One of the three orders or sects of Jews descri
bed by Josephus and
other ancient sources during the Second
Temple period. Originally, an essentially lay group formed from one of the branches of the Hasidim of the Maccabaean
age. By the time of John Hyrcanus I there was Pharisaic objection to his usurpation, as a
non-Zadokite, of the high priesthood, though they were
willing to accept him as the national leader. Eight hund
red Pharisees were accused by Alexander Jannaeus of collusion with the Syrian Seleucid king Demetrius III Eucaerus and condemned by Jannaeus to die on the cross. By the time of Josephus they were the largest of the
various groups and had the
popular support of the people. They were characterized by their "free" interpretation of the Bible, adherence to oral traditions,
strict observance of rites and interpretation, belief in future retri
bution, belief in angels and
other spiritual beings, divine providence cooperating with free
will, the immortality of the soul, the bodily resurrection of the dead, and a coming Messiah. Some commentators suggest t
hat Jesus was from a Pharisee
family and background. Similarities between his teachings, especially the Sermon on the Mount, and t
hose of Pharisee
teachers, such as Hillel, seem to support the contention t
hat Jesus 'was himself a Pharisee'.