An account of the Jewish sects at this time.
1 At that time there were three sects among the Jews. One, of the Pharisees, that is, the “separated,” or religious;
2 whose rule it was, to maintain whatever was contained in the law, according to the expositions of their forefathers.
3 The second, that of the Sadducees; and these are followers of a certain man of the doctors, by name Sadoc;
4 whose rule it was, to maintain according to the things found in the text of the law, and of which there is demonstration in the Scripture itself; but not that which is not extant in the text, nor is proved from it.
5 The third sect was that of the Hasdanim, or those who studied the virtues: but the author of this book did not make mention of their rule, nor do we know at except im so far as it is discovered by their name:
6 for they applied themselves to such practices as came near to the more eminent virtues; namely, to select from those two other rules whatever was most safe in belief, most sure and guarded.
7 Hyrcanus at first was one of the Pharisees; afterwards he went over to the Sadducees;
8 because that one of the Pharisees had said to him, it is not lawful for you to be high priest, because your mother was a captive before she bare you, in the days of Antiochus; but it becometh not that the son of a captive should be high priest.
9 And this conversation took place in the presence of the chief men of the Pharisees; which was the cause of his going over to the rule of the Sadducees. .
10 Now the Sadducees were at enmity with the Pharisees; wherefore they kept up differences betwixt one another, and they prevailed on him so far, as to slay great numbers of the Pharisees.
11 And the trouble came to such a height, that wars and many evils continued among them for a great length of time.