ABSTRACT
The study of Judaism in late antiquity comprehends a considerable part of early Christian experience, simply because for a long time in Palestine, as well as in much of the diaspora, the Christian was another kind of Jew and saw himself as such. Moreover, the Christians, whether originally Jewish or otherwise, took over the antecedent holy books and much of the ritual life of Judaism. In this chapter, the authors examine four responses to the challenges of the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Temple, and the cessation of the cult. The four responses are of, first, the apocalyptic writers represented in the visions of Baruch and II Ezra; second, the Dead Sea community; third, the Christian church; and finally, the Pharisaic sect. The founders of the community were Temple priests, who saw themselves as continuators of the true priestly line, that is, the sons of Zaddok.
