Originally called hamin, cholent originated in ancient Judea, as far back as the Second Temple period. Such a stew that was cooked slowly in a pit is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud. Some scholars believe that the dish was created by the Pharisees, a Jewish sect active in Second Temple-era Judea, as they interpreted the Biblical verse "You shall not kindle fire in any of your dwelling places on the Sabbath day" as a prohibition against kindling a fire during Shabbat but not maintaining one, while another Jewish sect, the Sadducees, interpreted it as a prohibition against maintaining any fire on Shabbat, even one kindled before Shabbat, and thus ate cold food on Shabbat. It allegedly became a matter of principle to eat it as a counter to the intepretation of the Sadducees.