Matthew Chapter 23 verse 2 Holy Bible
saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat:
read chapter 23 in ASV
The scribes and the Pharisees have the authority of Moses;
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saying, The scribes and the Pharisees have set themselves down in Moses' seat:
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Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
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read chapter 23 in WBT
saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses' seat.
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saying, `On the seat of Moses sat down the scribes and the Pharisees;
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 2-12. - The moral character of the scribes and Pharisees, and warning to Christ's disciples. Verse 2. - The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. In the seat of the great judge and lawgiver. This is stated as an undoubted fact (ἐκάθισαν), with no idea of blame attached. Literally, sat on the seat of Moses from time immemorial. These (meaning not individuals, but the collective body) are the authorized expounders and teachers of the Law; their position is assured; they are not to be displaced. The scribes were the party chiefly denoted; they were of the Pharisaical sect; hence the addition, "and the Pharisees," by which is intimated, not that these latter, qua Pharisees, had any teaching office, but that the former shared their religious opinions. The Sadducees seem to have had no popular influence, and were never recognized as leaders. The Levitical priests never appear in the Gospels as teachers or expositors of the Mosaic system; this function of theirs had devolved upon scribes and lawyers.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.--The words were probably spoken of their collective action as represented in the Sanhedrin, rather than of their individual work as interpreters of the Law. As such, they claimed to be the authoritative exponents of the Law, and our Lord recognises (unless we suppose a latent protest in His words, like that which is veiled in the "full well ye reject" of Mark 7:9) their official claim to reverence.
