Acts 23:8

8 The Sadducees say that people will not rise from the dead. They don't believe there are angels or spirits either. But the Pharisees believe all these things.

Acts 23:8 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 23:8

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection
Of the dead, being ignorant of the Scriptures, and the power of God; see ( Matthew 22:23 Matthew 22:29 ) .

neither angel nor spirit;
the Ethiopic version reads, "nor Holy Spirit": but the sense seems to be, that they did not believe any such species of beings as angels, nor indeed any spirits whatever, which were immaterial or immortal; for as for the spirit or soul of man, they took that to be only the temperament of the body, and that it died with it, and did not exist in any separate state after this life: for so Josephus ^F24 says, that they deny the permanence of the soul, and rewards and punishments in the invisible state. And, according to the Talmudic ^F25 writers, they denied that there was any other world than this:

but the Pharisees confess both;
the resurrection of the dead, and that there are spirits, both angels and the souls of men, which are immortal. Josephus, in the place before referred to, says, that they hold that every soul is incorruptible or immortal; and that they held the resurrection of the dead, is manifest from the Talmud ^F26, and other writings of theirs; the Syriac version renders it, "the Pharisees confess all these things"; to which agree the Arabic and Ethiopic versions.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 10. sect. 19.
F25 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 54. 1. & Gloss. in ib. & Pirke Abot R. Nathan, c. 5.
F26 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 90. 2.

Acts 23:8 In-Context

6 Paul knew that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees. So he called out in the Sanhedrin. "My brothers," he said, "I am a Pharisee. I am the son of a Pharisee. I believe that people will rise from the dead. That's why I am on trial."

7 When he said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees started to argue. They began to take sides.

8 The Sadducees say that people will not rise from the dead. They don't believe there are angels or spirits either. But the Pharisees believe all these things.

9 People were causing trouble and making a lot of noise. Some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up. They argued strongly. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

10 The arguing got out of hand. The commanding officer was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by those who were arguing. So he ordered the soldiers to go down and take him away from them by force. They were supposed to bring him into the fort.