Sarah J. Tanzer

The Pharisees and the Temple-State of Judea

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Horsley examines the role of the Pharisees (and scribes) in the unstable history of the temple-state under imperial rule, emphasizing the variation in their role, sometimes acting as mediators and other times as dissidents or resistance leaders. Horsley impressively creates a comprehensive treatment of the historical and sociological context to redress the distortion of the Pharisees by New Testament scholarship and, ultimately, to understand the nature of the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees in the Gospels.”