Religious Authorities Flashcards
The Jewish religious authorities had great power and influence over what?
The everyday lives of the Jews
who was at the head?
The High Priest
- who during the trail of Jesus was called Caiaphas
What did the High Priest preside over?
The Jewish High Council, called the Sanhedrin, which met in Jerusalem
who was part of the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Council)
Those who had been a previous High Priest, tribal elders, senior members of the Priestley families and scribes
what did the Romans allow the Sanhedrin to do?
-exercise wide powers over civil administration + were able to judge criminal and civil cases
what did the Sanhedrin have the right to do?
Pass any sentence permitted under Jewish Law except the death sentence, which required approval of the Roman procurator
What were the Sanhedrin responsible for?
Ensuring the Jewish people obeyed the Law Of Moses and undertook their religious obligations
what three main groups made up the religious authorities?
The Scribes
The Pharisees
The Sadducee’s
what were the scribes experts in Scribes?
Experts in the law of Moses
What was their function?
Preserve and study the Law and teach their pupils about it
- they were lawyers sometimes called ‘teachers of the Law’ and were entrusted with he administration of the Law, often acting as judges in criminal cases
What did the Pharisees control?
Largest group, numbering about 6000
- controlled religious affairs and worked in synagogues
What did the Pharisees make the people do??
Kept the law in exact detail and saw themselves as model Jews
Did the Pharisees keep themselves apart from ordinary Jews?
Yes - made them seem arrogant and legalistic
What were the Sadducee’s
A very small but powerful group
What did the Sadducee’s have?
money -they were wealthy and held seats in the Sanhedrin
what made the Sadducee’s very unpopular?
The fact that they worked peacefully with the Romans
Were the Sadducee’s conservative?
Yes - and rejected ideals such as immortality, Resurrection and the existence of angels and demons
what were the three other notable groups within Judaism?
The Essene’s
The Zealot’s
The Samaritans
About the Essen’s
Were a religious group who believed they were the true people of God and who lives a strict religious life
What did the Essen’s believe they were?
The Sons Of Light awaiting the final battle against forces of darkness
About the Zealot’s
saw themselves as revolutionaries and freedom fighters
- fought to free Israel from the Romans and led many unsuccessful uprisings
About the Samaritans
lived in a region of Samaria
- Jews detested the Samaritans and would not accept them as true Jews because their ancestors had intermarried with the Babylonian invaders centuries earlier
- as a result Samaritans had own temple and worshiped God in their own way
Israel was part of the Roman empire and what were the Romans
Political authorities
because the Romans found it hard to understand the Jewish religion what did they do?
delegated a great deal of local power to the Sanhedrin
