Editing Pharisees (section)

===From {{c.|600 BC|160&nbsp;BC}}===
The [[Babylonian captivity|deportation and exile]] of an unknown number of Jews of the [[Kingdom of Judah]] to [[Babylon]] by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]]—starting with the [[Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)|first deportation in 597&nbsp;BC]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford History of the Biblical World |editor-first=Michael D. |editor-last=Coogan |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1999 |page=350}}</ref> and continuing after the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BCE)|fall of Jerusalem]] and destruction of [[Solomon's Temple|the Temple]] in 587&nbsp;BC<ref>{{Bible verse||Jeremiah|52:28–30|HE}}</ref>—resulted in dramatic changes to Jewish culture and religion.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} During the 70-year exile in Babylon, Jewish houses of assembly (known in Hebrew as a {{transliteration|he|beit knesset}}, or in Greek as a ''[[synagogue]]'') and houses of prayer (Hebrew {{transliteration|he|Beit Tefilah}}; Greek {{lang|grc|προσευχαί}}, {{transliteration|grc|proseuchai}}) were the primary meeting places for prayer, and the house of study ({{transliteration|he|[[Beth midrash|beit midrash]]}}) was the counterpart for the synagogue.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In 539&nbsp;BC, the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] conquered Babylon, and in 537&nbsp;BC, [[Cyrus the Great]] allowed Jews to return to [[Judea]] and rebuild the Temple. He did not, however, allow the restoration of [[Kings of Judah|the Judean monarchy]], which left the [[Kohanim|Judean priests]] as the dominant authority. Without the constraining power of the monarchy, the authority of the Temple in civic life was amplified. It was around this time that the Sadducee party emerged as the party of priests and allied elites. However, the [[Second Temple]], which was completed in 515&nbsp;BC, had been constructed under the auspices of a foreign power, and there were lingering questions about its legitimacy.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} This provided the condition for the development of various sects or "schools of thought," each of which claimed exclusive authority to represent "Judaism," and which typically shunned social intercourse, especially marriage, with members of other sects. 

The Temple was no longer the only institution for Jewish religious life. After the building of the Second Temple in the time of [[Ezra]], the houses of study and worship remained important secondary institutions in Jewish life. Outside Judea, the synagogue was often called a house of prayer. While most Jews could not regularly attend the Temple service, they could meet at the synagogue for morning, afternoon, and evening prayers. On Mondays, Thursdays, and [[Shabbat]], a weekly Torah portion was read publicly in the synagogues, following the tradition of public Torah readings instituted by Ezra.<ref>See {{bibleverse||Nehemiah|8:1–18|HE}}</ref> Although priests controlled the rituals of the Temple, the [[scribes]] and sages, later called ''[[rabbi]]s'' (Hebrew for "Teacher/master"), dominated the study of the Torah. These men maintained an [[Oral Torah|oral tradition]] that they believed had originated at [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]] alongside the Torah of Moses; a God-given interpretation of the [[Torah]].{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The [[Hellenistic period]] of Jewish history began when [[Alexander the Great]] conquered Persia in 332&nbsp;BC. The rift between the priests and the sages developed during this time, when Jews faced new political and cultural struggles. This created a sort of schism in the Jewish community.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} After Alexander's death in 323&nbsp;BC, Judea was ruled by the Egyptian-Hellenic [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemies]] until 198&nbsp;BC, when the Syrian-Hellenic [[Seleucid Empire]], under [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus III]], seized control. In 167&nbsp;BC, the Seleucid King [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes|Antiochus IV]] invaded Judea, entered the Temple, and stripped it of money and ceremonial objects. He imposed a program of forced [[Hellenization]], requiring Jews to abandon their own laws and customs, thus precipitating the [[Maccabean Revolt]]. Jerusalem was liberated in 165&nbsp;BC, and the Temple was restored. In 141&nbsp;BC, an assembly of priests and others affirmed [[Simon Maccabeus]] as high priest and leader, in effect establishing the [[Hasmonean dynasty]].