Pharisaios · Pharisee

What it means

Pharisaios (Φαρισαῖος) is a Greek word of the Bible that means “Pharisee”.

A member of a Jewish group that kept the law of Moses and the traditions of its teachers strictly.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A Jewish group that kept the law very strictly.

From Abbott-Smith (1922) · Thayer (1889)

Word study

Pharisee: a member of a Jewish group that kept the law of Moses and the traditions of its teachers strictly. Thayer: a Pharisee, from a Hebrew word meaning “separated”; a member of a sect distinguished by strict observance of the law and of tradition.

• The Pharisees and their righteousness Matthew 5:20Luke 18:10
• Criticisms of Jesus Matthew 9:11
• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites” Matthew 23:13
• Pharisees who come to Jesus or believe John 3:1Acts 15:5
• Paul: “I am a Pharisee” Acts 23:6Philippians 3:5

Historical and cultural background

The New Testament gives their features: they kept the tradition of the elders (Matthew 15:2), they believed in the resurrection, unlike the Sadducees (Acts 23:6-8), and Paul says he was one “as to the law” (Philippians 3:5).

How we translate it

“Pharisees” 84 times, “Pharisee” 12. It is the name of a group and is kept as it is; the note at Matthew 3:7 explains who the Pharisees and the Sadducees were.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• Pharisees ×84
• Pharisee ×12

Where it appears

• Matthew×29
• Mark×11
• Luke×27
• John×19
• Acts×9
• Philippians×1

• Matthew 3:7

  But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, “Offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

• Matthew 5:20

  For I tell you that unless your righteousness far exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

• Matthew 9:11

  And seeing this, the Pharisees were saying to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with the tax collectors and sinners?”

• Matthew 9:14

  Then the disciples of John come to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

• Matthew 9:34

  But the Pharisees were saying, “By the ruler of the demons he drives out the demons.”

• Matthew 12:2

  But the Pharisees, seeing it, said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

• Matthew 12:14

  But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him, how they might destroy him.

• Matthew 12:24

  But the Pharisees, hearing it, said, “This man does not drive out the demons except by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.”

• Matthew 12:38

  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

• Matthew 15:1

  Then Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem come to Jesus, saying,

• Matthew 15:12

  Then the disciples come up and say to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard your word?”

• Matthew 16:1

  And the Pharisees and Sadducees came and, testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

• Matthew 16:6

  And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

• Matthew 16:11

  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

• Matthew 16:12

  Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

• Matthew 19:3

  And Pharisees came to him, testing him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

• Matthew 21:45

  And when the high priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them.

• Matthew 22:15

  Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might trap him in his words.

• Matthew 22:34

  But the Pharisees, hearing that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered together in the same place.

• Matthew 22:41

  Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

• Matthew 23:2

  saying, “On Moses’ seat the scribes and the Pharisees have sat down.

• Matthew 23:13

  But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of heaven in front of people; for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are going in to go in.

• Matthew 23:15

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around the sea and the dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him a son of Gehenna twice as much as you.

• Matthew 23:23

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe the mint and the dill and the cumin, and you have left aside the weightier things of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without leaving aside those.

• Matthew 23:25

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

• Matthew 23:26

  Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean.

• Matthew 23:27

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of all uncleanness.

• Matthew 23:29

  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,

• Matthew 27:62

  Now on the next day, which is after the Preparation, the high priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate

• Mark 2:16

  And the scribes of the Pharisees, seeing that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, were saying to his disciples, “Why does he eat with the tax collectors and sinners?”

• Mark 2:18

  And the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting. And people come and say to him, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”

• Mark 2:24

  And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing on the Sabbath what is not lawful?”

• Mark 3:6

  And the Pharisees went out and at once held a council with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

• Mark 7:1

  And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gather around him,

• Mark 7:3

  (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands with the fist, holding to the tradition of the elders;

• Mark 7:5

  And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat the bread with defiled hands?”

• Mark 8:11

  And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, testing him.

• Mark 8:15

  And he was warning them, saying, “Watch out, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

• Mark 12:13

  And they send to him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to trap him in what he said.

• Luke 5:17

  And it happened, on one of the days, that he was teaching, and there were sitting there Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him for him to heal.

And 56 more times.