What sect of Judaism was Moses? Did he believe in the afterlife?

Question

Teaching through the Book of Acts, I have talked about the differences between Pharisees and Sadducees regarding their believe in the "afterlife." A student asked which sect of Judaism was Moses? I am unsure whether the two sects existed during Moses' time. Thank you!

Answer 1

Moses lived long before the emergence of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, so the OP question is a bit like asking if Paul was a Catholic or a Protestant. Both sects claimed Moses' mantle.

The Sadducees probably took their name from Zadok, the high priest under King David. However, in historical terms they emerged as a reaction the Maccabean tradition of combining the high priest's office with that of the king - and of not choosing a high priest descended from Zadok. This occurred during the last two centuries before the advent of Jesus. The Jewish Encyclopedia explains that they were:

...The party representing views and practices of the Law and interests of Temple and priesthood directly opposite to those of the Pharisees. The singular form, "Ẓadduḳi" (Greek, Σαδδουκαῖος), is an adjective denoting "an adherent of the Bene Ẓadoḳ," the descendants of Zadok, the high priests who, tracing their pedigree back to Zadok, the chief of the priesthood in the days of David and Solomon.

The Pharisees emerged during the same period. According to the New World Encyclopedia:

The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew ( פרושים) prushim from (פרוש) parush, meaning "separated"—referring to one who is separated for a life of purity. According to Josephus' accounts, the Pharisees emerged in opposition to the corruption of the Hasmonean dynasty of the second century B.C.E.... Although the Hasmoneans were heroes for resisting the Seleucids, their reign lacked the legitimacy conferred by the descent from the Davidic dynasty of the First Temple Era. The hope of a Messiah, son of David, developed during this period in tension with the reality of Hasmonean rule.

On the question of the afterlife, the Sadducees denied the resurrection (Acts 23:8) while the Pharisees affirmed it. However, the concept of Sheol is mentioned several times in the Torah, so the Sadducees, who accepted the Torah, must have believed at least in this, as Moses too must have if he is the author of those scriptures. But Sheol was not a pleasant existence. The concept of the resurrection is first hinted at in the Book of Job and gained popularity in the period between the Exile and the first Christian century.

So Moses belonged to neither of these parties. Both of them claimed to be the true inheritors of Moses' tradition: the Sadducees representing the Law as written in the Torah and the Pharisees teaching God's word as a continuing revelation through the prophets and sages.