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Antigonus
of Sokho (Hebrew: 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, he was
the disciple and successor of Simon the Just (Hebrew:
שמעון הצדיק). His motto 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)[1] Short as this maxim is,
it contains the whole Pharisaic doctrine, which is
very different from what it is usually conceived to
be. Thus the first known Pharisee urges 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, that God's will must be done to obtain His
favor in the shape of physical prosperity, is rejected
by Antigonus, as well as the view, specifically called
"Pharisaic," which makes reward in the afterlife the
motive for human virtue.
Antigonus points out that men's actions should not be
influenced by the lowly sentiment of fear of mortals,
but that there is a divine judgment of which men must
stand in awe. The expression "Heaven" for "God" is the
oldest evidence in postexilic Judaism of the
development of the idea of a transcendental Deity. It
is also a curious fact that Antigonus is the first
noted Jew to have a Greek name. Later legend connects
Antigonus with the origin of the Sadducee sect. The
tale is that Tzadok, the founder of the Sadducees,
misconstrued his teachings (the above motto) to mean
that there is no afterlife, it was then that he and
his partner left the fold. |
