An Attempt To Date
Pharisees
June 20, 2015
G.D.O'Bradovich III
citations
We inquire whether or not there is evidence that the English language knew the word "Pharisee" and associated adjectives before the Reformation. The following citations are courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary, secondary sources are in red and references after the year 1700 are omitted.
rare.
1645 Milton Colasterion 18
All of them Pharisæan disciples, and bred up in their Doctrin.
1. Strict in matters of doctrine and ritual observance but lacking in charity or inner devotion; formalistic; laying great stress on external observance of religious and moral laws, and assuming superiority on that account; legalistic, self-righteous, hypocritical.
a1618 J. Sylvester All's not Gold xxiv,
Wee are so Punctuall and Precise In Doctrine (Pharisaik-wise).
1698 E. Tipper Pilgrim's Viaticum 71
Did not the Lamb of God, with Sacred Terror, Reprove all Pharisaic Sins and Error?
2. Of, designating, or relating to the Pharisees.
1644 Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 44
Hee..removes the Pharisaick mists rais'd between the law and the peoples eyes.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. i. 6
The Pharisaick Sect amongst the Jews.
1. = Pharisaic adj. 1.
1527 W. Roye tr. W. Capito Lytle Treat. for Christen Men sig. e2v,
Lest we begynne a newe tyranny Pharisaicall hipocrysy Or discorde vnder the coloure of excommunicacion.
1531 Tyndale Expos. 1 John (1537) 37
Our pharisaycall doctours haue no doctrine to knowe when a man is in the state of grace.
1625 Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 98
The Causes of Superstition are:..Excesse of Outward and Pharisaicall Holinesse.
1680 R. L'Estrange Citt & Bumpkin 29
The Pharisaical Distinguishing of your selves from the Profane.
2. = Pharisaic adj. 2.
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe ii. sig. h iiiijv[i iiijv],
Full of conspiracy With the sectes pharisaicall.
1537 tr. Fyften Orders Sectes or Supersticions of Jewes iiii, in Original & Sprynge all Sectes sig. G2,
The Pharisaicall secte was separate from the commune lyuynge.
?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature iv. sig. Evv,
As Cayphas ones sayd, in counsell pharysaycall.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 124
The want of which office Christ obiected to another of his Pharisaicall hostes.
Phariˈsaically adv.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. vii. 21
So farre houen with surquedrie and selfe-loue,..Pharisaically..to annihilate all others.
Phariˈsaicalness n.
1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. xvii. 489
Their many kinds of Superstitions, and Pharisaicalness.
1. The character and spirit of the Pharisees as commonly depicted in the New Testament; formalism, legalism; self-righteousness; hypocrisy; an instance of this.
?1573 H. Cheke tr. F. Negri Freewyl iv. iii. 155,
I hauyng intelligence then of that newe kynde of Pharisaisme, which he had established there [sc. in Venice], determined that I would see yf the deceyptes whiche he vsed in his hypocriticall schoole, were lyke vnto the subtiltie of the Pharisees amongst whom I had ben conuersant.
1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. viii. 262
You fall into flatte Pharisaisme. For you trust that you are righteous in your selues, though not as of your selues.
1601 W. Watson in T. Bluet Important Considerations sig. A1v,
You should not be seduced by Pharisism [1688 Pharisaism], hypocrisie, and plausible perswasions.
2. The doctrines and practices of the Pharisees; the fact or condition of being a Pharisee.
1610 Bp. J. Hall Common Apol. against Brownists iv. 9 Paul was (ἀϕωρισμένος) separated, which some would haue allude to his Pharisaisme.
1. A member of a religious party within Judaism between the 2nd cent. b.c. and New Testament times, distinguished by its rigorous interpretation and observance of the written Mosaic Law as well as the traditions of the elders.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xlvii. 363
Ða Farisseos geliefdon ðære æriste.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 11
Hwi ne ongyte ge gyt þæt ic ne sæde be hlafe, warniað fram ðam beorman fariseorum & saduceorum.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 37
He sæt on þæs fariseus [c1200 Hatton farisees] huse.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 43
Wa eow fariseum [c1200 Hatton fariseen].
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xviii. 11
Ða stod se fariseus [c1200 Hatton phariseus].
?c1200 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16862
Farisew bitacneþþ uss Shædinng onn ennglissh spæche.
c1230 (▸?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 168
Schrift ah to beon eadmod as þe puplicanes wes, nawt as þe phariseus [a1250 Nero Pharisewus] wes.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 175 (MED),
Zuyche weren þe farizeus of þe godspelle.
▸c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xi. 43
Woo to ȝou, Pharisees, that louen the firste chaieris in synagogis.
a1400 (▸c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 11645 (MED),
Do nat as þe pharysu, Preyde God aȝens hys pru.
a1400 (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13588 (MED),
Þaa phariseus [a1400 Gött. pharaseus]..war ful fell.
a1425 (▸?a1400) Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 6893
Uppon the chaire of Moyses..Sitte Scribes and Pharisen..the cursid men Whiche that we ypocritis calle.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae 202 (MED),
Herke, sere pharysew and sere scrybe.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vii. f. lxxxvi,
He cam in to the pharises housse.
1591 (▸?a1425) Blind Chelidonian (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. 235
Thou shalt with us come on this waye and to the Pharasyes [v.rr. Pharaseres, Pharasittes] these wordes say.
1606 T. Palmer Ess. Meanes ii. 97
Our Sauiour Christ soundly reproued Nicodemus the Pharisie, for that he was a iudge in Israel and knewe not things of such excellencie and of so great importance.
1673 Milton True Relig. 6
The Pharisees and Saduces were two Sects.
2. A person of the spirit or character commonly attributed to the Pharisees in the New Testament; a legalist or formalist; a self-righteous person, a hypocrite.
1539 T. Boyes Let. 8 June in Lisle Papers (P.R.O.: SP 3/2) f. 42,
I herd one say vnto Thomas Broke yt you wer a farryse.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour in Wks. (1931) I. 6336
All gentyll redaris hertlye I implore For tyll excuse my rurall rude indyte Thoucht phareseis wyll haue at me dispyte.
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. C2,
Though he play the Pharisie neuer so in iustifying his owne innocence, theres none will beleeue him.
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 101
Reprobates,..tyrants, pharises, hypocrites false prophets.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. ii. 8
Not the nation, but the affection makes a Pharisee.
1636 C. Fitz-Geffry Blessed Birth-day 28
Proud vaunting Pharisee how hast thou lost All thy good workes, while thou of them doest boast?
1682 N. Tate & Dryden 2nd Pt. Absalom & Achitophel 24
Whom Laws convict (and only they) shall Bleed, Nor Pharisees by Pharisees be Freed.
General attrib., in the sense ‘of, designating, or suggestive of the Pharisees; Pharisee-like’.
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14
Would you wash the face and outward appearance of sinne, and so make an outside Pharisee-Christian?
intr. To take credit to oneself for piety. Also trans. (refl.).
1598 R. Tofte Alba ii. sig. D2,
I loue not I to pharisie, nor praise My selfe, for to her owne selfe I appeale.
1648 C. Walker Relations & Observ. i. 30
Some of them..acknowledge the Scripture, but..only..to Pharisee themselves, and Publican all the world besides.
1585 C. Fetherstone tr. J. Calvin Comm. Acts xv. 5. 355
There remained no phariseisme in Paul.
A. adj.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues
Pharisien, hypocriticall, Pharisie-like.
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14
The more of outside in any duty, the more you are Pharisee-like.
B. adv.
In the manner of a Pharisee or the Pharisees.
1651 E. Hall Manus Testium Movens To Rdr. sig A2v,
When (Pharisee-like) such learned Doctors shall neither enter in themselves, nor suffer others to enter in, it would provoke a stone to speak.
1677 G. Fox Testimony what we believe of Christ 44
Consider this all ye wanton Professors, that live in pleasure, that have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter, and condemned and killed the Just, Pharisee-like.
A Pharisee.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 208 (MED),
Huo þet wile wysliche bidde god..þet he ne wene greate þinges of him-zelue ase dede þe farisen þet yalp ine his benes and onworþede þane pubblycan.
c1425 Prose Versions New Test.: Deeds (Cambr.) xxiii. 6
One partye..was of þo Pharisens, ande an-oþer of þo Saducens.
a1500 (▸c1410) Dives & Pauper (Hunterian) (1976) i. 201 (MED),
Þe Pharisen spac to mychil in his preyere, for he spac al with pryde.
c1600 (▸?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) 547
Beþ nouȝt þise i-lyke Fully to þe Farisens?
A Pharisee.
a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 20
And of this is exempill of the Pharizean and the publican.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 108
Ye phariseans and pyntid ypocritis quhilk vald mak thair selff richtwis throw thair aune varkis.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 193
Wo be to ȝow, Pharesianis, That Regnis ȝit lyke hie Capitanis.
1584 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 127
Polluters of his holie temple Lyk to scrybes and fals Pharisians
rare.
1645 Milton Colasterion 18
All of them Pharisæan disciples, and bred up in their Doctrin.
1. Strict in matters of doctrine and ritual observance but lacking in charity or inner devotion; formalistic; laying great stress on external observance of religious and moral laws, and assuming superiority on that account; legalistic, self-righteous, hypocritical.
a1618 J. Sylvester All's not Gold xxiv,
Wee are so Punctuall and Precise In Doctrine (Pharisaik-wise).
1698 E. Tipper Pilgrim's Viaticum 71
Did not the Lamb of God, with Sacred Terror, Reprove all Pharisaic Sins and Error?
2. Of, designating, or relating to the Pharisees.
1644 Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 44
Hee..removes the Pharisaick mists rais'd between the law and the peoples eyes.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. i. 6
The Pharisaick Sect amongst the Jews.
1. = Pharisaic adj. 1.
1527 W. Roye tr. W. Capito Lytle Treat. for Christen Men sig. e2v,
Lest we begynne a newe tyranny Pharisaicall hipocrysy Or discorde vnder the coloure of excommunicacion.
1531 Tyndale Expos. 1 John (1537) 37
Our pharisaycall doctours haue no doctrine to knowe when a man is in the state of grace.
1625 Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 98
The Causes of Superstition are:..Excesse of Outward and Pharisaicall Holinesse.
1680 R. L'Estrange Citt & Bumpkin 29
The Pharisaical Distinguishing of your selves from the Profane.
2. = Pharisaic adj. 2.
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe ii. sig. h iiiijv[i iiijv],
Full of conspiracy With the sectes pharisaicall.
1537 tr. Fyften Orders Sectes or Supersticions of Jewes iiii, in Original & Sprynge all Sectes sig. G2,
The Pharisaicall secte was separate from the commune lyuynge.
?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature iv. sig. Evv,
As Cayphas ones sayd, in counsell pharysaycall.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 124
The want of which office Christ obiected to another of his Pharisaicall hostes.
Phariˈsaically adv.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. vii. 21
So farre houen with surquedrie and selfe-loue,..Pharisaically..to annihilate all others.
Phariˈsaicalness n.
1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. xvii. 489
Their many kinds of Superstitions, and Pharisaicalness.
1. The character and spirit of the Pharisees as commonly depicted in the New Testament; formalism, legalism; self-righteousness; hypocrisy; an instance of this.
?1573 H. Cheke tr. F. Negri Freewyl iv. iii. 155,
I hauyng intelligence then of that newe kynde of Pharisaisme, which he had established there [sc. in Venice], determined that I would see yf the deceyptes whiche he vsed in his hypocriticall schoole, were lyke vnto the subtiltie of the Pharisees amongst whom I had ben conuersant.
1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. viii. 262
You fall into flatte Pharisaisme. For you trust that you are righteous in your selues, though not as of your selues.
1601 W. Watson in T. Bluet Important Considerations sig. A1v,
You should not be seduced by Pharisism [1688 Pharisaism], hypocrisie, and plausible perswasions.
2. The doctrines and practices of the Pharisees; the fact or condition of being a Pharisee.
1610 Bp. J. Hall Common Apol. against Brownists iv. 9 Paul was (ἀϕωρισμένος) separated, which some would haue allude to his Pharisaisme.
1. A member of a religious party within Judaism between the 2nd cent. b.c. and New Testament times, distinguished by its rigorous interpretation and observance of the written Mosaic Law as well as the traditions of the elders.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xlvii. 363
Ða Farisseos geliefdon ðære æriste.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 11
Hwi ne ongyte ge gyt þæt ic ne sæde be hlafe, warniað fram ðam beorman fariseorum & saduceorum.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 37
He sæt on þæs fariseus [c1200 Hatton farisees] huse.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 43
Wa eow fariseum [c1200 Hatton fariseen].
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xviii. 11
Ða stod se fariseus [c1200 Hatton phariseus].
?c1200 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16862
Farisew bitacneþþ uss Shædinng onn ennglissh spæche.
c1230 (▸?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 168
Schrift ah to beon eadmod as þe puplicanes wes, nawt as þe phariseus [a1250 Nero Pharisewus] wes.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 175 (MED),
Zuyche weren þe farizeus of þe godspelle.
▸c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xi. 43
Woo to ȝou, Pharisees, that louen the firste chaieris in synagogis.
a1400 (▸c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 11645 (MED),
Do nat as þe pharysu, Preyde God aȝens hys pru.
a1400 (▸a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13588 (MED),
Þaa phariseus [a1400 Gött. pharaseus]..war ful fell.
a1425 (▸?a1400) Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 6893
Uppon the chaire of Moyses..Sitte Scribes and Pharisen..the cursid men Whiche that we ypocritis calle.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae 202 (MED),
Herke, sere pharysew and sere scrybe.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vii. f. lxxxvi,
He cam in to the pharises housse.
1591 (▸?a1425) Blind Chelidonian (Huntington) in R. M. Lumiansky & D. Mill Chester Myst. Cycle (1974) I. 235
Thou shalt with us come on this waye and to the Pharasyes [v.rr. Pharaseres, Pharasittes] these wordes say.
1606 T. Palmer Ess. Meanes ii. 97
Our Sauiour Christ soundly reproued Nicodemus the Pharisie, for that he was a iudge in Israel and knewe not things of such excellencie and of so great importance.
1673 Milton True Relig. 6
The Pharisees and Saduces were two Sects.
2. A person of the spirit or character commonly attributed to the Pharisees in the New Testament; a legalist or formalist; a self-righteous person, a hypocrite.
1539 T. Boyes Let. 8 June in Lisle Papers (P.R.O.: SP 3/2) f. 42,
I herd one say vnto Thomas Broke yt you wer a farryse.
1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour in Wks. (1931) I. 6336
All gentyll redaris hertlye I implore For tyll excuse my rurall rude indyte Thoucht phareseis wyll haue at me dispyte.
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. C2,
Though he play the Pharisie neuer so in iustifying his owne innocence, theres none will beleeue him.
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 101
Reprobates,..tyrants, pharises, hypocrites false prophets.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. ii. 8
Not the nation, but the affection makes a Pharisee.
1636 C. Fitz-Geffry Blessed Birth-day 28
Proud vaunting Pharisee how hast thou lost All thy good workes, while thou of them doest boast?
1682 N. Tate & Dryden 2nd Pt. Absalom & Achitophel 24
Whom Laws convict (and only they) shall Bleed, Nor Pharisees by Pharisees be Freed.
General attrib., in the sense ‘of, designating, or suggestive of the Pharisees; Pharisee-like’.
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14
Would you wash the face and outward appearance of sinne, and so make an outside Pharisee-Christian?
intr. To take credit to oneself for piety. Also trans. (refl.).
1598 R. Tofte Alba ii. sig. D2,
I loue not I to pharisie, nor praise My selfe, for to her owne selfe I appeale.
1648 C. Walker Relations & Observ. i. 30
Some of them..acknowledge the Scripture, but..only..to Pharisee themselves, and Publican all the world besides.
1585 C. Fetherstone tr. J. Calvin Comm. Acts xv. 5. 355
There remained no phariseisme in Paul.
A. adj.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues
Pharisien, hypocriticall, Pharisie-like.
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14
The more of outside in any duty, the more you are Pharisee-like.
B. adv.
In the manner of a Pharisee or the Pharisees.
1651 E. Hall Manus Testium Movens To Rdr. sig A2v,
When (Pharisee-like) such learned Doctors shall neither enter in themselves, nor suffer others to enter in, it would provoke a stone to speak.
1677 G. Fox Testimony what we believe of Christ 44
Consider this all ye wanton Professors, that live in pleasure, that have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter, and condemned and killed the Just, Pharisee-like.
A Pharisee.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 208 (MED),
Huo þet wile wysliche bidde god..þet he ne wene greate þinges of him-zelue ase dede þe farisen þet yalp ine his benes and onworþede þane pubblycan.
c1425 Prose Versions New Test.: Deeds (Cambr.) xxiii. 6
One partye..was of þo Pharisens, ande an-oþer of þo Saducens.
a1500 (▸c1410) Dives & Pauper (Hunterian) (1976) i. 201 (MED),
Þe Pharisen spac to mychil in his preyere, for he spac al with pryde.
c1600 (▸?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) 547
Beþ nouȝt þise i-lyke Fully to þe Farisens?
A Pharisee.
a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 20
And of this is exempill of the Pharizean and the publican.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 108
Ye phariseans and pyntid ypocritis quhilk vald mak thair selff richtwis throw thair aune varkis.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 193
Wo be to ȝow, Pharesianis, That Regnis ȝit lyke hie Capitanis.
1584 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 127
Polluters of his holie temple Lyk to scrybes and fals Pharisians
citations in chronological order
The above citations listed in chronological order with secondary sources omitted.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 37 He sæt on þæs fariseus ...
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 43 Wa eow fariseum [c1200 Hatton fariseen].
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xviii. 11 Ða stod se fariseus [c1200 Hatton phariseus].
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 11 ... beorman fariseorum & saduceorum.
1200?c Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16862 Farisew bitacneþþ uss Shædinng onn ennglissh spæche.
1425c Prose Versions New Test.: Deeds (Cambr.) xxiii. 6 ...was of þo Pharisens, ... of þo Saducens.
1475?a Ludus Coventriae 202 (MED), Herke, sere pharysew and sere scrybe.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vii. f. lxxxvi, He cam in to the pharises housse.
1527 W. Roye tr. W. Capito Lytle Treat. for Christen Men sig. e2v, ... tyranny Pharisaicall ..
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe ii. sig. h iiiijv[i iiijv], Full of conspiracy With the sectes pharisaicall.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 108 Ye phariseans and pyntid ypocritis quhilk vald mak ...
1537 tr. Fyften Orders Sectes or Supersticions of Jewes iiii, ...sig. G2, The Pharisaicall secte ...
1539 T. Boyes Let. 8 June in Lisle Papers (P.R.O.: SP 3/2) f. 42, ... yt you wer a farryse.
1548? J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature iv. sig. Evv, As Cayphas ones sayd, in counsell pharysaycall.
1573? H. Cheke tr. F. Negri Freewyl iv. iii. 155, ...newe kynde of Pharisaisme,....the Pharisees ...
1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. viii. 262 You fall into flatte Pharisaisme. ...
1585 C. Fetherstone tr. J. Calvin Comm. Acts xv. 5. 355 There remained no phariseisme in Paul.
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. C2, Though he play the Pharisie neuer so in iustifying ...
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 101 Reprobates,..tyrants, pharises, hypocrites false prophets.
1598 R. Tofte Alba ii. sig. D2, I loue not I to pharisie, nor praise My selfe, for to her owne selfe I appeale.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. ii. 8 Not the nation, but the affection makes a Pharisee.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. vii. 21 So farre houen with surquedrie and selfe-loue,..Pharisaically....
1601 W. Watson in T. Bluet Important Considerations sig. A1v, ... seduced by Pharisism ...
1606 T. Palmer Ess. Meanes ii. 97 Our Sauiour Christ soundly reproued Nicodemus the Pharisie, for ...
1610 Bp. J. Hall Common Apol. against Brownists iv. 9 Paul was (ἀϕωρισμένος) ...to his Pharisaisme.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Pharisien, hypocriticall, Pharisie-like.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 124 ... office Christ obiected to another of his Pharisaicall hostes.
1618a J. Sylvester All's not Gold xxiv, Wee are so Punctuall and Precise In Doctrine (Pharisaik-wise).
1625 Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 98 The Causes of Superstition are:..and Pharisaicall Holinesse.
1636 C. Fitz-Geffry Blessed Birth-day 28 Proud vaunting Pharisee how hast thou lost All thy good, ...
1644 Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 44 Hee..removes the Pharisaick mists rais'd between the law ...
1645 Milton Colasterion 18 All of them Pharisæan disciples, and bred up in their Doctrin.
1648 C. Walker Relations & Observ. i. 30 ..acknowledge the Scripture, but..only..to Pharisee themselves..
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14 ...any duty, the more you are Pharisee-like.
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14 ...and so make an outside Pharisee-Christian?
1651 E. Hall Manus Testium Movens To Rdr. sig A2v, When (Pharisee-like) such learned Doctors shall...
1673 Milton True Relig. 6 The Pharisees and Saduces were two Sects.
1677 G. Fox Testimony what we believe of Christ 44 ..., and condemned and killed the Just, Pharisee-like.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. i. 6 The Pharisaick Sect amongst the Jews.
1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. xvii. 489 ... Superstitions, and Pharisaicalness.
1680 R. L'Estrange Citt & Bumpkin 29 The Pharisaical Distinguishing of your selves from the Profane.
1682 N. Tate & Dryden 2nd Pt. Absalom & Achitophel 24 ... Nor Pharisees by Pharisees be Freed.
1698 E. Tipper Pilgrim's Viaticum 71 ... Reprove all Pharisaic Sins...
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 37 He sæt on þæs fariseus ...
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 43 Wa eow fariseum [c1200 Hatton fariseen].
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xviii. 11 Ða stod se fariseus [c1200 Hatton phariseus].
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 11 ... beorman fariseorum & saduceorum.
1200?c Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16862 Farisew bitacneþþ uss Shædinng onn ennglissh spæche.
1425c Prose Versions New Test.: Deeds (Cambr.) xxiii. 6 ...was of þo Pharisens, ... of þo Saducens.
1475?a Ludus Coventriae 202 (MED), Herke, sere pharysew and sere scrybe.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vii. f. lxxxvi, He cam in to the pharises housse.
1527 W. Roye tr. W. Capito Lytle Treat. for Christen Men sig. e2v, ... tyranny Pharisaicall ..
1528 Rede me & be nott Wrothe ii. sig. h iiiijv[i iiijv], Full of conspiracy With the sectes pharisaicall.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 108 Ye phariseans and pyntid ypocritis quhilk vald mak ...
1537 tr. Fyften Orders Sectes or Supersticions of Jewes iiii, ...sig. G2, The Pharisaicall secte ...
1539 T. Boyes Let. 8 June in Lisle Papers (P.R.O.: SP 3/2) f. 42, ... yt you wer a farryse.
1548? J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature iv. sig. Evv, As Cayphas ones sayd, in counsell pharysaycall.
1573? H. Cheke tr. F. Negri Freewyl iv. iii. 155, ...newe kynde of Pharisaisme,....the Pharisees ...
1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. viii. 262 You fall into flatte Pharisaisme. ...
1585 C. Fetherstone tr. J. Calvin Comm. Acts xv. 5. 355 There remained no phariseisme in Paul.
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes sig. C2, Though he play the Pharisie neuer so in iustifying ...
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 101 Reprobates,..tyrants, pharises, hypocrites false prophets.
1598 R. Tofte Alba ii. sig. D2, I loue not I to pharisie, nor praise My selfe, for to her owne selfe I appeale.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. ii. 8 Not the nation, but the affection makes a Pharisee.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. vii. 21 So farre houen with surquedrie and selfe-loue,..Pharisaically....
1601 W. Watson in T. Bluet Important Considerations sig. A1v, ... seduced by Pharisism ...
1606 T. Palmer Ess. Meanes ii. 97 Our Sauiour Christ soundly reproued Nicodemus the Pharisie, for ...
1610 Bp. J. Hall Common Apol. against Brownists iv. 9 Paul was (ἀϕωρισμένος) ...to his Pharisaisme.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Pharisien, hypocriticall, Pharisie-like.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 124 ... office Christ obiected to another of his Pharisaicall hostes.
1618a J. Sylvester All's not Gold xxiv, Wee are so Punctuall and Precise In Doctrine (Pharisaik-wise).
1625 Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 98 The Causes of Superstition are:..and Pharisaicall Holinesse.
1636 C. Fitz-Geffry Blessed Birth-day 28 Proud vaunting Pharisee how hast thou lost All thy good, ...
1644 Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 44 Hee..removes the Pharisaick mists rais'd between the law ...
1645 Milton Colasterion 18 All of them Pharisæan disciples, and bred up in their Doctrin.
1648 C. Walker Relations & Observ. i. 30 ..acknowledge the Scripture, but..only..to Pharisee themselves..
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14 ...any duty, the more you are Pharisee-like.
1650 T. Bakewell Dr. Chamberlain Visited 14 ...and so make an outside Pharisee-Christian?
1651 E. Hall Manus Testium Movens To Rdr. sig A2v, When (Pharisee-like) such learned Doctors shall...
1673 Milton True Relig. 6 The Pharisees and Saduces were two Sects.
1677 G. Fox Testimony what we believe of Christ 44 ..., and condemned and killed the Just, Pharisee-like.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. i. 6 The Pharisaick Sect amongst the Jews.
1679 T. Puller Moderation Church of Eng. xvii. 489 ... Superstitions, and Pharisaicalness.
1680 R. L'Estrange Citt & Bumpkin 29 The Pharisaical Distinguishing of your selves from the Profane.
1682 N. Tate & Dryden 2nd Pt. Absalom & Achitophel 24 ... Nor Pharisees by Pharisees be Freed.
1698 E. Tipper Pilgrim's Viaticum 71 ... Reprove all Pharisaic Sins...
discussion
The earliest manuscripts show that the English constantly translated the Greek ϕ as "f". until the NT version of circa 1425 when ϕ is transliterated as "ph". The transliteration of "ph" is used consistently with one exception (1539) up to the year 1700.
Two citations for Phi in the Oxford English Dictionary before the year 1700:
?a1425 (▸c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) lf. 9v,
Alpha. Betha. Gama. Deltha..iota. lapda..pi..tau..fy. chi. psi.
1575 W. Patten Cal. Script. 87
Between the Hebru Pe..., the Greek Phi, and oour common F. and Ph. so small matter is made of the Authoours heer, as many woords (haply) lookt for in Ph. ar too be foound in this F.
It would seem as late as 1575, according to one writer, there was no reason to favor "ph" over "f" in transliteration.
Under the heading for the letter "p", the Oxford English Dictionary informs us that:
"The sound represented by the Greek letter Φ corresponds ...[to] an aspirated p . In early Greek this sound was written ΠΗ ; subsequently the alphabet adopted an additional letter, Φ, to represent it. "
"Hence in late popular and medieval Latin, and in the Romance languages, f was often substituted for etymological ph , as it is now regularly in Italian and Spanish (e.g. fantasia , filosofia , Filippo , fotografico , etc.)."
"This substitution of f for etymological ph was also found to a great extent in Old French, and in Old English and early Middle English (see ...Phariseen.,..); but subsequently, under the influence of the Latin forms, most words so written were altered back to ph ."
The substitution of f for ph is found to a great extent in Old English (up to 1150) and early Middle English ( up to 1300).
" (The preponderance of ph is particularly notable in the late Middle English period in e.g. the works of John Gower). "
The OED brings our attention to Gower (d.1408) who frequently wrote "ph" instead of the more common "f". Unfortunately, the OED does not tell us why Mr. Gower would write in this particular manner. We know that Gower could not have know Greek, since Greek was not introduced into western Europe until the late 15th century, that is, almost a century after his death.
"Gower's bones have indeed been lost since the early nineteenth century or before, but his effigy...was restored and repainted in 1958 in an approximation to its original form."
Unfortunately, the tomb does not display dates.
Two citations for Phi in the Oxford English Dictionary before the year 1700:
?a1425 (▸c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) lf. 9v,
Alpha. Betha. Gama. Deltha..iota. lapda..pi..tau..fy. chi. psi.
1575 W. Patten Cal. Script. 87
Between the Hebru Pe..., the Greek Phi, and oour common F. and Ph. so small matter is made of the Authoours heer, as many woords (haply) lookt for in Ph. ar too be foound in this F.
It would seem as late as 1575, according to one writer, there was no reason to favor "ph" over "f" in transliteration.
Under the heading for the letter "p", the Oxford English Dictionary informs us that:
"The sound represented by the Greek letter Φ corresponds ...[to] an aspirated p . In early Greek this sound was written ΠΗ ; subsequently the alphabet adopted an additional letter, Φ, to represent it. "
"Hence in late popular and medieval Latin, and in the Romance languages, f was often substituted for etymological ph , as it is now regularly in Italian and Spanish (e.g. fantasia , filosofia , Filippo , fotografico , etc.)."
"This substitution of f for etymological ph was also found to a great extent in Old French, and in Old English and early Middle English (see ...Phariseen.,..); but subsequently, under the influence of the Latin forms, most words so written were altered back to ph ."
The substitution of f for ph is found to a great extent in Old English (up to 1150) and early Middle English ( up to 1300).
" (The preponderance of ph is particularly notable in the late Middle English period in e.g. the works of John Gower). "
The OED brings our attention to Gower (d.1408) who frequently wrote "ph" instead of the more common "f". Unfortunately, the OED does not tell us why Mr. Gower would write in this particular manner. We know that Gower could not have know Greek, since Greek was not introduced into western Europe until the late 15th century, that is, almost a century after his death.
"Gower's bones have indeed been lost since the early nineteenth century or before, but his effigy...was restored and repainted in 1958 in an approximation to its original form."
Unfortunately, the tomb does not display dates.
conclusion
Even with the OED, we are unable to determine why "ph" was replacing "f" in England in the late 1400's.
One one hand, we read that it was common to replace "phi" with "f" (as late as 1575), and on the other hand, we read that educated writers, based on the Latin precedent, would write "f" as "ph". If the later statement were true, then we should have no examples of "phi" translated as "f" (which writers of that time could be ignorant of Latin), since Latin was presumably well known in western Europe. This presumption is questionable since "Christ" was written in English without the "h" well into the 16th century, and we presume that due to the influence of the Latin spelling, it reached its current form.
We question the dates of the word "Pharisee that begin with "ph" before the publication of Tyndale's Bible (1526). While we have shown that the word "Sadducee" and associated words do not occur before Tyndale's Bible, we can not image a scenario where the English could be ignorant of one sect, but not the other, that figure so prominently in the New Testament.
Attempt To Date the word Christian for examples of the spelling "Crist"
Attempt To Date Sadducees
One one hand, we read that it was common to replace "phi" with "f" (as late as 1575), and on the other hand, we read that educated writers, based on the Latin precedent, would write "f" as "ph". If the later statement were true, then we should have no examples of "phi" translated as "f" (which writers of that time could be ignorant of Latin), since Latin was presumably well known in western Europe. This presumption is questionable since "Christ" was written in English without the "h" well into the 16th century, and we presume that due to the influence of the Latin spelling, it reached its current form.
We question the dates of the word "Pharisee that begin with "ph" before the publication of Tyndale's Bible (1526). While we have shown that the word "Sadducee" and associated words do not occur before Tyndale's Bible, we can not image a scenario where the English could be ignorant of one sect, but not the other, that figure so prominently in the New Testament.
Attempt To Date the word Christian for examples of the spelling "Crist"
Attempt To Date Sadducees