G5330 G5330
Pharisee — a member of the Jewish sect devoted to rigorous Torah observance, oral tradition, and separation from ritual impurity
Pharisaios appears 99 times in the New Testament, making the Pharisees the most frequently named Jewish group in the Gospels and Acts. The name likely derives from the Hebrew parash ('to separate'), reflecting their commitment to maintaining ritual boundaries. They championed the oral Torah alongside the written, believed in resurrection and angels (Acts 23:8), and exercised significant popular influence. Jesus' sharpest controversies are with Pharisees — over Sabbath observance (Matt 12:2), hand-washing (Matt 15:2), and the charge of hypocrisy (Matt 23). Yet the picture is not uniformly hostile: Nicodemus is a Pharisee (John 3:1), and Paul proudly claims the identity (Phil 3:5; Acts 26:5).
Senses
1. Pharisee — A member of the Pharisees, a Jewish religious-political movement emphasizing strict Torah observance, the authority of oral tradition alongside written Scripture, and scrupulous avoidance of ritual contamination. In the Gospels they appear as frequent interlocutors and opponents of Jesus on matters of Sabbath law, purity, and authority (Matt 12:2; 23:13-36), though notable figures like Nicodemus (John 3:1) and Paul (Phil 3:5) show the movement's breadth. Spanish 'fariseos,' French 'Pharisien,' and German 'Pharisaer' all derive from the same Greek term, itself rooted in Hebrew parash ('to separate'). 99×
AR["الفَرِّيسيّونَ", "الفَرِّيسِيُّونَ", "فَرِّيسيّونَ", "فَرِّيسِيُّونَ", "فَرّيسيّونَ"]·ben["ফরীশীরা"]·DE["Pharisäer"]·EN["Pharisaioi", "Pharisees"]·FR["Pharisien"]·heb["הַפְּרוּשִׁים", "פְּרוּשִׁים"]·HI["फरिसैओन", "फरिसैओन-ने", "फरीसियो", "फरीसियों-ने", "फरीसी", "फ़रीसी"]·ID["orang-Farisi"]·IT["fariseo"]·jav["Farisi", "tiyang-Farisi", "tiyang-Farisi,"]·KO["바리새인들", "바리새인들과", "바리새인들이"]·PT["fariseus", "fariseus,"]·RU["Фарисеи", "фарисеи", "фарисеи,"]·ES["Pharisaîoi", "Pharisäíoi"]·SW["-", "Mafarisayo", "Mafarisayo,", "Pharisaioi", "shauri", "waliposikia", "wanafiki", "yote"]·TR["Ferisiler"]·urd["فریسی", "فریسیو", "فریسیوں-نے"]
Matt 9:11, Matt 9:14, Matt 9:34, Matt 12:2, Matt 12:14, Matt 12:24, Matt 15:1, Matt 15:12, Matt 16:1, Matt 19:3, Matt 21:45, Matt 22:15 (+38 more)
Related Senses
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)G4336 1. pray to God (86×)H6944 3. holy things, sacred offerings (plural) (86×)H3722a 1. make ritual atonement (Piel) (85×)H6912 1. bury (Qal active) (82×)H6419 1. pray (Hitpael) (80×)H6944 4. holiness (with possessive pronoun) (77×)H6942 1. sanctify, consecrate (Piel factitive) (76×)H2930a 1. Qal: be/become unclean (75×)H7819a 1. slaughter an animal (Qal active) (72×)H1486 1. lot (object cast for decisions) (71×)G0040 2. holy, sacred, consecrated (65×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
a Pharisee, Separatist (from pharash, to distinguish) , one of a sect who separated themselves from other Jews as affecting superior holiness. (from Middle LSJ)