It was looked upon
as a revolting anomaly that the king, who was usually in the
field with his army, should once and again assume the sacred mantle
in order to perform the sacrifice on some high festival, and that
his officers, profane persons as they were, should at the same
time be holders of the highest spiritual offices. The danger which
in all this threatened "the idea of Judaism" could not in these
circumstances escape the observation of even the common people; for
this idea was God and the law, not any earthly fatherland. The
masses accordingly ranged themselves with ever-growing unanimity
on the side of the Pharisees (i.e., the party of the scribes) as
against the Sadducees (i.e., the Hasmonaean party). /1/
*****************************************
1. PRW# means "separated," and refers perhaps to the attitude of
isolation taken by the zealots for the law during the interval
between 162 and 105. CDWQY (*SADDOUKAIOS) comes from CDWQ (*SADDOUK,
LXX.) the ancestor of the higher priesthood of Jerusalem (1Kings ii.
35; 1Samuel ii. 35; Ezekiel xliv. 15), and designates the
governing nobility.
Pages:
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159