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Showing posts from November, 2013

Who are the “Scribes,” “Sanhedrin,” “Pharisees,” & “Sadducees” in the NT?

One thing has always puzzled me when moving from reading the Old Testament to the New Testament.  There seems to be an abrupt shifting of gears with regard to the political and social settings.  The backdrop of Jesus’ life in the Gospels involves characters like Scribes, Sanhedrin, Pharisees, and Sadducees.  However, these characters are almost completely absent from the landscape of the Old Testament.  So, what has happened?  How did we get all these new faces?  And who are they? From the last events of the Old Testament (as described in Ezra & Nehemiah) and the final prophecy made by Malachi, to the unveiling events of the New Testament, there is about a 400 year gap.  Theologians often call this period “The Four Hundred Silent Years,” because God seemed to be silent, not communicating through his prophets (this era is called the “ Second Temple Era” by the Jews).  But don’t let the absence of a prophet from God make you think that these 400 years were insig