The influence of Julius Wellhausen (1844—1918) as Orientalist and biblical historian and critic is legendary. Wellhausen's sweeping knowledge of Eastern languages enabled his exhaustive studies of the history of Israel and of biblical literature. He is famed for his analysis of Old Testament texts, especially for his perceptive synthesis of the work of earlier critics and his development of the Documentary Hypothesis with which his name is synonymous.
In Pharisees and Sadducees Wellhausen turned his attention to Jews at the turn of the era. In this little volume--which he termed an "essay"--Wellhausen provides a firm foundation for understanding Judaism's influential Pharisees and Sadducees and a keen analysis of their importance in the context of the beginnings of Christianity.
This little book is a masterpeice of interpretation and representation, offering insight into inner Jewish history from the first century BCE to the end of the first century CE. Wellhausen's "essay" should be classed among the great works of theological investigation. Even today it retains its significance as a milestone in biblical studies.
Now, as number 4 in the Mercer Library of Biblical Studies, this landmark in biblical studies is available to scholars for the first time in English.
Mercer Library of Biblical Studies
1. Hermann Gunkel, Genesis (1997) 2. Hermann Gunkel, Psalms (1998) 3. Peter Stuhlmacher, Understanding the New Testament (2001) 4. Julius Wellhausen, The Pharisees and the Sadducees (2001)
