Mark 1:22

not as the scribes The Scribes, Sopherîm, first came into prominence in the time of Ezra. Their duty was to copy, read, study, explain, and "fence round" the Law with "the tradition of the Elders" (Matthew 15:2). The Scribes proper only lasted till the death of Simon "the Just," b. c. 300. In the New Testament they are sometimes called "lawyers" (Matthew 22:35), or "Doctors of the Law" (Luke 5:17). Their teaching was preeminently second-hand. They simply repeated the decisions of previous Rabbis. But our Lord's teaching was absolute and independent. His formula was not "It hath been said," but "I say unto you."