Religiously, they accepted the written Word as inspired by God. At the time of Christ's earthly ministry, this would have been what is now our Old Testament. But they also gave equal authority to oral tradition and attempted to defend this position by saying it went all the way back to Moses. Evolving over the centuries, these traditions added to God's Word, which is forbidden (Deuteronomy 4:2), and the Pharisees sought to strictly obey these traditions along with the Old Testament.
Kidini, walikubali Neno lililoandikwa kuwa liliongozwa na Mungu. Wakati wa huduma ya Yesu huku ulimwenguni, hii ingekuwa chenye Agano la Kale lipo sasa. Lakini pia waliupa mamlaka sawa tamaduni simulizi na jaribio la kuitetea nafasi hii kwa kusema kuwa kihistoria ilienda hadi kwa Musa.