Verse on Paul's brothers

A while back I posted on who were the Sadducees and Pharisees in Jesus' time. I determined from OT Scriptures and 'The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia' that Esau's descendents became Sadducees and Jacob's descendents became Pharisees.

Just recently I came across a verse that confirms the above. Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin (Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5), a descendent of Jacob and a Pharisee. Acts 23:6 states the Sadducees (Esau) were his brothers: "Then Paul, knowing that some (a few) of them were Sadducees and the other
(mostly) Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, 'My brothers , I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, I....'" NIV

This seems to be the only NT verse identifying Esau/Sadducees as the brother of Paul - this is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Esau is the offspring of the serpent the devil (Gen. 3:14-15).

 

DHK

My understanding of the Sadducees and Pharisees is not the results of allegorizing Scripture, it comes from associating the character of the people of both groups with Biblical and secular records.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia under the heading "Sadducees" comments on the character of these two groups:

Sadducees were aristocrats who derived their power from their class and collaborated with the Roman occupiers to gain domination over others. They were described as "heartless" or "savage," characterized by crudity, coarseness, loudness. quarrelsome, vulgarity, and violence. They denied the resurrection of the body and rejected belief in angels and spirits and emphasized the freedom of the human will over the doctrine of election. They were preoccupied with power and materialism.

Pharisees derived their power from learning and knowledge of the Scriptures. They were depicted as refined, urbane, harmonious, and affectionate, amiable and believed in the resurrection of the body. For most of their history, Pharisees defined themselves in opposition to the Sadducees, they had a different temperament, reputation and essence.

From the OT I learned that Esau was confrontational (Gen. 25:22); enjoyed killing animals (V. 27); had an aggressive spirit of violence (27:40); rebellious (26: 24-35, 28:8-9) and exhibited hostility and animosity towards his brother and others (27:41-45).

Jacob was quiet, reserved, content and easy going (Gen. 25:27).

I've searched books and the Web without finding any articles on the above comparison, most likely I'm the originator of it.

I suggest you read prophecies on Edom (Eze. 35:1-15; 36:1-7; Obadiah).

I recommend you investigate web sites on the Jacob and Esau relationship, most of them say the Anglo Saxons are the chosen 10 lost tribes of Israel and the Jews are not, but just ignore this stupid idea

You might try this sight, 5 pages long.


www.israelect.com/reference/Willie-Martin/RitualMurder3.html

 

Is Esau and his descendents the "offspring" of the Devil?

Herod, an Edomite, attempted to kill infant Jesus.

The Edomite Judas betrayed Jesus.

Caiaphas the high priest was an Edomite.

The priests and temple guards were Edomites.

Sadducees, Pharisees and Gentiles were conspirators in the arrest of Jesus. The chief priests and temple guards arrested him while he was with his disciples on the Mount of Olives. They brought Jesus to Roman headquarters and handed him "over" to Pilate for trial (Jn. 7:32; Mt. 27:18).

The priests remained outside the Praetorium during the interrogation and scourging by Roman soldiers and temple guards. The priests would not of entered the Gentile building where "leaven might be used on this day of preparation for Passover. Such conduct would not only render them ceremonially unclean and thereby debar them from partaking of the afternoon feast of thanksgiving but would also necessitate their subjection to purification ceremonies after sundown."

After the scourging and mocking by a "company of soldiers" (Mt. 27:27-31), Jesus was taken outside by the soldiers and guards and handed "over" to the chief priests (V. 26). Pilate, by surrendering Jesus to the will of the chief priests, shifted responsibility for his death to them (Mt. 27:24-26; Mk. 15:15; Lk. 23:25).

The priests and temple guards "brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha" where a "centurion" and Roman soldiers were waiting to carry out the crucifixions (Mk. 15:22-28,39).

The chief priests were pivotal in the death of Jesus, they controlled every aspect of it from his arrest to his crucifixion. They were Edomites, the descendents of Esau who took Hittite and Canaanit women in marriage and consequently became excluded forever from "the assembly of the Lord" (Deu. 23:2).

Sadducees/Edomites are the offspring and head of the serpent who struck Christ's heel on the cross, only to be crushed in Christ's victory over Satan (Gen. 3:14-15) - a victory in which all believers will share (Rom. 16:20).

 

Two items I overlooked and not in the above post:

The chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus (Jn 12:10).

Pilate told the chief priests to crucify Jesus (Jn 19:6).

 

Jacob was manipulative and scheming; do you suppose that trait continues today in his descendents or did his encounter with God (Gen. 32:22-30) change him as indicated by his generosity torwards Esau when he returned home (33:1-15). Regardless of Jacob's faults or the inherent character of his descendents God continues to bless Jacob (27:28; 30:25-43).

"Originality in theology" - I like this phrase, never would of thought of it until now. In fact my analysis of Sadducees as Edomites is drop in the bucket compared to my other theological perceptions. Actually its not original, I found a few web sights afterward that share the same conviction.