The Pharisees were Old Testament Jews that were supposedly to follow the Law of Moses. But these Pharisees, and Scribes made up a lot of Man made laws to which they would follow instead of what the true law called for.
A prime example is Mark 7:9-13.
The Pharisees were the supposed experts of the Law of Moses, which were the laws that the nation of Israel were governed by, so yes, they were the lawyers of their time.
The pharisees were people who enforced and taught the Jewish law, or the law of God. The problem with the pharisees were that they made up their own law that coincided with God's law, but these laws were their own interpretations of the Law, not the actual law itself.
Jesus defied the system of the day which caused the Pharisees to hate him. The Pharisees had added many laws onto the word of God, and Jesus taught that its only the Word of the Lord that is true.
The Pharisees were strong adherents of Mosaic code. During the Roman period the Jews were given freedom to practice their religion. The Jews had their courts where offences against their religion were tried and the guilty punished. The highest council of the Jews was called Sanhedrin. The Pharisees and the Sadducee occupied it. The Pharisees believed that Moses gave laws in addition to the Commandments to those who were near him and those laws were not codified. They strongly believed that the alien culture of the Greeks should be shunned though the Saducees advocated a compromise. Ironically the Pharisees were not the clergy yet they were strong in their faith whereas the Saducees' faith was a little accommodative.
It was the Pharisees who accused Jesus of healing people on the sabbath, as they were very strict about it.
Pharisees were a Jewish sect known for strict adherence to religious laws and traditions, while Sadducees were another Jewish sect that did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or in angels. Pharisees focused on religious law and oral traditions, while Sadducees were more politically aligned with the ruling class.
The singular possessive form of "pharisee" is "pharisee's," and the plural form is "pharisees'."
The pharisees believed the messiah had not come.
Most of the laws discussed by the Pharisees are found in the Torah or were extrapolated from the Torah. There are a few, however, described as rabbinic laws: Wash your hands before eating bread. The laws of eruv -- how to arrange things so you can carry something on the Sabbath. The requirement to recite a blessing before eating or other pleasurable activities. Lighting candles (or other lamps) on the eve of the Sabbath and festivals. All the rules for celebrating Purim. All the rules for celebrating Hanukkah. The inclusion of the Hallel psalms in the synagogue liturgy for festivals.
The pharisees (who were the leaders of the jewish religion at the time) felt that their authority and reputation was being threatened because Jesus told people to follow different laws and broke some of the Pharisee's laws.
THE PHARISEES WERE THE UPHOLDERS OF JEWISH TRADITIONS,STICKLERS OF MOSAIC LAWS,THEY WERE CRUEL PERSECUTORS. THE PHARISEES DID NOT ACCEPT JESUS. THE PROPHETS WERE GODS LINK TO THE PEOPLE IN THE DAYS OF OLD, THEY WERE THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS. THE SCRIBES WERE THE TEACHERS OF THE LAW, THEY ALSO KEPT RECORDS,COLLECTED THE TEMPLE REVENUE AND WERE ADVISERS IN STATE AFFAIRS
According to the New Testament, yes, Jesus read from the Torah. Whether or not he actually understood its laws is debatable given the way he interacted with the Pharisees.