If I may butt in as a non Jew, the question of Satan is rather interesting is it not? My understanding is the concept of Satan changed radically as reflected in the post exile writings. These writing were informed and written down with a post exile mentality, heavily influenced by Zoroastrian dualism. Jewish belief was forever changed after the captivity and different Jewish groups came back to Israel believing in different things. Those Jews who were more influenced by Persian ideas were called the pharisees, similar to the term farsi, as opposed to the Sadducee's who were more focused on sacrifices, ritual, and more earthly levels of spirituality. Obviously those of a more pharisee influence were the strand more likely to join the christian movement, the Sadducee movement died as did the Essene's. So basically what happened is the Jewish religion split, rabbinic Judaism in one direction and the Jesus movement in another. Both factions informed by the pharisees. Refute it please.
Um...sorry, no.
The name
Pharisaioi (Pharisee) is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew
Perushi, meaning "One Who Seeks Meanings," or "Exegete." It has nothing whatsoever to do with Persia or Persians. Even the Hebrew name for Persia,
paras is spelled differently than the root of the name
Perushi. I cannot stress enough that one cannot try to play guessing games about meaning based on the etymologies of words that one imagines might sound a little similar. Linguistics does not work that way. You actually have to know what the words are, and how they evolved, before you can make arguments like that.
Furthermore, the Pharisee movement began during the Hellenic period, well after the conquest of Persia by Alexander.
Sadducee, on the other hand, translates the Hebrew
Tzedoki, meaning "Righteous Ones," but also playing on their collective claim to be right-line priests from the clan of the High Priest Tzadok, who served as High Priest during the reign of King David. Their interest was in sacrifices and Temple rites because they were largely priests in the Temple. Whereas the Pharisees were men of trades who also studied and made law, acted as judges and scribes, and represented a populist movement in ancient Judaism. The Sadducee movement died out because it was entirely focused on the Temple, which was destroyed in 70 CE. The Essene movements died out for various reasons, probably chief among them being that they prohibited all sexual intercourse, even for reproduction.
While Jewish thought was certainly influenced in various ways by Babylonian (rather than Persian) religions, philosophies, and practices-- subtly, and over a very long period-- none of those ways particularly were relevant to the concept of the
satan. Judaism-- especially Rabbinic Judaism, which is the lineal descendant and outgrowth of Pharisaic Judaism-- has never been dualistic. Dualism, in fact, is noted as a heretical belief numerous times in the Talmud.
As for Jesus, comparatively few Jews followed his disciples after his death: that's why Paul and others like him focused so heavily on proselytizing Christians from among the non-Jews. They just weren't having enough luck with the Jews. While Jesus himself and his original followers were probably largely renegade and heretic Pharisees (with a melange of other additional thought and practices coloring their Pharisaic base), it is doubtful that any sizeable population of Pharisaic Jews drifted to Christianity in the decades following the death of Jesus.
One way we can see that this is true is that in Tannaitic documents (the literature of the Pharisees and their students the Tanna'im-- the Rabbis of 50 CE to 220 CE or so) when heresy is dealt with, and polemics are made, they are chiefly in response to Greek philosophy (the word for heretic in Hebrew continues to be
apikoros, after the name Epicurus), and to a lesser degree in response to Gnosticism. Christianity does not appear as a heretical threat deserving mention and polemical response until Amoraic literature (the writings of the Rabbis of 250 CE to 500 CE or so).
You may wish to do some basic research into Judaism in the Ancient Near East. Maybe start with a basic history of the Jewish People, like the one by H.H. Ben-Sasson.
