On the root H.ET-NUN-PE What you have to bear in mind is that the meaning “hypocrite” is a special development in Syriac and perhaps in Hebrew under Aramaic influence. The word seems to have meant pious in a favourable sense originally. From memory, I think it always has the connotation of members of a definable group or even a religious order. For people to call themselves by this name in the right Semitic language and the right dialect and at the right time would not be surprising at all. Don’t forget that those that were called pious by some could be called hypocrites by others. I will look into this further.
A sample of what appears in the Real Messiah order it here
