[beavus]

"What ethnic tribe, inhabiting Judea, were they, then?"

How do such arguments get started among people who have access to the Internet and its wealth of reference information?

The Pharisees were an ancient Jewish sect that emphasized strict interpretation and observance of the Mosaic law. That is, they were a sect, not a tribe.

I guess it was the ArchieBunkerness of your statement that I found so funny.