Pharisee

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The Pharisees ( Heb . פְּרוּשִׁים perushim , set apart ', lat . Pharisæ | us , - i , ancient Greek Φαρισαῖος pharisaios ) were a theological , philosophical and political school in ancient Judaism . They existed during the time of the Second Jewish Temple and, after its destruction in AD 70, became the only significant surviving Jewish stream as a driving force in rabbinic Judaism . Often they are also referred to as " scribes ". Their spiritual guides were called Chachamim (to singular Chacham , Hebrew חכמים "Sage" ), they were not only experts in the Halacha , ( Hebrew הלכה; derived from the verbהלך halach : "to go", "to walk") the legal part of the tradition of the Jewish faith, but also preacher.

In the New Testament , representatives of the Pharisees are criticized and degraded as hypocrites . In many countries with a Christian tradition, this predicate has been passed on colloquially for the self-righteous or hypocrite , or generally for positions that criticize in a petty way and thereby neglect the context. The background to this polemic is explained in the section “ Pharisees and Christianity ” below.

Overview

From the antihellenistischen Jewish movement of Hasidäer ( "Hasidim" = "Pious"), during the Seleucid ruler . Antiochus IV Epiphanes (. 175 BC -... 164 BC) was created, various Jewish groups emerged. In the first century of our era, the historian Flavius ​​Josephus names the Sadducees , the Essenes and resistance groups ( Zealots , Sicarians ) as (philosophers) schools ( haíresis ) in addition to the Pharisees , similar to Acts 5, 17  EU and 26.5. Linked to this was a political and practical meaning. Later movements were the early Christianity - in Acts 24,5.14  EU and 28,22 also called school - as well as the Therapeutae in Egypt . An alleged sectarianism in Jewish society, especially in the 1st century AD, is contradicted today. EP Sanders emphasizes unifying religious ideas and practices of a “common Judaism”. In addition, common views about the lineage and history, area of ​​residence, language, or laws of the Judean people must be looked at. Also, most of the Jews did not belong to any special group.

During their existence, the Pharisees defined themselves primarily as an opposition to the Sadducees. The Sadducees represented the conservative, priestly-aristocratic upper class , the Pharisees found their supporters in the broad mass of the people. Conflicts existed in the conception of the relationship between rich and poor and the acceptance or rejection of a Hellenization of Jewish society. Religious differences concerned the assessment of the temple, which, according to the Pharisee, was subordinate to the Torah and the prophets .

The position and beliefs of the Pharisees evolved over the course of their existence and can therefore best be understood through their historical development. Written traditions only exist from later times; in particular Hillel the Elder and Shammai from the 1st century AD are known for their comments, including on charity .

historical development

Starting point of pre-rabbinical Judaism

The "Israelite religion" had its center since the establishment of its first temple in Jerusalem . A priesthood performed the temple and sacrificial service, as was customary throughout the Orient. The priesthood was closely intertwined with the monarchy, with the high priest ordaining the king to take office. At the same time, the priesthood received its legitimation and support from the king , who on God's behalf led the Israelites politically. Prophets stood outside of this fixed structure and acted as moral critics of the establishment.

The sacrificial service was the central worship service, it was regulated according to the regulations of the holy scriptures (the later Torah, the Five Books of Moses), which gave a historical reference and codified ethical and cultic regulations.

The ancient Judaism around the first temple ended with the conquest by the Babylonians and the destruction of the temple in the year 586 BC. Many Jews, especially from the upper class, were exiled to Babylon .

Second temple

The Persian great king Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon (539 BC) and freed the Jews from their Babylonian subjugation. He left them the treasury of Babylon and sent them back to their homeland, where they could rebuild their temple (completion around 515 BC). The restoration of the Jewish monarchy was not intended by the Persians , so that the priesthood held the sole leading role. The Sadducees ' party emerged from the religious and political elite, but its status was not undisputed. Other groups followed, including the Pharisees' predecessors, who had their early members in scribes and sages. These developed into the generally recognized experts in questions of the interpretation of the Torah. These sages - later dubbed Rabbi - developed the oral tradition , which from the 3rd century onwards was recorded in writing in the Talmud , consisting of Mishnah and Gemara , as a commentary on the Torah.

The Hellenistic world around 200 BC Chr.

The campaigns of Alexander the Great ended in 332 BC. The Persian rule and ushered in the Hellenistic epoch of Israel . After the collapse of the empire of Alexander, Palestine remained a relatively autonomous province until 198 BC. Initially under the rule of the Ptolemies who ruled from Egypt . Since the beginning of the 2nd century BC it came under the influence of the Seleucids in Babylon. Under their ruler Antiochus IV. Epiphanes , a Hellenization of Judea was initiated with the support of Sadduceic circles. The sacking of the temple associated with the instruction, there to offer Greek gods sacrifice led to the Jewish Maccabees stood under Mattathias and his sons Judas Maccabaeus and Jonathan . The uprising was successful, and Jonathan laid down in 152 BC. The foundation stone for the priestly ruling house of the Hasmoneans , in which the dignity of the high priest and prince of Judea with his brother Simon became hereditary for the Hasmoneans. The Pharisees now developed in opposition to the Sadducees and the power of the Hasmonean dynasty.

The conflict sparked off when the Pharisees demanded that the Hasmonean Alexander Jannai (102–76 BC) had to choose between the office of high priest and that of king. The civil war that followed was swiftly and bloody put down; the king, however, called on his deathbed for a settlement between the two parties. Alexander was followed by his wife, Salome Alexandra (75–67 BC), whose brother, Shimon ben Shetach, was a leading Pharisee. After her death, her older son, John Hyrcanus II , turned to the Pharisees and the younger, Aristobulus II , to the Sadducees for support.

This conflict led again to civil war, which only ended with the conquest of Jerusalem by the Roman general Pompey . This began the Roman period of Israel. Pompey abolished the monarchy, installed Hyrcanus as high priest and gave him the title of "ethnarch"; 57 BC However, he lost all political power to the Roman proconsul in Syria. He appointed two brothers, Phasael over Judea and Herod over Galilee, as military administrators.

In the year 40 BC BC Antigonus , the son of Aristobulus II ', succeeded in removing Hyrcanus and declaring himself high priest and king. Herod fled to Rome, where he was recognized as king. This ended the Hasmonean dynasty. After Herod's death, his sons ruled as tetrarch over Galilee and as ethnarch over Judea (including Samaria and Idumea). In the year 6 AD Judea was added to the Roman province of Syria and thus transformed from a client kingdom to a sub-province. The Judean prefect , an appointed official of Rome, was subordinate to the Syrian procurator and was responsible for external and internal security in the country. He also elected the high priests who had to work closely with the then direct Roman administration.

The Sanhedrin was also established at this time . Its members held the highest Jewish jurisdiction, particularly with regard to religious issues. The composition and scope of the Sanhedrin varied according to Roman politics. During this time Judea and Galilee were tributary, semi-autonomous states . Ananus is the only known high priest from the party of the Sadducees of that time; but it is assumed that the Sanhedrin was dominated by Sadducees; the Pharisees, though more popular, held no political power in their hands.

In 66 AD the conflict between the Jews and the Roman occupiers escalated. According to Josephus, 20,000 Jews perished in Caesarea in religious tensions. The subsequent desecration of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans and the demand for protection money embittered all Jewish factions and led to a nationwide uprising. This was smashed by the Romans and ended after a 6-month siege in September 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. All the people found in Jerusalem were killed by the victors; Josephus estimated the number of victims at over a million people. The last resistance of the Zealots was broken in 73 at the Masada fortress .

This event ended the period of the Second Jewish Temple. As a result of the temple's destruction by the Roman army , the Jewish sacrificial cult , which had been aimed at this central place of worship, came to an end. This ended the function of the high priesthood . The cultic and personal center of the Jewish religion had been smashed. With the dissolution of the Sanhedrin , the possibility of internal Jewish self-government was lost. Through this and through the upgrading of Judaea to an independent Roman province with a permanently stationed legion, the Roman position was significantly strengthened. The ideal complex between Yahweh, temple, priesthood and Torah was broken.

Pharisees and Rabbinical Judaism

The loss of the temple confronted the surviving Jews with the question of reorientation. The temple-oriented Sadducees had largely perished with the destruction of Jerusalem , and the rebellious Zealots were crushed. The Essenes had long since separated themselves and with their doctrine distanced themselves from the main Jewish tendency. Even the Christians, at that time still part or on the fringes of the Jewish faith, offered the majority of Jews no orientation. Thus the Pharisees, who had not previously focused exclusively on the temple in their teaching, were given the task of leading the new beginning.

They taught and discussed the following complexes within the framework of the Jewish religious tradition of the Torah and the Talmud :

  • How does reconciliation with God take place without the temple and its temple offerings and the priesthood?
  • How can the uprising and its effects be understood and interpreted?
  • What should Jewish life look like in the Roman-Hellenistic environment?
  • How can the turning point between the temple past and the diaspora future be understood and interpreted?

Judea was subsequently ruled by a Roman procurator in Caesarea and a Jewish patriarch. The leading Pharisee Jochanan ben Sakkai was appointed the first patriarch . He restored the Sanhedrin under Pharisee control, paving the way for Pharisaic dominance that ushered in the transition to rabbinic Judaism . In the centuries that followed, the Tannaim and Amoraim wrote the Talmud, consisting of the Mishnah and Gemara . Jewish life without the temple shifted to study in the synagogue; Alms to the needy replaced the temple sacrifices.

When the Roman emperor Hadrian wanted to rebuild Jerusalem as a city ​​consecrated to Jupiter in 132 , the uprising broke out again . Simon Bar Kochba was able to establish a Jewish state for a short time with the support of the Sanhedrin. He was then viewed by some Jews as the Messiah . After his defeat in 135, according to records in the Mishnah, the ten leading members of the Sanhedrin were cruelly executed.

Principles and values

The value system of the Pharisees first emerged in contrast to the Sadducees and then developed further through internal discussions. Important questions related to Jewish life without the temple, life in exile and the confrontation with Christianity. This development led to rabbinic Judaism.

In contrast to the other orientations in ancient Judaism, the Pharisees not only committed themselves to the Law of Moses written down in the Tanach , but also obeyed the orally handed down "precepts of the ancestors" of the older teachers of the law. As a justification, they cited that the provisions given in the Torah remained unclear without explanation; the commentaries handed down in parallel and collected around the second century BC and later compiled in the Mishnah are necessary for understanding and correctly executing the regulations.

According to Josephus , the Sadducees believed that man had a free will , the Essenes in a predestination of man, while the Pharisees taught a free will with a foreknowledge of God. The Pharisees differed further from the Sadducees in that they believed in a resurrection of the dead. Josephus' presentation, addressed to a Greco-Roman readership, is probably incomplete and primarily discusses issues that also appeared relevant to Hellenistic philosophy. There are no Pharisaic documents from the Second Temple period; In later times questions of Jewish law ( marriage , Shabbat , purity laws ) were more important than the points mentioned by Josephus. Disputes of this kind shape the internal Jewish discussion to this day. Jewish writings ( Talmud , Mishnah) deal with almost no theological questions at all, but deal with the interpretation of laws.

According to the Mishnah, eternal life is only lost if someone denies the resurrection of the dead, the divine origin of the Torah or the divine destiny of human fate (the latter using the example of the Epicureans ). In order to save a life, every law can also be violated; an exception can be found in tract bSanhedrin 74a, which absolutely forbids idolatry , murder and adultery. Yehuda ha-Nasi , on the other hand, demands that both small and large religious duties be observed equally; implicitly, all laws are viewed as equally important. In contrast to Christianity, the question of the Messiah is of secondary importance.

The Pharisees' achievement was to overcome the temple alignment of Judaism by sanctifying everyday life by observing Jewish regulations. The separation from temple service and priesthood also meant an emphasis on the individual. Social justice, a unity of all people and the expectation of the redemption of the people of Israel and all people became further key points of rabbinic teaching. Halacha (German: “The Way”), a collection of laws derived from the holy scriptures , formed the basis of a life oriented towards these goals . This resulted in a devotion to study and debate as well as application in life.

This orientation of the Pharisees towards daily life is partly interpreted as extreme legalism; However, the Sadducees and Essenes also demanded strict compliance with the law and regulated everyday life. Pharisaic peculiarities included ritual washing before each meal. This comes from the instruction for priests to purify themselves before serving in the temple. The further regulation is based on an expansion of the sacred (here the food). In other situations, however, the Pharisees were less strict (for example, by restricting the Shabbat ban on transporting food).

During the Second Temple period, the Pharisees did not insist that all Jews obey their interpretation of the law. However, every Jewish tendency claimed to represent the truth and spoke out against "mixed marriages". Discussions about the correct interpretation of the law took place between the individual directions. After the destruction of the temple, the division in different directions ended; the rabbis avoided the term Pharisee, which might not have been a self-designation, and thus avoided the impression that they themselves now dominated Judaism. The scholarly discussion of questions of interpretation became an essential part of rabbinic Judaism; it reached its heyday in the 4th and 5th centuries when the two main versions of the Talmud were written in Palestine and Babylon.

The Talmud attests to the internal struggles of the late Pharisees in the schools around Hillel and Shammai . The opinions of these two scholars shaped the debates of the following centuries. The Talmud records Shammai's point of view; however, the Hillels ultimately prevailed.

The Pharisaic doctrine of wisdom can be found in the Mishnah ( Pirke Avot ). A well-known example is a story narrated by Hillel the Elder. When challenged to explain the entirety of Jewish law on one leg, he replied: “Do not do to your neighbor what displeases you. That is the whole law; the rest is comment. Go and study it. "


Pharisees and Christianity

Christ in the House of the Pharisee , by Jacopo Tintoretto , Escorial

In the New Testament the Pharisees appear partly as opponents of Jesus of Nazareth , but above all as his most important discussion partners ( Acts 4,1ff  EU, Acts 5,17ff.  EU , Mk 12,38-39  EU , Lk 20,45-46  EU , Mt 23.1-39  EU ). According to Hyam Maccoby (2007) the historical Jesus was close to the Pharisaic movement or was even part of it.

According to the New Testament, the Pharisees overemphasized observance of the laws of purity, while Jesus gave priority to love of God and neighbor . He criticized the Pharisees, who also saw themselves as a socio-religious elite, fulfilled the exact wording of the law and saw to it that it was strictly adhered to, but ignored the meaning behind the law: “Therefore say I you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not be in the kingdom of heaven. "( Mt 5,20  EU ) Because of this the Pharisees attributed hypocrisy took the word Pharisee in the German language a meaning as a Swear word .

Critics who postulate the emergence of the New Testament after the break between Judaism and Christianity suspect a distorted representation of the Pharisees who had become the dominant Jewish tendency at the time those writings were written. They point out that Jesus took Pharisaic positions of the school of Hillel (charity) or that of Shammai (on divorce). His concept of life after death can also be found among the Pharisees. The address Rabbuni (= master, teacher) also shows Jesus to be in the Pharisaic tradition. According to this, the traditional disputes should be seen more as Talmud-typical discussions of the Jewish culture of debate , which later writers would have understood as deeper conflicts or interpreted as propaganda.

Others see the New Testament portrayal of the Pharisees as a caricature. Jesus' declaration that a healed man is now forgiven of sins follows the Pharisaic conception of that time; a condemnation of Jesus as a blasphemer on the basis of his declaration contradicts the historical picture of the Pharisees. Jesus' healing on the Sabbath , condemned by the Pharisees in the New Testament, does not violate any of the well-known rabbinical regulations (see also the “ Mishneh Torah ” of Maimonides , Shabath 2–3). Likewise, the Pharisees 'rejection of Jesus' message to marginalized groups ( beggars , tax collectors ) seems to be in contradiction to the rabbinical tradition, which also teaches forgiveness for all. A close comparison shows that many of the teachings of Jesus are consistent with those of the Pharisees.

The reason for a negative assessment of the Pharisees may have been the turn of the Christian mission from Jews to non-Jews . A negative portrayal of the Jews - represented by the Pharisees since around the year 70 - was advantageous. Christianity saw itself as the completion of Judaism's expectation of salvation and thus as something new that also clearly distinguished itself from Judaism.

According to the description of the Acts of the Apostles, however, Paul himself was a Pharisee ( Acts 23.6  EU ). Even after he turned to the new way, he emphasized his belonging to the Judean people ( Acts 24 : 14–19  EU ), his loyalty to traditional rites and especially the Pharisaic idea of ​​a resurrection. Conversely, before the separation, Pharisees seem to have had sympathy for the "school of the Nazorae" (Acts 15: 5; 23: 7-9).

See also

literature

  • Wolfgang Beilner : Christ and the Pharisees. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1959
  • Leo Baeck : The Pharisees. 1937.
  • Roland Deines : The Pharisees. Your understanding in the mirror of Christian and Jewish research since Wellhausen and Graetz . Scientific research on the New Testament (WUNT). Vol. 101. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1997, ISBN 3-16-146808-2 .
  • Paula Fredriksen: From Jesus to Christ. Yale University Press, London 1988, 2000, ISBN 0-300-04864-5 .
  • René Gehring: The ancient Jewish religious parties. Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots and therapists. Research publications: Historical Theology, Vol. 2, St.Peter / Hart 2012, ISBN 978-3-900160-86-9 .
  • David Brian Gowler: Host, Guest, Enemy and Friend. Portraits of the Pharisees in Luke and Acts. Emory Studies in Early Christianity. Vol. 2. Lang, NYC 1991, ISBN 0-8204-1329-1 .
  • Pinchas Lapide : Jesus - a crucified Pharisee? Gütersloher TB Siebenstern. Vol. 1427. Gütersloher Verlagshaus Mohn, Gütersloh 1991 (2nd edition), ISBN 3-579-01427-7 .
  • Hyam Maccoby : Jesus and the Jewish struggle for freedom. Ahriman, Freiburg im Breisgau 1996, ISBN 3-89484-501-5 .
  • Hyam Maccoby: The Mythmaker. Paul and the Invention of Christianity. Transl. And ed. by Fritz Erik Hoevels , Ahriman-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89484-605-3 , pp. 31-48.
  • Steve Mason: Flavius ​​Josephus on the Pharisees. A Composition-Critical Study. Studia Post-Biblica. Vol. 39. Brill, Leiden 1991, ISBN 90-04-09181-5 .
  • Jacob Neusner : The Rabbinic Traditions about the Pharisees before 70. Brill, Leiden 1971, Scholars Press, Atlanta 1999, ISBN 0-7885-0574-2 .
  • Anthony J. Saldarini: Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Palestinian Society. A Sociological Approach. M. Glazier, Wilmington Del 1988, 1989, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids Mich 2001, ISBN 0-8028-4358-1 .
  • Günter Stemberger : Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes. Stuttgart Bible Studies. Vol. 144. Verl. Kath. Bibelwerk, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-460-04441-1 .
  • Hans-Günther Waubke: The Pharisees in Protestant Biblical Studies of the 19th Century. Contributions to historical theology. Vol. 107. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1998, ISBN 3-16-146971-2 .
  • Max Weber : The Pharisees. In: Max Weber: Collected essays on the sociology of religion. Volume III, JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck), Tübingen 1921 [reprinted 1988 and more often], 401-442.
  • Hans-Friedrich Weiß: Pharisee ; Judaism ; New Testament. In: Theological Real Encyclopedia . Vol. 26. De Gruyter, Berlin 1996, pp. 473-485, ISBN 3-11-002218-4 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Pharisees  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. Hyam Maccoby : The Mythmaker. Paul and the Invention of Christianity. Transl. And ed. by Fritz Erik Hoevels, Ahriman-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89484-605-3 , p. 34
  2. Hyam Maccoby : The Mythmaker. Paul and the Invention of Christianity. Transl. And ed. by Fritz Erik Hoevels , Ahriman-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89484-605-3 , p. 24
  3. Thomas Söding : Jesus in Judaism in his time. New Testament lecture in the summer semester 2014, Catholic-Theological Faculty Ruhr-Universität Bochum, pp. 21–22 ( [1] )
  4. a b Wolfgang Stegemann : Jesus and his time . Stuttgart 2010, p. 230 ff.
  5. ^ Hubert Frankemölle : Early Judaism and Early Christianity. Prehistory-course-effects (4th century BC to 4th century AD). W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 978-3-17-019528-8 , pp. 269-271
  6. Eugen Gärtner : "Jews and the Environment" of the "Teachings of Judaism According to the Sources" III. Vol of the 1999 facsimile edition of the edition of the Association of German Jews v. 1928/30
  7. Hyam Maccoby : The Mythmaker. Paul and the Invention of Christianity. Transl. And ed. by Fritz Erik Hoevels, Ahriman-Verlag, Freiburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-89484-605-3 , pp. 32, 35