A sect known from the writings of Josephus Flavius, the Talmud, and the New Testament to have existed in Eretz Israel at the time of the Second Temple. Its precise character is not entirely clear. It appears that the Sadducees rejected anything not written openly in the books of the Bible. Thus the sect did not accept the entire body of rabbinic teaching known as the Oral Law. Included in this general rejection was the rejection of the belief in an afterlife and in the resurrection of the dead, neither of which is mentioned directly in the Bible. The sect had its own compendium of laws called the Sefer Gezerata, which served as a guide for ruling in cases of capital offenses and was apparently quite harsh. The Sadducees seem to have been allied with the prominent and wealthy classes of Jerusalem and had close ties with the foreign rulers of Judea. They looked with favor upon Greek culture, and the leading Hellenists seem to have come from the ranks of the Sadducees. The sect was quite unpopular among the rank-and-file of the Jewish people.
Regarding the group's name (Tzedukim in Hebrew), scholars believe it to be related to the House of Zadok (the dynasty of high priests) whose descendants seem to have been among the founders of the Sadducees. According to another tradition of the Talmud, the sect was founded by one Zadok, a student who rebelled against his teacher, Antigonos of Sokho, and his teachings. According to the same tradition, another student of Antigonos named Boethus was also among the founders. The same Boethus is associated with a similar sect that bears his name (Boethusians or in Hebrew, Baitusim).
The schism between Sadducees and Pharisees had a significant impact upon the events of the period. The conflict reached its peak during the reign of the Hasmonean Alexander Yannai, who subscribed to the Sadducee point of view and declared it to be the official state religion. His wife and successor, Salome Alexandra, subsequently showed favor to the Pharisees. Nevertheless, the conflict between the two streams, which was primarily a struggle for control of the Sanhedrin, the nation's chief judicial and legislative body, continued throughout the Second Temple period. Herod (the Great) feared the power of the Sadducees and conducted a bloody purge in which many were put to death. As a result, many more fled the country. The destruction of the Second Temple ended the existence of all contemporary sects and factions, with the exception of the Pharisees. After the destruction, both temporal and spiritual leadership became the exclusive province of the Pharisees.
