Antigonus of

Sokho Sokho (alternate spellings: Sokhoh, Sochoh, Soco, Sokoh; he, שׂוֹכֹה ,שׂוֹכ֖וֹ ,שֹׂכֹ֖ה) is the name given to two ancient towns in the territorial domain of Judah as mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, west of the Judean hil ...

( he, אנטיגנוס איש סוכו) was the first scholar of whom Pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine. He flourished about the first half of the third century BCE. According to the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

, he was the disciple of

Simon the Just Simeon the Righteous or Simeon the Just ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַדִּיק ''Šīməʿōn haṢadīq'') was a Jewish High Priest (Judaism), High Priest during the Second Temple period. He is also referred to in the Mishnah, where he is des ...

( he, שמעון הצדיק). Antigonus is the first noted Jew to have a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

name, a fact commonly discussed by scholars regarding the extent of Hellenic influence on Judaism following the conquest of Judaea by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

. A street in the Katamonim neighborhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

is named after him.

Sadducees and Boethusians

Traditional Jewish sources connect Antigonus with the origin of the

Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...

and Boethusians. These sources argue that the Sadducee group originated ''in tandem'' with the

Boethusian The Boethusians () were a Jewish sect closely related to, if not a development of, the Sadducees. Origins according to the Talmud The post-Talmudic work '' Avot of Rabbi Natan'' gives the following origin of the schism between the Pharisees and S ...

group during the

Second Temple period The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...

, with their founders, Zadok and Boethus, both being individual students of Antigonus of Sokho.

Surviving quotation

His sole surviving quotation ran: "Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of reward; rather, be like servants who do not serve their master for the sake of reward, and let the awe of Heaven be upon you" (Artscroll translation). It sums up the

Pharisaic The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...

doctrine that good should be done for its own sake, and evil be avoided, without regard to consequences, whether advantageous or detrimental. The conception dominant in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

, that God's will must be done to obtain His favor in the shape of physical prosperity, was rejected by Antigonus' disciple (see below), as well as the view, specifically called "Pharisaic," which makes reward in the

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

the motive for human

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...

. Without denying reward in the afterlife, Antigonus asserts that men's actions should not be influenced by the lowly sentiment of fear of mortals, but that there is a divine kingdom of which men must stand in awe. According to Maimonides, Zadok was a pupil of Antigonus and possibly founder of the Sadducees. Maimonides claims he misconstrued his teachings (the above motto) to mean that there is no afterlife.

Notes

References

Ginzburg, Louis. "Antigonus of Soko."
''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

.'' Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906. {{DEFAULTSORT:Antigonus of Sokho Mishnah rabbis 3rd-century BCE rabbis Pirkei Avot rabbis Zugot

Sadducees and Boethusians

Surviving quotation

See also

Notes

References