1.  Vocabulary - Pharash - “to separate.”

2.  History - Pharisees can be traced to the Maccabean period circa
    160-143 B.C. They were a religious sect within Judaism.  Their
    numbers have been calculated at 30-35 thousand of a total population of
    500-600 thousand at the time of Christ.  They were religiously fervent,
    perhaps coming into existence as a group reaction to the peoples general
    religious apathy and Gentile domination of Hebrew lands.

3.  Biblical Profile:

    A.  Spiritual racists - Mt. 3:9
    B.  Religious bullies - Mt. 23:13
    C.  Legalistic - Mt. 15:1-3
    D.  Leaders of the synagogue and Sanhedrin (the highest religious
          civil, and criminal tribunal in Israel - Jn. 12:42 and 11:47).
    E.  Some Pharisees came to believe in Jesus - Jn. 3:1-2 cp. w. Jn
         19:38-39; Jn 9:16; Luke 13:31 and Acts 15:5.
    F.  Various Biblical descriptions:

         a.  Murderers - Mt. 12:14
         b.  Vipers -Mt. 12:34
         c.  Evil adulterous generation - Mt. 12:39
         d.  Transgressors - Mt. 15:3
         e.  Blind -Mt. 15:14
         f.   Leaven teachers - Mt. 16:6, 12
         g.  Hypocrites - Mt. 23:1-36
         h.  Grumblers - Lk. 15:2
         i.   Lovers of money - Lk. 16:14
         j.   Scoffers - Lk. 16:14
         k.   Self-righteous - Lk. 18:9-14 cp. w. Mt. 5:20.