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Pharisees and Priesthood in Second Temple Judaism

During the Second Temple period (c. 516 BCE – 70 CE), the Jewish religious landscape was characterized by various groups, among them the Pharisees, who emerged as a significant religious party or school [1]. While the priesthood, particularly the high priesthood, held a central role in the Temple cult and sacrificial system, the Pharisees' relationship with this institution was complex and often distinct.

The priesthood was an inherited office, tracing its lineage back to Aaron, and priests were responsible for Temple service, including offering sacrifices [6, 9]. The return from Babylonian exile saw the re-establishment of the priesthood, with figures like Jeshua and his son Joiakim leading the priestly families [2]. The book of Ezra lists categories of lineage, including priests, Levites, and Israelites, indicating the structured nature of post-exilic Jewish society [4, 8]. Priests and Levites were organized into courses for their service in the Temple [9]. There was also a "second priest" (sagan) who could deputize for the high priest in case of infirmity [5].

The Pharisees, whose name derives from the Aramaic perishin meaning "separated," were known for their emphasis on the meticulous observance of the Mosaic Law, including oral traditions, and their commitment to applying priestly purity laws to everyday life for all Jews, not just the priests [1]. This focus on widespread adherence to the Law often brought them into contact, and sometimes conflict, with the priestly establishment, particularly the Sadducees, who were often associated with the Temple aristocracy and rejected the oral law [1].

While the Pharisees were not themselves primarily a priestly group, some priests may have aligned with Pharisaic views. However, their influence stemmed from their popular appeal and their expertise in interpreting the Law, rather than from direct control over the Temple cult. The Gospels frequently depict Jesus in debates with the Pharisees, often concerning their interpretation of the Law and their elevation of regulations, sometimes at the expense of human needs [7]. This suggests a developing tension between Jesus's teachings and the Pharisaic approach to Judaism [7].

The historical context of the Second Temple period saw various shifts in power and influence. The rebuilding of the Temple after the exile, as described in Ezra, was a moment of both joy and sorrow, with many older priests and Levites weeping at the sight of the new, less grand foundation compared to Solomon's Temple [3]. Despite the challenges, the Jewish people, including priests and Levites, resettled in their cities, indicating the re-establishment of communal life [11].

The role of the Levites, while distinct from the priests, was also crucial. They assisted the priests in Temple duties, and in certain circumstances, such as when priests were too few, Levites would help with tasks like flaying sacrificial animals, though some duties, like flaying burnt offerings, were typically reserved for priests alone [10]. This division of labor highlights the hierarchical structure within the Temple service.

The relationship between the Pharisees and the priesthood was not one of direct opposition to the Temple itself, but rather a difference in emphasis regarding religious authority and practice. The priests maintained their hereditary role in the sacrificial cult, while the Pharisees championed a broader application of holiness and legal observance throughout Jewish life, laying groundwork for later Rabbinic Judaism after the destruction of the Second Temple.

Sources

  1. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Pharisees — a religious party or school among the Jews at the time of Christ, so called from perishin, the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word perushim, "separated." The chief sects among the Jews were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes, who may be described respectively as the Formalists, the Freethinkers and the Puritans. A knowledge of the opinions and practices of the Pharisees at the time of Christ is of great importance for entering deeply into the genius of the Christian religion. A cursory perusal of the Gospels is sufficient to show that Christ's teachi”
  2. Nehemiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Nehemiah 12:12: And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers,.... This was the son and successor of Jeshua, or Joshua, the first high priest of the second temple; the principal men of the priesthood in his time were as follow, and who were the sons, or however the descendants of the priests in the time of his father before mentioned: these were Meraiah, Hananiah, Meshullam, Jehohanan, Jonathan, Joseph, Adna, Helkai, Zechariah, (the prophet of that name,) Meshullam, Zichri, Piltai, Shammua, Jehonathan, Mattenai, Uzzi, Kallai, Eber, Hashabiah, Nethaneel; in all ”
  3. Ezra (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ezra 3:12: But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers . . . wept with a loud voice--Those painful emotions were excited by the sad contrast between the prosperous circumstances in which the foundations of the first temple had been laid and the desolate, reduced state of the country and city when the second was begun; between the inferior size and less costliness of the stones used in the foundations of the second (Kg1 7:9-10), and the much smaller extent of the foundation itself, including all the appurtenances of the building (Hag 2:3); between t”
  4. Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 165a.137:12: MISHNA: There were ten categories of lineage, with varying restrictions on marriage, among the Jews who ascended from Babylonia to Eretz Yisrael with Ezra before the building of the Second Temple. They are as follows: Priests; Levites; Israelites; priests disqualified due to flawed lineage [ ḥalalim ]; converts, and emancipated slaves; mamzerim ; Gibeonites, i.e., the descendants of the Gibeonites who converted in the time of Joshua; children of unknown paternity [ shetuki ]; and foundlings.”
  5. 2 Kings (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on 2 Kings 25:18: Seraiah the chief priest - Zephaniah - The person who is here called the second priest was what the Jews call sagan, a sort of deputy, who performed the functions of the high priest when he was prevented by any infirmity from attending the temple service. See on Kg2 23:4 (note).”
  6. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 5.--OF THOSE THINGS WHICH A MAN OF GOD SPAKE BY THE SPIRIT TO ELI THE PRIEST, SIGNIFYING THAT THE PRIESTHOOD WHICH HAD BEEN APPOINTED ACCORDING TO AARON WAS TO BE TAKEN AWAY. (part 2): ancient priesthood is foretold with so great plainness, was fulfilled in Samuel; for although Samuel was not of another tribe than that which had been appointed by God to serve at the altar, yet he was not of the sons of Aaron, whose offspring 344 was set apart that the priests might be taken out of it. And thus by that transaction also the same ch”
  7. Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 12:9: 12:9-14 This second Sabbath controversy castigates the Pharisees for elevating regulations over human needs (see 12:7, 11-12). 12:9 their synagogue: A disunion was developing between Jesus and Judaism (also 4:23).”
  8. Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 69a.12: MISHNA: There were ten categories of lineage, with varying restrictions on marriage, among the Jews who ascended from Babylonia to Eretz Yisrael with Ezra before the building of the Second Temple. They are as follows: Priests; Levites; Israelites; priests disqualified due to flawed lineage [ ḥalalim ]; converts, and emancipated slaves; mamzerim ; Gibeonites, i.e., the descendants of the Gibeonites who converted in the time of Joshua; children of unknown paternity [ shetuki ]; and foundlings.”
  9. 2 Chronicles (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Chronicles 31:2: And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests, and the Levites after their courses,.... As they were fixed by David, and were in the times of Jehoshaphat, and had been since interrupted, and which Hezekiah now restored, and placed them in their regular order: every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings, and for peace offerings, to minister and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the Lord; or camp of the Lord, where they were posted, and lay as an host encamped, to keep the watch of the house of the”
  10. 2 Chronicles (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Chronicles 29:34: the priests were too few, . . . wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them--The skins of beasts intended as peace offerings might be taken off by the officers, because, in such cases, the carcass was not wholly laid upon the altar; but animals meant for burnt offerings which were wholly consumed by fire could be flayed by the priests alone, not even the Levites being allowed to touch them, except in cases of unavoidable necessity (Ch2 35:11). The duty being assigned by the law to the priests (Lev 1:6), was construed by consuetudinary pra”
  11. Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 28a.18: Abaye said to Rav Yosef: But isn’t it written: “So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Gibeonites, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities” (Ezra 2:70). The verse indicates that despite their limited numbers, the Jewish people dwelt in all the cities that they inhabited previously, and the distance to the far reaches of Eretz Yisrael was no shorter during the Second Temple period.”
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