Angelology

The Pharisees also taught the existence of angels and spirits, whereas the Sadducees denied them (Acts 23:8).

The Pharisees actually developed a complex hierarchy of angels and demons. Although Josephus is silent on the subject, the New Testament reveals that the Sadducees differed from the Pharisees, arguing there is neither "angel, nor spirit." (Acts 23:8). Its hard to imagine why the Sadducees denied the existence of angels considering the frequent mention of them in the Books of Moses, which the Sadducees accepted as authoritative.

No doubt the Sadducees accused the Pharisees of adopting their angelology and demonology from Babylonian and Persian sources. In the Apocrypha and Apocalyptic Literature angelology flourished.

In later Jewish tradition, the rabbinic concept of angels apparently remained a mystery and there are still debates on the subject.