In this episode of our series on the Qumran Zadokite Priesthood, Zadokite authority, and their festival calendar system—Chapter 15—we will explain the driving force behind Pharisaic/Rabbinic/Talmudic judgments, teachings, customs, traditions, and laws. We'll take a deep dive into Pharisaic Oral Law and study its impact on all of Judaism for well over twenty centuries. Our study will take us into the Rambam's Introduction to the Mishnah and also show how Rabbinic and Talmudic Judaism understands Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (the Torah is not in Heaven) and Exodus 23:2 (Incline after the majority). These concepts began long before the arrival of Yeshua and continue in Judaism to this day. In the time of Yeshua, John the Baptist, and the Qumran Zadokites, these issues were huge theological problems. The calendar disputes of the New Testament timeframe are among the issues that Yeshua opposed publicly in his day.

Chapter 16 summarizes the Zadokite lineage and explains why it is important to understand who the Zadokites were, where they came from, and how they shaped the spiritual leadership of Judah's late Second Temple period. Chapter 17 in this series explains the public ministry of Yochanan the Immerser, or John the Baptist, based on the biblical prophecy of Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 4 (Hebrew: chapter 3) and the coming of Elijah. Within this context, we will come to understand some unique Qumran (Zadokite) terminology that was regularly used in the sayings of Yeshua and by Sha'ul or Paul the Apostle in his writings.