Φαρισαῖος
Pharisaios
Pharisee
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word Φαρισαῖος (Pharisaios) is a term that appears 101 times in the Bible. Its primary meaning is "Pharisee," a member of a Jewish sect known for their strict adherence to the law and tradition. The Pharisees were a prominent group in Jewish society during the time of Jesus, and their interactions with him are a significant part of the New Testament narrative. The word Φαρισαῖος is used in a variety of contexts, often to describe the Pharisees' strict adherence to rules and customs, as well as their tendency to prioritize ritual purity over compassion and understanding. This usage suggests that the Pharisees were seen as a rigid and inflexible group, more concerned with maintaining their own traditions than with serving the needs of others. The significance of Φαρισαῖος lies in its role as a label for a particular group of people in the Bible. By understanding the meaning and connotations of this word, readers can gain insight into the social and cultural context of the New Testament, as well as the relationships between different groups within ancient Jewish society.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
101 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Matthew 5:20For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew 23:29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous,
Matthew 9:11When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Matthew 9:14Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?”
Matthew 9:34But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons, he casts out demons.”
Matthew 12:2But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
Matthew 12:14But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.
Matthew 12:24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”
Matthew 12:38Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
Matthew 15:1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
Matthew 15:12Then the disciples came, and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
Matthew 16:1The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
Matthew 16:6Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Matthew 16:11How is it that you don’t perceive that I didn’t speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
Matthew 16:12Then they understood that he didn’t tell them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Matthew 19:3Pharisees came to him, testing him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
Matthew 21:45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke about them.
Matthew 22:15Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
Matthew 22:34But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together.
Matthew 22:41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
Matthew 23:2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat.
Matthew 23:13“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
Matthew 23:14“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.
Matthew 23:15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.
Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
Matthew 23:25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.
Matthew 23:26You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.
Matthew 23:27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Matthew 27:41Likewise the chief priests also mocking, with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said,
Matthew 27:62Now on the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to Pilate,
Mark 2:16The scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
Mark 2:18John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
Mark 2:18John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
Mark 2:24The Pharisees said to him, “Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”
Mark 3:6The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
Mark 7:1Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem.
Mark 7:3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders.
Mark 7:5The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”
Mark 8:11The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him.
Mark 8:15He warned them, saying, “Take heed: beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
Mark 10:2Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
Mark 12:13They sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him, that they might trap him with words.
Luke 5:17On one of those days, he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every village of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was with him to heal them.
Luke 5:21The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
Luke 5:30Their scribes and the Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
Luke 5:33They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples often fast and pray, likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?”
Luke 6:2But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”
Luke 6:7The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him.
Luke 7:30But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the counsel of God, not being baptized by him themselves.