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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

IntroIndex©

HASIDEANS, HASIDIM*

Transliterations of a Hebrew word meaning “the pious.” The influence of Greek customs and ways threatened the preservation of Jewish patterns of life in the third and fourth centuries BC. Jews were required to employ the Greek language in their daily lives, and with the language came the influence of Greek culture. This process was quite apparent in Palestine during the second century BC, and the Jewish people responded in two antagonistic ways: one party was friendly to the Greeks; the other party set as their goal strict adherence to the principles of Judaism. The latter group, known as “the pious,” or Hasideans, cherished the ideals of responsible covenant observance (Dt 7:9), and in the Maccabean period became militants in their efforts to worship God according to the Mosaic law. Both the Pharisees and the Essenes may have had early roots in the Hasidim movement.

See also Essenes; Judaism; Pharisees.