Religion:Pharisees question and their impact on jewish life

The first 200 words of this essay...

Explain the religious ideas of the Pharisees and their influence on Jewish life. (25)

At the times of Jesus there were three main Jewish religious groups. These were called the Sadducees, the Pharisee's and the Zealots. These groups were all mentioned in the New Testament. In this essay I am going to explain the religious ideas of the Pharisees and their influence on Jewish life.

The Pharisee's name means the "separate ones". I believe that it means that they would not associate themselves with people whom they believed were to be unclean such as prostitutes and people with leprosy. However, some scholars consider that their name means "the saints". This shows their importance because only people who did very good deeds and followed the laws very well became saints.

The Pharisee's movement began around the second century BCE but their origin is uncertain. Many scholars have asked the question how did the Pharisees survive the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem when the Zealots had died out? The answer is simply that the beliefs of the Pharisees could be adapted into new religious life. After the destruction of the temple, the Jewish race carried on and continued