The Hasideans are only mentioned only three times in the books of 1 and 2Maccabees. As a result, they have been the object of much scholarly speculation. This thesis is an attempt to trace the historical dialogue among scholars regarding the identity of the Hasideans. Two questions are asked, specifically, Who were the Hasideans? and What became of them? Some have argued that the Hasideans were the predecessors of the Pharisees, basing this specifically on the attitudes and behaviors attributed to theHasideans and similar behaviors attributed to the Pharisees. Others have proposed that the Hasideans were the predecessors to the Essenes, based both on different interpretations of textual evidence, as well as comparisons with the discoveries made at the Qumran site in 1947.