The forms of Judaism existing in the first century of the Common Era should be understood in relation to their social, political, and historical context. Judean culture of that day, the cradle of rabbinic Judaism, had been altered from its earlier forms by the political and economic pressures stemming from the Greek, and then the Roman, occupations of Palestine. Hellenization, the adoption of the thought, customs, and styles of the ancient Greeks, impacted every facet of Judean life. As a result, first-century Judaism was by no means a monolithic system.^F1

The "Judaisms" of the period�the Judaism of the Pharisees, the Judaism of the Sadducees, the Judaism of the Essenes, and the like�embodied a great diversity of opinions, convictions, ideas, and beliefs (Crossan 1998:184). Except for a general consensus that there was but one God, as Jews practiced a strict monotheism which separated them from the polytheistic and pantheistic pagan cults of other nations, there was little or no unity or commonality of practice and belief. 

Each faction had its own ethics, politics, solutions for problems, and its own philosophical basis. First-century Jewish society reflected a far greater range of cultural diversity than often recognized (Howlett 1957:171; Bowker 1969:7-8; Johnson 1976:14-15). "In Palestine" writes historian John Bowker "the diversity of Judaism was very great at the time when Jesus was alive and outside Palestine Jewish communities constructed their own interpretation of Judaism" (Bowker 1969:7). While the Hebrew sages of that day did not have the authority to define right and wrong, as that was the function of the law of Moses, they openly did so.

Reflecting on these varied approaches Paul Johnson concludes in his A History of Christianity that: "Quarrels over varied approaches to the law were compounded by rival interpretations of the post-Maccabean situation. Palestine Judaism was not a unitary religion but a collection of sects: it is possible, even from the fragmentary sources, to enumerate as many as twenty-four. All the sects were monotheistic, of course, and all accepted the law in some form. But agreement went no further" (Johnson 1976:14-15). The most well-known subdivisions of first-century Judaism were the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.

These three sects�the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes�formed relatively small minorities. As organized factions these three were able to exert considerable power beyond what their numbers would infer. In this sociocultural context the early apostolic Church emerged as another small Jewish sect.

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^F1The scrolls found at Qumran, supplying information on many Jewish groups during the Second Temple Period, show first-century BCE and CE Judaism to be culturally richer and more varied than formerly realized. Prior to the advent of rabbinic Judaism extensive variation, openness, and tolerance were present in Judaism. The apostle Paul referred to this first-century system as Judaism (Galatians 1:13) although scholars often prefer "Judaisms" to emphasize the period�s diversity. In contemporary scholarly literature the use of either Judaism or Judaisms is common.

Page last edited: 01/26/06 07:12 PM

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