Extremist fighters for the Jewish people, their Torah, and their faith. Phinehas, son of Eleazar, who killed Zimri who was guilty of an outrageous act of immorality (Num. 25:6–15) is considered the father of the Zealots.
There appear to have been sects of Zealots during the Second Temple period who followed their own laws rather than those of the courts. The Mishnah says, "The thief stealing from the Temple, or one casting spells or who lies with Aramean women will be attacked by the zealots" (Sanh. 9:6). From this came the belief that the Zealots could take the law into their own hands without legal process or investigation.
The Zealots are remembered chiefly as determined warriors for freedom in the first century CE, people who saw war against Rome and her decrees as a religious duty. In contrast with those who sought to avoid war with Rome in the belief that "all was in the hands of the Almighty except for the fear of God," the Zealots held that war was itself a way of "worshipping the Almighty" and devoted themselves to this cause with resolution. Judah the Galilean and Zadok the Pharisee founded a Zealot group after the death of Herod. Judah was the son of Hezekiah, who fought to free Judea from Roman rule at the end of the Hasmonean era. The Zealots had no centralized leadership, although Judah and his sons had a leading role. In time, the Sicarii emerged from the Zealots as an even more extreme group, distinguished by their war of terror against Jews who were reconciled to Roman rule.
It is probable that the Zealot influence was prevalent in the Bar Kokhba revolt against Rome (132–135 CE). The attitude of histo-rians toward the Zealots has been ambiguous from the beginning. Josephus Flavius was a stern critic of the Zealots, while rabbinic opinion in the Talmud was critical, actually blaming the Zealots for some of the tragic events leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. On the other hand, they attached praise for the Zealots' great fortitude and uncompromising loyalty to the Jewish faith.
