόλεις ἐμαρτύρησαν ἐπιτηδεύσει τοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσι κρείσσονος ἔν τε τῇ διαίτῃ τοῦ βίου καὶ λόγοις. |
| --- Josephus, Antiquities 18.12-15 | |
| * | [or "Reason"] |
| 65. | Sadducees differ from Pharisees |
| 164 | Σαδδουκαῖοι δέ, τὸ δεύτερον τάγμα, τὴν μὲν εἱμαρμένην παντάπασιν ἀναιροῦσιν καὶ τὸν θεὸν ἔξω τοῦ δρᾶν τι κακὸν ἢ ἐφορᾶν τίθενται: |
| 165 | φασὶν δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἐκλογῇ τό τε καλὸν καὶ τὸ κακὸν προκεῖσθαι καὶ κατὰ γνώμην ἑκάστου τούτων ἑκατέρῳ προσιέναι. ψυχῆς τε τὴν διαμονὴν καὶ τὰς καθ᾽ ᾄδου τιμωρίας καὶ τιμὰς ἀναιροῦσιν. |
| 166 | καὶ Φαρισαῖοι μὲν φιλάλληλοί τε καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ὁμόνοιαν ἀσκοῦντες, Σαδδουκαίων δὲ καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους τὸ ἦθος ἀγριώτερον αἵ τε ἐπιμιξίαι πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοίους ἀπηνεῖς ὡς πρὸς ἀλλοτρίους. τοιαῦτα μὲν περὶ τῶν ἐν Ἰουδαίοις φιλοσοφούντων εἶχον εἰπεῖν. |
| --- Josephus, Jewish War 2.164-166 |
| 66. | Rabbinic Lament over Sadducean Brutality |
| 21 | Abba Saul ben Betnith and Abba
Jose ben Johanan of Jerusalem* say: -- "Woe to me from the house of Boethus! woe to me from their rods!" -- "Woe to me from the house of Qadros!** woe to me from their pens!" -- "Woe to me from the house of Elhanan!*** woe to me from their house of whispers!" -- "Woe to me from the house of Elisha! woe to me from their pens!" -- "Woe to me from the house of Ishmael ben Phiabi! For they are high priests and their sons, treasurers and their sons-in-law (temple) officers!" "And their servants come and beat us up with staves!" |
| --- Tosefta, Menachoth 13.21 | |
| * | Mistaken attribution. Jose b. Johanan was an early Pharisaic leader [z1 ; ca. 150 BCE] but this lament refers to high priests from the time of Herod into the 1st c. CE. Saul is unknown. |
| ** | Qadros = Kantheros |
| *** | Elchanan = cHanan I [in Greek: Ananus or Annas] |
| 67. | Tradition of the Elders |
| 1 | משה קיבל
תורה מסיני ומסרה
ליהושע ויהושע לזקנים, וזקנים לנביאים .ונביאים מסרוה לאנשי כנסת הגדולה :הם אמרו שלושה דברים --הוו מתונים בדין --והעמידו תלמידים הרבה .ועשו סיג לתורה |
| --- Mishna, Aboth 1.1 |
| 68. | Standards for Disciples |
| 3 | "And raise up many
disciples": The school of Shammai says: --"Do not teach a man unless he is wise and meek and the son of wealthy parents!" The school of Hillel says: --"Teach every man! For there were many sinners in Israel who were led to study Torah, from whom came righteous and pious and worthy men." |
| --- Babylonian Talmud (supplement) Aboth de R. Nathan A 3 |
| 69. | Hillel justifies Oral Tradition |
| 31a | Our rabbis taught: It happened that a certain foreigner came to Shammai and said to him: --"How many Torahs are there for you?" He told him: --"Two! A written Torah and an oral Torah." He said to him: --"I will trust you on the written but I will not trust you on the oral. I will be a proselyte providing you teach me (only) the written Torah." (Shammai) rebuked him and drove him out in anger. (The foreigner) came before Hillel who made him a proselyte. The first day (Hillel) told him: --"Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth [= ABCD]" The next day he turned them around for him. (The disciple) said to (Hillel): --"But yesterday you did not tell me like this!" (Hillel) told him: --"Did you not then trust what I said? Trust me likewise [in this]!" |
| --- Babylonian Talmud, Shabbath 31a |
| 70. | The Yoke of Torah |
| 5 | :רבי
נחוניא בן הקנה אומר כל המקבל עליו עול תורה .מעבירין ממנו על מלכות ועל דרך ארץ וכל הפורק ממנו עול תורה .נותנין עליו על מלכות ועל דרך ארץ |
| --- Mishna, Aboth 3.5 |
| 71. | Deviants from Torah Rejected |
| 12 | :רבי
אלעזר המודעי אומר המחלל את הקדשים והמבזה את המועדות והמלבין פני חברו ברבים והמפר בריתו של אברהם אבינו --והמגלה פנים בתורה שלא כהלכה אף על פי שיש בידו תורה ומעשים טובים אין לו חלק לעולם הבא |
| --- Mishna, Aboth 3.12 |
| 72. | Saying & Doing |
| 7 | (Rabbi
Joshua (ben cHanania)
says: -- "He who repeats [shanah] and does not practice ['amel] is like [mashal] a man who sows and does not harvest. He who learns Torah and forgets is like a woman who bears (a child) and buries (it)." |
| --- Tosefta, Parah 4.7 |
| 73. | Torah & Propagation |
| 7 | (Rabbi
Simeon) ben 'Azzai
says: -- "He who does not engage in reproduction and propagation rises up against scripture and diminishes the Image (of God). For it says: -- 'For in the image of God he made man" (Gen 1:6) and -- 'be fruitful and multiply!' (Gen 1:7)." Rabbi Eleazar (ben 'Atzariah) said to him: -- "Fine words when they come from the mouth of one who does them! A man may interpret well and perform well; ben 'Azzai interprets well, but he does not perform well!" (Rabbi Simeon) ben 'Azzai said to him: -- "What am I to do? My soul thirsts for Torah! And the preservation of the world is in the hands of others!" |
| --- Tosefta, Yebamoth 8.7 |
| 74. | Seven Types of Pharisees |
| 4 | There are seven (types of)
Pharisees [perushim]: -- (a) the superficial Pharisee [sheikmi; lit: "shoulders"]; -- (b) the critical Pharisee [nikphi; lit: "knocking"]; -- (c) the calculating Pharisee [qitzai; lit: "cutting"]; -- (d) the persistent Pharisee [dukai; lit: "pounding"]; -- (e) the Pharisee for whom existence is work; -- (f) the Pharisee concerned with his (own) strengths; and -- (g) the Pharisee from inclination or the Pharisee from fear." |
| --- Babylonian Talmud (supplement), Aboth de R. Nathan 37.4 | |
| [NOTE: This list is found with some variation in the Palestinian Talmud (Berakoth 9.7) and the Babylonian Talmud (Sota 22b). The first six were traditionally considered the "plagues" of the Pharisees, i.e., false followers. Though well-established by tradition, the nicknames were obscure enough in rabbinic circles that Palestinian and Babylonian amoraim had to devise varying explanations. The original meaning of many of the nicknames is beyond proof. The translations presented here at points differ from traditional interpretations.] |
| 75. | False Pharisees |
| King [Alexander]
Jannai said to his wife
[Salome
Alexandra]: -- "Do not be afraid of the Pharisees or the non-Pharisees [i.e., Sadducees] but of the wildcats who mimic the Pharisees. For their deeds are like the deeds of Zimri [cf. Num 25:14]* but they seek the reward of Phineas [Num 25:11]."* |
|
| --- Babylonian Talmud, Sota 22b | |
| * | Zimri: a Simeonite who
had illicit relations with a Moabite woman & submitted to
the rites of Ba'al Peor. His deeds violated Torah.
Phineas: son of Moses' brother, Aaron. By slaying Zimri he ended the slaughter of Israelites. He was rewarded for his zeal for Torah by succeeding his father as high-priest. |
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