The Jewish scribes

Answer 1

A sofer

* A scribe is a person who writes or copies documents by hand.

Jewish scribes made copies of the Torah (books of Moses) or they did jobs like those which would be done by lawyers/financiers/judges these days

Answer 2

The Scribes in ancient Judea were a profession, they were scholars learned in the Law. They lectured on the Law, taught it in schools, and debated the subject in public forums. They were often part of the group called Pharisees, sometimes Sadducees.

Answer:

There are at least four answers to the Question, with some overlap (and "Sadducees" are among none of them).

1) In the time of the Kings and Prophets (First-Temple era), there were scribes who wrote what was dictated to them (example: Jeremiah 36:26); what we might call a dedicated secretary. These are sometimes called mazkir (2 Samuel 8:16) instead of the more-familiar Sofer.

2) The Torah-sages, who in later generations were collectively referred to by other titles (Tannaim, Amoraim, Gaonim), were in the early years of the Second Temple sometimes called the Soferim (scribes), though writing was just a small part of their Torah-activity.

3) In a few instances this title is used for the Torah-sages in other generations as well (1 Chronicles ch.2; Mishna Avoth ch.6).

4) Often the word Sofer (scribe) simply means a writer, in any generation, especially of scrolls of books of the Hebrew Bible.

Note that the Sadducees fit into none of the categories. They were men of politics and secular life. They had abandoned various parts of Judaism; and they claimed no earlier source (tradition) for their attitudes. They harassed the Torah-sages; and, like the miniscule breakaway group called the Essenes, disappeared at the time of the Second Destruction.

Note that there is a common conception that the Sadducees, like the later (and now largely defunct) Karaites, made a deliberate decision to reject the Oral Law and reinterpret the Scriptures.

However, a careful perusal of the Talmud reveals that the Sadducees were actually opportunists who had nothing much at all to do with religion in any fashion. They were lax in Judaism; they were men of politics who weren't interested in Torah-matters. They had no schools of their own.

The group that did (on rare occasions) argue with the Torah-Sages concerning subjects of religious observance, were a tiny sect called the Baitusim (Boethusians), who quickly died out.

Answer 3

The word is Sofer. This is a person who is engaged in writing a Torah scroll. Since the thing is entirely had written with hand made ink using a quill pen, it takes a lot of dedication to make a Torah scroll. The men who do this obey very strict rules about the making of a Torah scroll, including bathing, praying, and eating. The Soferim are exceptional men.

Answer 4

They're called "soferim"