Pharisees

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/pharisees

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the movement designation?A Jewish social movement and school of thought during Second Temple Judaism
2. What is the geographical context?Active in the Levant region
3. What were the Pharisees and why were they called "separated ones"?The Pharisees were a Jewish group during the Second Temple period who were very careful about keeping clean and following the law. Their Hebrew name, Pərūšīm, means "separated ones" because they set themselves apart by keeping a higher level of ritual purity and strict law.
4. How did the Pharisees use the Torah differently from other groups?They studied both the written Torah and an Oral Torah that explained how to apply the laws. This helped them keep the rules useful for everyday life and for changes like Greek and Roman influences.

Second Temple Period: The era of Jewish history from the completion of the Second Temple (c. 516 BCE) to its destruction by the Romans (70 CE).
Oral Torah: The body of Jewish law and tradition transmitted orally and later codified in works like the Mishnah and Talmud, complementing the Written Torah.
Hellenization: The adoption and spread of Greek culture, language, and ideas, particularly after the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Rabbinic Judaism: The dominant form of Judaism today, developed from Pharisaic traditions, emphasizing rabbinic interpretation of scripture and law.