Reference: Elder
Hastings
The rudimentary form of government which prevailed amongst the Hebrews in primitive times grew out of family life. As the father is head of the household, so the chiefs of the principal families ruled the clan and the tribe, their authority being ill-defined, and, like that of an Arab sheik, depending on the consent of the governed. In our earliest documents the 'elders of Israel' are the men of position and influence, who represent the community in both religious and civil affairs (Ex 3:16,18; 12:11; 17:5 f., Ex 18:12; 19:7; Nu 11:16; De 5:23; 27:1; 31:28): the 'elders' of Ex 24:1 are the 'nobles' of Ex 24:11. Josephus sums up correctly when he makes Moses declare: 'Aristocracy
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Go - and thou shalt gather together the eiders of Israel and shalt say unto them-Yahweh. God of your fathers, hath appeared unto me, the God of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob saying, - I am, concerned, for you, and for what is done to you in Egypt;
So will they hearken to thy voice, - and thou shalt go in - thou, and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt and ye shall say unto him - Yahweh, God of the Hebrews, hath fallen in with us, Now, therefore let us go, we pray thee, a journey of three days into the desert, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh, our God.
And, thus, shall ye eat it, - your loins, girded, your sandals, on your feet, and, your staff, in your hand, - so shall ye eat it in haste, it is Yahweh's, passing over.
Then said Yahweh unto Moses - Pass over before the people, and take with thee some of the elders of Israel, - thy staff also wherewith thou didst smite the river, take thou in thy hand, so shalt thou go thy way.
Then took Jethro father-in-law of Moses, an ascending-offering and sacrifices to God, - and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came in to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God.
Then came Moses, and called for the elders of the people, - and put before them all these words which Yahweh had commanded him.
And unto Moses, he said - Come up unto Yahweh - thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, so shall ye bow yourselves down from afar.
against the nobles of the sons of Israel, put he not forth his hand, - so then they had vision of God, and did eat and drink,
Then said Yahweh unto Moses - Gather thou unto me seventy men, from among the elders of Israel, of whom thou knowest that they are elders of the people and their overseers, - then shalt thou take them unto the tent of meeting, and they shall station themselves there with thee.
So Moab said unto the elders of Midian - Now, shall the gathered host lick up all that are round about us, as the ox doth lick up the verdure of the field. But, Balak son of Zippor, was king unto Moab at that time.
And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, the mountain also burning with fire, then drew ye near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes and your elders,
Judges and officers, shalt thou appoint thee in all thy gates, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, by thy tribes, - and they shall judge the people, with righteous judgment,
then shall the elders of his city send and fetch him from thence, - and deliver him into the hand of the blood redeemer that he die;
then shall thine elders and thy judges go forth, - and measure unto the cities that are round about the slain;
then shall the father of the damsel and her mother take and bring forth the tokens of the virginity of the damsel, unto the elders of the city, in the gate;
But, if the man like not to take his sister-in-law, then shall his sister-in-law go up unto the gate, unto the elders, and say - My husband's brother hath refused, to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he is not willing to do as a husband's brother unto me.
And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people saying, - Observe all the commandment which I am commanding you to-day.
Call together unto me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, - and let me speak in their hearing these words, and let me take to witness against them the heavens and the earth.
So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land spake unto us, saying - Take ye, in your hand, provision for the journey, and go your way to meet them, - then shall ye say unto them, Your servants, we are. Now, therefore, solemnise with us a covenant.
and caught a young man, of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him, - so he wrote down for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy-seven men.
Then fetched he ten men of the elders of the city, and said - Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
Then said Boaz to the elders, and all the people - Witnesses, are ye to-day, that I have taken over all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's, and Mahlon's, - from the hand of Naomi:
And, when the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath Yahweh smitten us to-day, before the Philistines? Let us fetch unto us, out of Shiloh, the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, that, when it cometh into our midst, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
So then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, - and came unto Samuel, to Ramah;
so shall, even we, become like all the nations, - and our king shall judge us, and go forth before us, and fight our battles.
Then he said: I have sinned, Now, honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, - and turn again with me, then will I bow down unto Yahweh thy God.
Then, did Solomon call together the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, chiefs of the fathers of the sons of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, - that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, out of the city of David, the same is Zion.
Then called the king of Israel, for all the elders of the land, and said - Mark, I pray you, and see, how this man is seeking, mischief, - for he had sent unto me, for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I refused him not.
Now, Ahab, had seventy sons in Samaria, - so Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel - the elders, and unto them who had been foster-parents for Ahab, saying:
Then the king sent, - and there were gathered unto him, all the elders of Judah, and Jerusalem;
Then asked we of these elders, thus, we said to them, - Who hath issued to you an edict, this house, to build, and, this wall, to complete?
let alone the work of this house of God, - the pasha of Judah, and the elders of Judah, this house of God, shall build upon its place;
and, whosoever should not come within three days, according to the counsel of the rulers and the elders, all his goods should be devoted, - and, himself, be separated from the convocation of them of the Exile.
Let, we beseech thee, our rulers take up their station for all the convocation, and, all who, throughout our cities, have married foreign women, let them come in at times appointed, and, with them, the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the glow of the anger of our God be turned from us, concerning this matter.
That he might bind his rulers as he pleased, And, his elders, he might embue with wisdom.
Yea let them extol him in the convocation of the people, and, in the seated company of elders, let them praise him.
Known in the gates, is her husband, when he sitteth, with the elders of the land:
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, - And faithfulness the girdle of his reins;
Now these, are the, words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem, - unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and unto the priests and unto the prophets and unto all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
And it came to pass, in the sixth year in the sixth month, on the fifth of the month, I being seated in my house, and the elders of Judah being seated before me, then fell upon me there the hand of My Lord Yahweh.
Then came there unto me men, of the elders of Israel, - and sat before me -
And it came to pass in the seventh year in the fifth month, on the tent of the month, that there came in men of the elders of Israel to enquire of Yahweh, - and they sat before me.
the elders of Byblus and the skilled men thereof, were within thee, Thy calkers, - All the ships of the sea and their mariners, were within thee, To carry on thy traffic,
Hallow ye a fast, Call a solemn assembly, Gather, O elders, all the inhabitants of the land, unto the house of Yahweh your God, - and make ye outcry unto Yahweh.
Gather the people, hallow a convocation, collect the elders, gather the children, and the sucklings of the breasts, - let the bridegroom, come forth, from his chamber, and the bride from her bower:
And I will cut off the judge out of her midst, and, all her rulers, will I slay with him, saith Yahweh.