Bible dictionaries
Pharisee
What Bible dictionaries say about “Pharisee”, one article after the other.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary & Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
Pharisee - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)
PHAR'ISEE, n. [Heb. to separate.] One of a sect among the Jews, whose religion consisted in a strict observance of rites and ceremonies and of the traditions of the elders,and whose pretended holiness led them to separate themselves as a sect, considering themselves as more righteous than other Jews.
Matthew George Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary; Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (1828)
The article in Easton + Webster 1828Translation Words
Definition
The Pharisees were an important, powerful group of Jewish religious leaders in Jesus’ time.
- Many of them were middle class businessmen and some of them were also priests.
- Of all the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees were the most strict in obeying the Laws of Moses and other Jewish laws and traditions.
- They were very concerned about keeping the Jewish people separated from the influence of the Gentiles around them. The name “Pharisee” comes from the word to “separate.”
- The Pharisees believed in life after death; they also believed in the existence of angels and other spiritual beings.
- The Pharisees and Sadducees actively opposed Jesus and the early Christians.
(See also: council, Jewish leaders, law, Sadducee)
Bible References
- Acts 26:4
- John 3:1-2
- Luke 11:44
- Matthew 3:7
- Matthew 5:20
- Matthew 9:11
- Matthew 12:2
- Matthew 12:38
- Philippians 3:5
Word Data
- Strong’s: G53300
The original work by unfoldingWord is available from https://www.unfoldingword.org/utw. Bible Strong converted the Markdown and resource links to its dictionary schema and normalized Bible references.
The article in Translation Words