The Keepers of the Temple

A brief look at the Sadducees

Almost everything we know about the Sadducees comes from unfriendly sources. The Roman-Jewish historian Josephus was a Pharisee, a party noted for its anti-Sadducee sentiments. The authors of the New Testament disliked Pharisees and Sadducees equally and held both groups responsible for Christ’s death.

We do not know for certain when the Sadducees and …