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Of the Scribes and the Pharisees BY PAUL N. JACKSON The Righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees IS LISTENERS WERE People considered the scribes to be knowl- STUNNED. If the scribes and edgeable in all aspects of Jewish life. The HPharisees are disqualified, then who bookkeeping scribes meticulously calculated stands half a chance of making it? they silently that the law contained 248 commandments wondered. Jesus had just summarized the and 365 prohibitions they aspired to keep main section addressing the theme of righ- totally. The scribes, who were to be the teousness in the Sermon on the Mount: protectors of Judaism, “interpreted the law, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness taught it to disciples, and were experts in surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, cases where people were accused of breaking you will never enter the kingdom of heav- the law of Moses.”3 Most scribes identified en” (Matt. 5:20).1 Some listeners surely with the party of the Pharisees, but not all were puzzled, others taken aback. In try- scribes were Pharisees and vice-versa. ing to determine why Jesus targeted the The term “Pharisee” is derived from a scribes and Pharisees, we should under- Hebrew word that means either “separate” stand the two groups He lumped together or “interpret.”4 Historically, this group to teach this comparative lesson. emerged onto the scene of early Judaism dur- ing the time of the Hasmonean rulers (about Religious Expectations 145-63 B.C.). Josephus reported they func- The role of scribe predated the New tioned as advisors, interpreters, or guides for Testament era by centuries. The Old John Hyrcanus (ruled 135-105 B.C.) on mat- Testament mentions a scribe during the ters of Jewish law.5 While they were known time of the judges: “they that handle the as the “Separate Ones,” they also served pen of the writer” (Judg. 5:14, KJV, empha- as interpreters. Through careful observance sis added). At this stage the position was and interpretation of the law, they tried not an officially recognized religious role. to achieve separateness or exclusivity from By the postexilic period, however, the Gentiles and less religiously-observant Jews. task had developed into a more official A contemporary historian described the role. The Bible says of Ezra that he was a Pharisees as “the theological and moral “ready scribe in the law of Moses” (Ezra watchdogs of the covenant people.”6 They 7:6, KJV). Nehemiah, Ezra’s contempo- focused especially on issues of dietary laws,7 rary, described Zadok as being a scribe. ritual purity for meals, and observance of His role evidently also included leader- the Sabbath.8 The Pharisees also claimed ship duties in Jerusalem (Neh. 13:12-13). they were responsible for faithfully passing By Jesus’ day, scribes were “associated with Jerusalem and the other chief priests as LESSON REFERENCE part of the government of Judaism . [They] Fall 2007 Fall BSFL: Matthew 5:13-20 functioned as high officials and advisors.”2 BI 16 Modern scribe (or sofer) working in Mount Zion. Sofer comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to count” as those who copy the Torah count each letter. Before beginning his work, the scribe scratches 43 hori- zontal lines in the parchment and 2 vertical lines at each end. This allows the page to contain 42 lines of writing. The text is writ- ten on a parch- ment that comes from a kosher animal. ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ LOUISE 2007 Fall KOHL SMITH (32/25/4) BI 17 Left: Colorful a Bar Mitzvah, Torah covers celebrating a boy at the great who has reached Jerusalem his 13th birth- Synagogue. day–the begin- Reading the ning of the age Torah remains an of religious duty important part and responsibility. of Jewish life It recognizes him and worship. The as a bar mitzvah, images and texts son of the law. on the covers The boy must call worshipers carry by himself to remember the the heavy casing covenant. containing the scroll or the law, Right: Jerusalem, the Torah. a silver Torah cas- He wears the ing in use during phylacteries. COREL PHOTO on the oral traditions given to Moses on Mount Sinai. strand existed, but the largest percentage of these Josephus observed that the Pharisees “are a certain sect legalists ferociously and heartlessly enforced the of the Jews that appear more religious than others, and “letter of the law.” For them, God’s grace came seem to interpret the laws more accurately.”9 only to the practitioners of the law. Evidently, various kinds of Pharisees existed, Thus these two groups, the scribes and the Pharisees, including two basic schools of interpretation and were responsible for setting the religious standards for tolerance levels. While the Hillel house was softer Judaism in the first century. The Pharisees were the and more lenient, the house of Shammai was much most famous doers of the law, and the scribes were more rigid and intractable. Jesus probably had more the lawyer-like experts whose threefold task was to conflicts with these hard-liners than any other group. develop, teach, and apply the law. The scribes were Interestingly, the Apostle Paul may have been a the Torah scholars the Pharisees conferred with for Shammaite, if his violent actions toward Christians precise rulings on various religious issues. This brand recorded in the Book of Acts are any indication. of righteousness required an open scorecard that kept Kaufmann Kohler, who was president of Hebrew track of how one measured up on a daily basis. Union College in Cincinnati 1903-1921, referred to seven types of “extremist” Pharisees. Jesus’ Expectations The righteousness Jesus referred to, on the other 1. The “shoulder” Pharisee, who paraded his hand, exceeds pharisaic or scribal righteousness in good deeds before men like a badge on the kind rather than in degree. Jesus was not teaching shoulder. the need to outscor e the scribes and the Pharisees. 2. The “wait-a-little” Pharisee, who would ask Heart function or condition is vastly more someone to wait for him while he performed important than outward performance. a good deed. Jesus did not ask for more obedience—He asked 3. The “blind” Pharisee, who bruised himself for deeper obedience. So He proceeded to illustrate by walking into a wall because he shut his eyes the meaning of Matthew 5:20 by offering six stun- to avoid seeing a woman. ning illustrations. One example will satisfactorily 4. The “pestle” Pharisee who walked with hanging make the point. In this section Jesus was saying in head rather than observe alluring temptations. so many words, “OK, how does this new teaching 5. The “ever-reckoning” Pharisee, who was relate to Exodus 20:13 and to the interpretation of always counting his good deeds to see if they an extremist Pharisee, ‘Do not murder’?” Jesus offset his failures. identified the root of murder—anger! So the clear 6. The “God-fearing” Pharisee, who, like Job, teaching is that a person can assassinate a friend was truly righteous. or an enemy without ever using a physical weapon 7. The “God-loving” Pharisee, like Abraham.10 (Matt. 5:21-26). The righteousness Jesus upheld, therefore, was not one that could be tallied on a Kohler’s list reminds us that Pharisees were score card; it was instead a matter of the heart. probably at each end of the spectrum. “Although Summarily, we are all needy and sinful people Fall 2007 Fall many of the Pharisees were so introspectively whose personal righteousness is never guaranteed BI intent on obedience to the law that they often by strenuously trying to maintain various com- became fussily self-righteous, many among them mands and requirements externally. True righ- were truly virtuous and good.”11 teousness is guaranteed, however, by realizing 18 As with any religious group, a faithful and sincere and embracing the reality of the first Beatitude: / KEN TOUCHTON (3/5/18) TOUCHTON / KEN ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO ILLUSTRATOR Above: Jewish not on Sabbaths. gentleman A phylactery, or praying at the frontlet, is a small Western Wall at black leather Jerusalem. He (parchment) case wears phylacter- containing four ies, which come Old Testament from a tradition Scriptures, which of Jewish dress are attached to dating to the 2nd a long single century B.C. They leather strap by a were required loop, forming two to be worn at long straps on morning prayers either side of and festivals, but the loop. ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ KEN TOUCHTON (3/5/13) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom 1. Unless otherwise noted all biblical quotations are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. of heaven is theirs” (v. 3). So the way righteousness 2. Anthony J. Saldarini, “Scribes” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, David Noel surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees is by Freedman, ed., vol. 5 (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1015. 3. “Scribe” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Chad Brand, Charles Draper, and acknowledging one’s absolute spiritual poverty, Archie England, gen. eds. (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2003), 1452. in other words, one’s utter dependence on God. 4. Ben Witherington III, New Testament History: A Narrative Account (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001), 45. This is internal or heart righteousness. It can- 5. Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, William Whiston, trans. (Peabody, MA: not be accomplished; it must be provided. So the Hendrickson Publishers, 1987),13.10.5-6 (p. 354-355). 6. Paul Barnett, Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity (Downers Grove: InterVarsity irony in a story such as Jesus and the adulteress Press, 1999), 137. 7. This is why Jesus and His disciples drew such sharp criticism from the Pharisees woman in John 7:53–8:11, for example, is that once and some of the scribes in Mark 7:1-23.
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