Studies 1 to 2
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INF002
The Pharisees
The Pharisees, who appeared after the Maccabean revolt (165 BC), were an influential religious group of ancient Judaism. Devoted to the written and oral Torah, they believed in the resurrection and remained close to the people. Often in conflict with Jesus in the Gospels, they nevertheless produced figures such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Their teachings founded rabbinic Judaism after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.
Acts 23.6 (King James Version) :But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org -
INF030
The Synod of Jamnia
The Synod of Jamnia (Yavneh), held toward the end of the 1st century AD, marks a major turning point in the history of Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70, the rabbis gathered under the leadership of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai to reorganize Judaism, debate the Hebrew biblical canon and make crucial liturgical decisions, laying the foundations of rabbinic Judaism centered on the Torah, prayer and the synagogue.