Who were the Pharisees?

The Pharisees, frequently depicted as hypocritical antagonists in the Gospels, were historically a sophisticated, influential group focused on the interpretation of scripture and the extension of temple purity into daily life. Gospel narratives often utilize the Pharisees as a foil for Jesus, reflecting the sectarian tensions of the late 1st century rather than historical reality. Emerging during the Hasmonean period, the Pharisees were likely a lay-led movement that gained significant social standing through their commitment to legal precision and apocalyptic expectations. While Josephus offers a complex, sometimes critical view of their political influence, the later rabbinic tradition identifies them as the foundational architects of post-70 CE Judaism. This divergence between Christian caricatures and the Jewish historical perspective highlights the Pharisees' role as creative, forward-thinking scholars who successfully navigated the transition of Jewish identity through periods of profound political upheaval.