Pharisees

(făr'e-seez.) [From Heb.pharas, separated.] (Anc. Hist.) A sect among the Jews, who distinguished themselves by their zeal for the traditions of the elders, which they derived from the same fountain with the written word itself; pretending that both were delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, and were therefore of equal authority. From their rigorous observance of these traditions they considered themselves more holy than other Jews, and therefore separated themselves from them; on which account they obtained their name. TheP. numbered in their ranks the most distinguished lawyers and statesmen in Judea; and as persons of all conditions were admitted into their society, they gained a political influence which often decided the fate of the Jewish nation under the Maccabees, and brought into their hands whatever power had been left to the great council by the Romans, in the time of Christ. [s. 702]