At the time of Jesus there were three major Jewish sects in Palestine: Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees. During the Hasmonean dynasty 100 years earlier the Sadducees were dominant because they controlled the Jerusalem temple and the commerce surrounding it. The Sadducees were very powerful under the Hasmoneans so it seems unlikely they would have tolerated rivaling religious groups. Hence, Pharisaism should be relatively late I think. Pharisees are not mentioned in the Old Testament, whereas...
