Wikipedia's first sentence called it “first scholar of whom pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doct”. Today it says “one of the first scholars of whom jewish tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theolo”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Third century BCE Jewish scholar”. It now reads “Second century BCE Jewish scholar”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2010 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2010
Antigonus of Sokho ( ) was the first scholar of whom Pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine.1He flourished about the first half of the third century BCE.2According to the Mishnah , he was the disciple and successor of Simon the Just ( ).3His motto ran: "Be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of reward; rather, be like servants who do not serve their master for the sake of reward, and let the awe of Heaven be upon you"(Artscroll translation) It sums up the Pharisaic doctrine that good should be done for its own sake, and evil be avoided, without regard to consequences, whether advantageous or detrimental. The conception dominant in the Hebrew Bible , that God's will must be done to obtain His favor in the shape of physical prosperity, was rejected by Antigonus' disciple (see below), as well as the view, specifically called "Pharisaic," which makes reward in the afterlife the motive for human virtue . Without denying reward in the afterlife, Antigonus points out that men's actions should not be influenced by the lowly sentiment of fear of mortals, but that there is a divine judgment of which men must stand in awe. The expression "Heaven" for "God" is the oldest evidence in postexilic Judaism of the existence of the idea of a transcendental Deity.4It is also a curious fact that Antigonus is the first noted Jew to have a Greek name.5Traditional Jewish sources connect Antigonus with the origin of the Sadducee etc. Tzadok, the founder of the Sadducees, misconstrued his teachings (the above motto) to mean that there is no afterlife.6
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 363693761.
The opening as it stood in 2015 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Antigonus of Sokho ( ) was the first scholar of whom Pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine. He flourished about the first half of the third century BCE. According to the Mishnah , he was the disciple and successor of Simon the Just ( ). Antigonus is the first noted Jew to have a Greek name, a fact commonly discussed by scholars regarding the extent of Hellenic influence on Judaism following the conquest of Judaea by Alexander the Great .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 657249856.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Antigonus of Sokho ( ) was the first scholar of whom Pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine. He flourished about the first half of the third century BCE. According to the Mishnah , he was the disciple of Simon the Just ( ). Antigonus is the first noted Jew to have a Greek name, a fact commonly discussed by scholars regarding the extent of Hellenic influence on Judaism following the conquest of Judaea by Alexander the Great .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964654633.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Third century BCE Jewish scholar Antigonus of Sokho ( ) was the first scholar of whom Pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine. He flourished about the first half of the third century BCE. According to the Mishnah , he was the disciple of Simon the Just ( ). Antigonus is the first noted Jew to have a Greek name, a fact commonly discussed by scholars regarding the extent of Hellenic influence on Judaism following the conquest of Judaea by Alexander the Great . A street in the Katamonim neighborhood of Jerusalem is named after him.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177239750.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Second century BCE Jewish scholar Antigonus of Sokho ( Hebrew : אנטיגנוס איש סוכו ) was one of the first scholars of whom Jewish tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine.He flourished in the first decades of the second century BCE.According to the Mishnah , he was the disciple of Simon the Just ( Hebrew : שמעון הצדיק ). Antigonus is the first noted Jew to have a Greek name, a fact commonly discussed by scholars regarding the extent of Hellenic influence on Judaism following the conquest of Judaea by Alexander the Great . A street in the Katamonim neighborhood of Jerusalem is named after him.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1276153445. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “first scholar of whom pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doct”. Today it says “one of the first scholars of whom jewish tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theolo”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Third century BCE Jewish scholar”. It now reads “Second century BCE Jewish scholar”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
first scholar of whom pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doct
Now
one of the first scholars of whom jewish tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theolo
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
