BibleDig 360: Pharisees & Essenes

This BibleDig 360 shows you the panorama of resources available on BibleDig to help you explore two important Jewish sects that were active during the time of Christ -- the Pharisees and the Essenes.

Who are these groups? What did they believe? How did they impact the content of Jesus' teaching on taxes -- and the content of the New Testament? Does how Christians respond to culture today reflect Jesus' view or the view of one of these sects?

The bottom line in this study, or any other study for that matter, is application. In the final post, we look at how He responds to the question of paying taxes to Caesar in Matthew 22:15-22. What can we learn from the worldviews of these two Jewish religious groups and Jesus' response to them?

Each post is a stand alone strand of information on the topic. But, each post also integrates with the others and are designed to be read from first to last. Have fun...and happy digging!

Intro

Making Cents of Jesus: The tax question and two groups you need to meet

The Rise of the Pharisees and Essenes

Two H's You Need to Know

How to Handle a Hostile Culture

In or out? The question that splits the Hasidaeans

The Essenes' Answer: Isolation

The Essenes & the Teacher of Righteousness

The Pharisees' Answer: Separation

Application

Making Cents of Jesus: The Things That Are God's

Resources for Digging Deeper

These are the resources referenced in the posts:

Barnett, P., Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times. 1999, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity. (This one is an especially good introduction to NT history that is very readable)

Conzelmann, H. and A. Lindemann, Interpreting the New Testament : An Introduction to the Principles and Methods of N.T. Exegesis. 1988, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers.

Coogan, M.D., The New Oxford annotated apocrypha. Augmented 3rd ed. 2007, Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.

Guthrie, D., New Testament Introduction. 3rd ed. 1970, Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press.

Schäfer, P., The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman world. Rev. ed with corr. ed. 2003, London ; New York: Routledge.

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