CategoryPeople / Jewish Religious Group
Modern EquivalentJewish religious party known for law and tradition.
KJV Word TypePeople-group term / religious sect
DefinitionA Jewish sect known for strict adherence to the Law and traditions, often in conflict with Jesus (Matthew 23).
Key Verses"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Matthew 23:23)
KJV Usage NoteOften appears in Gospel conflict passages; the term identifies a Jewish religious group rather than all Jewish people.
Common MisunderstandingThe Pharisees are a specific Jewish religious group in the Gospels, not a label for all Jewish people.
EtymologyFrom Hebrew Perushim ("separated ones").