Greek word · G4523

Σαδδουκαῖος

saddoukaios

Sadducee

A member of the Sadducees. The name is probably linked to Zadok, the high-priestly line. They were a priestly and aristocratic party centred on the Jerusalem temple.

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Σαδδουκαῖος, -ου, ὁ

(Heb. צָדוֹק, 2 Samuel 15:24, al.),

a Sadducee (cf. Swete, Mk., 277): Matthew 3:7 16:1, 6 16:11-12 22:23-34 Mark 12:18, Luke 20:27, Acts 4:1 5:17 23:6-8.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 16:6

Range of meaning

A member of the Sadducees. The name is probably linked to Zadok, the high-priestly line. They were a priestly and aristocratic party centred on the Jerusalem temple. They accepted only the written Torah as binding, rejected the Pharisees' traditions, and denied resurrection, angels and spirits, and fate (Josephus, Antiquities 13.297–298; 18.16–17; Acts 23:8).

Against the English

English readers often treat 'Pharisees and Sadducees' as one interchangeable crowd of opponents. Historically the two were rivals with opposite beliefs.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus, Jewish War 2.164–166; Antiquities 18.16–17; Mark 12:18; Acts 4:1; 5:17; 23:6–8. The party disappears from the record after the temple was destroyed in AD 70.

From the study of Acts 23:6

Range of meaning

A member of the Sadducees, a party tied to the priestly aristocracy and the leading high-priestly families of Jerusalem. The name is probably connected with Zadok, Solomon's high priest, though that is not certain. They accepted only the written law as binding, not the Pharisees' ancestral traditions, and they denied resurrection and the continued existence of the soul after death.

Against the English

English readers rarely have any picture of the Sadducees, so the force of Paul's move is lost. They were not just 'another denomination'. They were the ruling priestly class, and the high priest presiding here, Ananias, belonged to it (compare Acts 5:17).

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus: the Sadducees hold that 'souls perish with the bodies' (Ant. 18.16) and they do away with rewards and punishments after death (War 2.165). The Gospels: 'Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection' (Mark 12:18). Acts 23:8: they say there is 'no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit'.

From the study of Acts 4:1

Range of meaning

Members of a Jewish party of the late Second Temple period (roughly the 2nd century BC to AD 70), drawn mainly from priestly and wealthy families. The name is usually linked to Zadok, the high priest of Solomon's day.

Against the English

English simply transliterates the name. That is accurate, but readers often meet the Sadducees as 'the other Pharisees' without knowing what made them different.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus says they denied that the soul survives death and denied rewards and punishments after death (War 2.164–165; Antiquities 18.16). He says they accepted only the written law and not the Pharisees' traditions (Antiquities 13.297), and that their support came from the well-off (Antiquities 13.298). The NT agrees that they deny the resurrection (Luke 20:27; Acts 23:8). Acts 5:17 identifies 'the high priest and all who were with him' as 'the party of the Sadducees.'

Where it appears

Matthew · 7

  1. Matthew 3:7 Σαδδουκαίων Sadducees

    But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

    Here: The priestly and aristocratic party tied to the Jerusalem temple. They rejected the Pharisees' oral traditions and denied a future resurrection.

  2. Matthew 16:1 Σαδδουκαῖοι, Sadducees,

    Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

    Here: The priestly and aristocratic party tied to the Jerusalem temple. They rejected the Pharisees' oral traditions and denied the resurrection (22:23; Acts 23:8). Their presence in Galilee alongside the Pharisees signals that the official leadership as a whole is now lined up against Jesus.

  3. Matthew 16:6 Σαδδουκαίων. Sadducees.

    “Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

    Here: The priestly and aristocratic party linked to the Jerusalem temple. They rejected the Pharisees' oral traditions and denied the resurrection (Matt 22:23). Naming them alongside the Pharisees is striking, because the two were rivals.

  4. Matthew 16:11 Σαδδουκαίων.¶ Sadducees!

    How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

  5. Matthew 16:12 Σαδδουκαίων.¶ Sadducees.

    Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

    Here: The priestly and aristocratic party tied to the Temple leadership. They rejected the Pharisees' oral traditions and denied the resurrection (22:23). Their teaching, together with the Pharisees', is what Jesus warns against.

  6. Matthew 22:23 Σαδδουκαῖοι Sadducees

    That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him.

    Here: A Jewish party tied to the high-priestly families and the temple leadership. There is no "the" in Greek, so this is "Sadducees" or "some Sadducees," a group of them rather than the whole party.

  7. Matthew 22:34 Σαδδουκαίους Sadducees

    And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together.

    Here: The priestly, aristocratic party tied to the temple leadership. They denied the resurrection, and their trick question on that subject had just failed.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 12:18 Σαδδουκαῖοι Sadducees

    Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him:

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 20:27 Σαδδουκαίων, Sadducees,

    Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

Acts · 5

  1. Acts 4:1 Σαδδουκαῖοι, Sadducees,

    While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

    Here: The priestly-aristocratic party linked to the high-priestly families. They denied the resurrection, which explains their anger at preaching about 'the resurrection of the dead' in v. 2.

  2. Acts 5:17 Σαδδουκαίων, Sadducees,

    Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out

    Here: The Sadducees were the aristocratic, priest-linked party that denied the resurrection of the dead. That is exactly what the apostles were preaching, 'in Jesus' (Acts 4:2).

  3. Acts 23:6 Σαδδουκαίων of Sadducees

    Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

    Here: Genitive 'of Sadducees': one bloc belongs to the priestly-aristocratic party that denied resurrection (23:8).

  4. Acts 23:7 Σαδδουκαίων, Sadducees,

    As soon as he had said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

  5. Acts 23:8 Σαδδουκαῖοι Sadducees

    For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.