New Doctrines Taught Independent From Scripture
With the "feeling" that they had the spirit of God guiding them, the Pharisees began to make more laws and commandments of their own, without appealing to the Scriptures.
The first Pharisee we have record of who began to teach new commandments of his own, without any Scripture basis, was Joseph ben Joezer. This Pharisee lived at the time the majority of the Pharisees erroneously accepted the traditional laws as the "Oral Law of Moses."
Joseph ben Joezer made three new laws completely independent of Scripture. In fact, what he commanded was not only independent of Scripture but was not even permitted by the Law of God. His commandments in themselves were not earth-shaking violations, but they were only the beginning of a new trend.
His first law permitted the Jews to eat an insect related to the locust family which all Jews previously had considered unclean! Also, he permitted the Jews to eat of the liquids of the slaughtering place (apparently blood, etc). This, of course, was contrary to many Scriptures (Lev. 3:17, etc). His last commandment concerned the touching of a dead body. He permitted persons to be ritualistically clean even if they were in constant contact with individuals who had become unclean by touching a dead body (Lev. 11:27, 31, etc). For making all these new laws, which permitted people to do what had been previously forbidden in the Law of God, he was named by his contemporaries "Joseph the Permitter."
"Joseph is called 'the Permitter,' evidently because in all three decisions he permits things that were formerly considered forbidden" (Lauterbach, Rabbinic Essays, p. 219).
These three new commandments were not the only ones to be enacted by the Pharisees. The action of Joseph the Permitter was the setting of a precedent!
His commandments were a little reluctantly received at first, but the reluctance did not last long. From that time forward a flood of new commandments began to come forth from the Pharisees.
These new laws, which Jesus called the commandments of men (Mark 7:7), the Pharisees called by the Hebrew name Halachah. This Hebrew word in English means "rule" or "decision." It denoted a new rule or decision of the Pharisees. The term Halachah (or sometimes the plural Halakot) will be used in succeeding parts of this thesis series to denote the human commandments of the Pharisees.
Now notice what Herford says concerning these three new commandments (Halachah) of Joseph the Permitter. "The Mishnah [a part of the Talmud] records three halachahs which were declared by him . . . but which evidently met with some objection and gave occasion to his colleagues to call him 'Joseph the Permitter.' This was because . . . he was able to declare that to be allowable which till then had not been allowable, since no interpretation of the written text [the word of God] had been found which would justify his conclusion" (Talmud and Apocrypha, p. 67).
These new Halachah of Joseph the Permitter were not customs or habits that had been inherited from the days of the religious anarchy. Or, to put it another way, these were not laws which the Pharisees claimed to be part of the traditional laws from Moses. These new laws were nothing more than commandments originating in the mind of Joseph himself. Notice what Lauterbach says:
"It is therefore evident that these Halakot . . . were not older traditional laws transmitted by Joseph as a mere witness, but Joseph's own teachings. He was the one who 'permitted' and he deserved the name [the Permitter]" (Rabbinic Essays, p. 218).
Pharisees Adopt Precedent of Joseph the Permitter
Because Joseph the Permitter was one of the chief leaders among the Pharisees immediately following the Maccabean Revolt (168-165 B.C), other Pharisees immediately followed his authoritative example and made new commandments or Halachah on their own. This method of teaching was not whole-heartedly accepted by all Pharisees immediately. It took about a generation to establish the new method of teaching firmly among the Pharisees.
If the majority of Pharisees agreed with the new commandments, they would then be accepted as the Word of God — even if the commandments taught just the opposite from the teaching of the Scriptures. It all depended upon whether the Pharisees, as a whole, thought the new commandments were necessary for the people to observe.
This practice gave rise to the theory that new rules — though contrary to Scripture — had to be established to meet the needs of the changing times! Notice Her-ford's summary of this whole situation:
"The lead which Joseph ben Joezer had given was followed, but only gradually; and though the theory of the Unwritten Torah [the traditional laws] was finally accepted and worked out to its furthest consequences, as seen in the Talmud, yet those who most firmly maintained it were quite aware of the weakness of its foundation. They knew that it cut the connection between the halachah [the rules of the Pharisees] and the written Torah [the Scriptures], and they knew that in appearance, at all events, it gave the teachers free scope to teach what they thought fit" (Herford, Talmud and Apocrypha, p. 68).
Pharisees Viewed Scriptures as Out of Date!
Because the Pharisees considered themselves Prophets and able to give the current will of God, they reasoned that in many cases the current will of God may be completely different from His will as expressed in past times. They maintained that many of their new teachings, which were clearly contrary to the written Word of God, were actually the present will of God. This is one of the reasons the Pharisees taught new commandments without Scripture proof!
The Pharisees were confident that as times changed and when the people would be under new environmental conditions that certain of the Laws of God, as revealed in the Scripture would, of necessity, become obsolete and have to be changed. And, feeling that they had the power of prophets, they felt no compunction about teaching new commandments to meet the needs of the time, regardless of whether those teachings contradicted the Word of God or not.
Herford shows us that this was the very attitude of the Pharisees:
"The written Torah was good for the age in which it was given, or in which it was first read; but the written Torah alone could not suffice for later ages" (Talmud and Apocrypha, p. 113).
With this attitude concerning the Scripture the Pharisees could always maintain that God's will had changed in the matter — that He had revealed His present will to the Pharisees.
This is the very same philosophy that is pervading our modern Christianity! How many times do we meet with statements from the learned theologians of the various Christians' sects saying the same thing today? Almost everyone feels that the Bible is out of date — is old fashioned. Millions assume it is impossible to keep God's laws and commandments in this "modern" age. Let us clearly understand that the Bible is not out of date. It can be obeyed, and in fact, it had better be obeyed! Let us not be like the Pharisees who rejected the Scripture. They received the stern rebuke of Christ. Let us, on the other hand, obey — live by — every word of God (Matt. 4:4).
From this time forward, we see the development of the Pharisaical Judaism of New Testament times. All the many arduous and burdensome laws concerning the Sabbath — the laws of washing the hands, pots, pans, etc. — laws regarding fasting — and myriads of others had their development in the minds of the Pharisees between the year 165 B.C. and the coming of Christ.
Once we understand the basis upon which popular Judaism in the days of Christ was founded, we will understand why Christ so severely condemned the practices of the Pharisees and of the other sects!