The NIV Study Bible entry on the Intertestimental Period helped me formulate the table below.
| Party Name | Sadducees | Pharisees | Essenes |
| Centered In | Temple | Synagogue | Wilderness |
| Writing Focus | Torah Only | “Law” | Dead Sea Scrolls |
| Power Base | Greek Gov’t. | Common People | Outcasts |
| Mindset | Nation/State | Diaspora | Separate |
| Description | Ruling Class, including the High Priest, corruptly dependent on Greek Rule, and jealous of Christ’s popularity | Became the Rabbis. Built a “wall” around the Law to protect the people in Diaspora state. Some integration with the world | Called out of the world, little formal influence, might have included John the Baptist and Lehi, and the Savior |
| Likening to Today | High Priest like today’s Prophet or locally like the temple president, yet dependent upon government authority for position | The diaspora mindset makes them like the Stakes of the current church, scattered, and having to integrate with gentiles in some ways simply to survive and to spread the truth | Rejecting the temple as corrupt, and the integration with society as polluting, they separate themselves and attempt to work completely out of the system frameworks, like some apostate groups today |
Kip on Character 