Letter and spirit of the law by God. Not all Pharisees, nor all Jews of that time, were legalistic. Though modern language has used the word Pharisee in the pejorative to describe someone who is legalistic and rigid, it is not an accurate description of all Pharisees. The argument over the "Spirit of the Law" vs. the "Letter of the Law" was part of early Jewish dialogue as well The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) is one of the New Testament texts to address this theme. The passage concerns a dialogue between Jesus and an "expert in the law" or "lawyer". As described in
The Good Samaritan Window, Chartres Cathedral twenty-four - depict the Story of Creation. These are the themes of the planes depicting the story of the Good Samaritan: 1 - Signature panel (a shoemaker cutting leather) 2 - Signature panel (shoemakers making cord soles) 3 - Signature panel (donation of the window) 4 - Christ telling the parable to a couple of Pharisees 5 - The pilgrim leaving Jerusalem 6 - A bandit prepares to attack the pilgrim 7 - The pilgrim is beaten, robbed and stripped 8 - A Priest and a Levite see the injured man but walk on past 9 - A Samaritan binds