The Pharisees: Who Were They?

Who were the Pharisees?

In some sense they were a small party of approximately six thousand men, women and slaves that had chosen to restrict themselves to a level of purity that Scripture demanded only of priests, and as a result they would not dine at the home of a non-Pharisee. The purpose of this was not ostracism, because they could have a 'common person' over for dinner, as Simon the Pharisee had Jesus over. They were simply abiding by a decision they had made to not consume food that the ordinary person had, in perfect accordance with Scripture, no problem with.

This creature of the water would have been considered 'clean' because it had fins and scales.

Along this same line, they were rigid about tithing the first (10%) and second (an additional 10%) tithes in a time when people had very little money; to this end, they tithed what they ate, what they bought and what they sold. This was partially to prevent themselves from breaking a Scripture that could be taken in different ways; if you interpreted it strictly enough, there was no chance you were breaking it.

In a second, and larger, sense they were a set of men who were highly educated in Scripture and had taken it upon themselves to instruct the rest of the population, rather successfully it seems. Jesus says,

"The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach but do not practice." (Matthew 23:2-3)

(The 'Moses seat' was a prominent chair at the front of the synagogue. Italics mine.)

David Flusser quotes an Essene document found in the Dead Sea Scrolls: "The Pharisees were described as 'slippery exegetes', their actions were hypocrisy, and by means of their 'deceitful doctrine, lying tongues and false lips,' they were able to lead almost the whole people astray."* (Italics mine.)

Clearly they had the power to instruct the people, as the first century historian Josephus confirms, and they interpreted Scripture correctly enough that Jesus commanded the people to obey them. Also according to Josephus, they had great respect for their elders, were enthusiastic about making converts, and believed in angels, demons and heaven.**

In a third sense, they were a party powerful enough that even the high priest had to follow their way of doing things on the Day of Atonement, although he believed differently. They were present in the Sanhedrin, the ruling council, although we don't know to what extent. They seem to have played a minimal role in Jesus' trial, but joined the chief priests in requesting Pilate to secure the tomb (Matthew 27:62) after Jesus' death. Later, in the First Jewish Revolt of 66-70 AD, they played a leading role.***

An Islamic shrine now occupies the site of the Temple, where the high priest would have carried out the Day of Atonement ceremony.

So what were they? A political party, a sect, the set of beliefs most people followed? What category can we stuff them in? None, it seems, like we can’t stuff the word ‘Democrat,’ into one hole. Democrats (and Republicans) are national leaders and average Americans. To say “I’m a Democrat,” doesn’t mean I’m registered as one, nor does it mean that I believe everything they believe. It’s just a general dividing line. Those who work for the party, presumably, have a firmer alignment with them.

In the same way, being one of the six thousand registered Pharisees may have made you a Pharisee, and being a member of the public that roughly aligned yourself with Pharisaic beliefs may have made you a Pharisee. Those who were registered as one presumably had a firmer alignment with them. To this end, we have a sect of Pharisees and a general set of beliefs most people, as Pharisees, followed.

As for the Pharisees as a political party themselves – it wasn’t like that back then. Today we are Presbyterian and Democrats (or whatever). Back then things were just more mixed, and we can’t project today’s societal structure onto the first century.

Sources
Bivin, David, 2005, New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights from His Jewish Context, En-Gedi Resource Center

Flusser, David, and Notley, Steven, 2007, The Sage of Galilee: Rediscovering Jesus' Genius, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Neale, David, 1991, None But the Sinners, Sheffield Academic Press

Scott Jr., J. Julius, 1995, Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament, Baker Book House

Saldarini, Anthony J., 2001, Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees in Palestinian Society, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Scripture
Fish - Leviticus 11:12: Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.

Footnotes
*Flusser, 46
**Scott, 205-206
***Scott, 204