SADDUCEES. The Sadducees were one of the main Jewish political and religious groups (usually termed "sects") of the Second Temple period. By about the reign of John Hyrcanus I (135–104 BCE), they were a recognizable aristocratic group. Most of them were apparently priests or members of the families that had intermarried with the high priestly families. They tended to be moderate Hellenizers whose primary loyalty was to the religion of Israel but whose culture was greatly influenced by Hellenism. The Sadducees derived their name, Greek Saddoukaioi, Hebrew ṣāddūqim, from that of Zadok, the high priest of the Jerusalem Temple in the time of Solomon. In Ezekiel 40–48, the priestly duties were assigned exclusively to this clan. This family of high priests served throughout First and Second Temple times, except when foreign worship was brought into the Temple and when the Hasmoneans took control of the high priesthood. Sources mentioning...