[Avodah] Tzedukim

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

H/T Mosaic Magazine

See <http://www.bibleodyssey.org/people/related-articles/sadducees.aspx>:

    Bible Odyssey
    Who Were the Sadducees?
    by Michael L. Satlow

    ...
    The Sadducees' origins are uncertain. A few sources link them to the
    Jerusalem priest, with some scholars suggesting that the Greek term
    Sadducee is derived from the Hebrew Zadoq, the name of the high
    priest at the time of King David (1Kings 1:39). Later sources also
    link the Sadducees to the priesthood (for example, Acts 4:1).

    However, the Sadducees first appear in the historical record not
    as priests but as a political group. The Jewish historian Josephus
    mentions them in the context of John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean high
    priest and ruler of Judah from 135-104 B.C.E. (Antiquities 13.10.5-6).
    According to Josephus, a guest at a banquet for the Pharisees accused
    Hyrcanus of being a [mamzer], unfit for the high priesthood. In the
    uproar that ensued, a Sadducee convinced Hyrcanus to abandon the
    Pharisees for the Sadducees.

    Whether true or not, this story might point to the Sadducees'
    origin as a political party allied with the Hasmoneans. Josephus
    tantalizingly mentions that the Sadducees ascribe authority to
    Scripture, not to the ancestral traditions handed down by the
    Pharisees:
    ...

I think it takes a Xian with their "Render of Caesar" that eventually led
to Separation of Church and State to assume that politics vs religion i
a dichotomy.

Also, what kind of news is in that the Chashmonaim were in league with
the Tzeduqim? Regardless of Josephus's story, why wouldn'tthe family
that held the power of both Kohein Gadol and Melekh want to deprecate
any form of Judaism that would make them share power with the rabbinate?

Can the more historically informed please comment if this post is a
non-story (which finding it in Mosaic Magazine led me to doubt) or
what the chiddush is here?

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Today is the 12th day, which is
micha at aishdas.org        1 week and 5 days in/toward the omer.
http://www.aishdas.org   Hod sheb'Gevurah: What aspect of judgment
Fax: (270) 514-1507                  forces the "judge" into submission?