Sadducee

The Sadducees were a Jewish group associated with the Jerusalem temple, priestly leadership, and elite social circles. Their authority was rooted in temple service and the written Torah, which they treated as the primary source of religious obligation. Ancient sources indicate that they rejected interpretive traditions developed outside the temple and did not accept beliefs such as resurrection of the dead or angels in the same way other groups did. Sadducees appear mainly in contrast to movements focused on teaching and interpretation beyond the temple. After the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, the social foundation of the Sadducees collapsed, and the group did not survive as a continuing tradition.