Reference: Elders
Morish
This term occurs first in Ge 50:7, where it applies to the Egyptians of the house of Pharaoh and to the elders of Egypt. In Nu 22:7 we read also of the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, so that the term was not confined to Israel. The word is saqen which implies 'aged man;' they were no doubt also men of repute, including heads of houses of each tribe, without having any official place such as was given to the seventy appointed by God to work with Moses: these were chosen from among the elders. Nu 11:16-17,24-25.
Elders would be found in every city, and could act in all matters of the common weal as the responsible members of the community. They could be called on any emergency. For instance, when a dead man was found in a field, and it was not known who had slain him, the elders of the city to which it was nearest, must assemble, and, with their hands over a heifer, beheaded for the occasion, must solemnly declare that they had no knowledge of the murder. The 'judges ' are here named as distinct from the elders. De 21:1-9. In any ratification as to the redemption of an inheritance the elders were called together to be witnesses. Ru 4:1-12. The elders being heads of houses and related by blood to the people, Israel must have been in a dire condition when the elders were not honoured. La 4:16; 5:12.
In the N.T. the elders of Israel are often referred to and their traditions spoken of. Mr 7:3,5. Such took a prominent part in the condemnation of the Lord, and are mentioned as distinct from the Sanhedrim. Mt 26:59. 'All the elders' in Mt 27:1 would include the Sanhedrim: cf. also Ac 6:12. The elders continued their opposition as long as there was any open testimony in Jerusalem. Ac 4:23; 24:1; 25:15.
ELDER IN THE CHURCH. The word is ???????????, and signifies 'aged person.' There were elders at Jerusalem, though we do not read of their appointment, Ac 11:30; 15:2-23; 21:18; but the choice of elders in the Gentile assemblies was by apostolic authority, either direct or delegated. Paul and Barnabas chose, or appointed, elders in every city. Ac 14:23: cf. Jas 5:14; 1Pe 5:1. Titus was delegated by Paul to establish elders in every city in Crete. Tit 1:5. In Tit 1:7 they are called bishops, or overseers; so in Acts 20 Paul called for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he said that the Holy Ghost had made them bishops, or overseers, showing that those appointed as elders and bishops were the same persons. Ac 20:28. See BISHOP.
It is important to note the distinction between 'gift' and 'office.' The former is direct from the Lord; the latter by human appointment. Gift needed no human authority for its exercise, and was held in immediate responsibility to the Head. Elders were such by apostolic authority, direct or delegated. Their appointment was not to preach or teach (though if they took the lead well, and had the gift of teaching, they were worthy of double honour, 1Jo 5:17), but 'to shepherd' the assembly of God, Ac 20:28, and to maintain it in order in the locality where they lived. Their authority was over the unbroken local assembly. There can be now no such elders either in the source of their authority, or in the sphere of its exercise.
ELDERS IN HEAVEN. The four and twenty elders seen by John in heaven are frequently referred to in the Revelation. They were seen round about the throne, sitting on thrones (not seats), clothed in white raiment, with crowns of gold on their heads, and they worship God. Re 4:4,10. In the O.T, when all was in order there were twenty-four courses of the priesthood, each course having an elder as head or chief, 1Ch 24:7-18; and the elders in the Revelation being twenty-four in number may be in allusion to them. The elders in heaven have harps and golden vials full of odours, "which are the prayers of saints," showing that they act as priests, Re 5:8; and in Re 5:9 they celebrate redemption in a song. They are doubtless the redeemed, including both Old and New Testament saints. Re 7:11,13; 11:16; 14:3; 19:4.
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So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
The LORD therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. "Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone.
So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak's words to him.
"If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. read more. "It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. "Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. "All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; and they shall answer and say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 'Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O LORD, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.' And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. "So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, "Turn aside, friend, sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down. He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. read more. Then he said to the closest relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. "So I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it." Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance." The closest relative said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it." Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. So the closest relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. "Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today." All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. "Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman."
Now the first lot came out for Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah, the third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim, read more. the fifth for Malchijah, the sixth for Mijamin, the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for Abijah, the ninth for Jeshua, the tenth for Shecaniah, the eleventh for Eliashib, the twelfth for Jakim, the thirteenth for Huppah, the fourteenth for Jeshebeab, the fifteenth for Bilgah, the sixteenth for Immer, the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizzez, the nineteenth for Pethahiah, the twentieth for Jehezkel, the twenty-first for Jachin, the twenty-second for Gamul, the twenty-third for Delaiah, the twenty-fourth for Maaziah.
The presence of the LORD has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.
Princes were hung by their hands; Elders were not respected.
Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death.
Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death;
(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders;
The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?"
When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the Council.
And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.
When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. read more. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses." The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. "And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. "Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? "But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are." All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me. "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. "With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, 'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,' SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO. "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. "For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath." Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.
After five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders, with an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought charges to the governor against Paul.
and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,
For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.
Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?"
And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,
And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.
And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, "Amen Hallelujah!"
Watsons
ELDERS, a name given to certain laymen in the Presbyterian discipline, who are ecclesiastical officers, and in conjunction with the ministers and deacons compose the kirk sessions in Scotland. The number of elders is proportioned to the extent and population of the parish, and is seldom less than two or three, but sometimes exceeds fifty. They are laymen in this respect, that they have no right to teach, or to dispense the sacraments; and on this account they form an office in the Presbyterian church inferior in rank and power to that of pastors. They generally discharge the office which originally belonged to the deacons, of attending to the interests of the poor. But their peculiar business is expressed by the name ruling elders; for in every jurisdiction within the parish they are the spiritual court, of which the minister is officially moderator; and in the presbytery, of which the pastors of all the parishes within its bounds are officially members, lay elders sit as the representatives of the several sessions or consistories.
ELDERS OF ISRAEL. By this name we understand the heads of tribes, or rather of the great families in Israel, who, before the settlement of the Hebrew commonwealth, had a government and authority over their own families, and the people. When Moses was sent into Egypt to deliver Israel, he assembled the elders of Israel, and told them that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had appeared to him, Ex 3:15; 4:29, &c. Moses and Aaron treat the elders of Israel as the representatives of the nation. When God gave the law to Moses, he said, "Take Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, his sons, and the seventy elders of Israel, and worship ye afar off," Ex 24:1,9-10. They advanced only to the foot of the mountain. On all occasions afterward, we find this number of seventy elders. But it is credible, that as there were twelve tribes, there were seventy-two elders, six from each tribe, and that seventy is set down, instead of seventy-two; or rather, that Moses and Aaron should be added to the number seventy, and that, exclusive of them, there were but four elders from the tribe of Levi. After Jethro's arrival in the camp of Israel, Moses made a considerable change in the governors of the people. He established over Israel heads of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, that justice might be readily administered to applicants; only difficult eases were referred to himself, Ex 18:24-25, &c. But this constitution did not continue long; for on the murmuring of the people at the encampment called the Graves of Lust, Nu 11:24-35, Moses appointed seventy elders of Israel, to whom God communicated part of that legislator's spirit; they began to prophesy, and ceased not afterward. This, according to the generality of interpreters, was the beginning of the sanhedrim; but, to support this opinion, many things must be supposed, whereby to infer, that this court of justice was constantly in being during the Scripture history. It seems that the establishment of the seventy elders by Moses continued, not only during his life, but under Joshua likewise, and under the judges. The elders of the people and Joshua swore to the treaty with the Gibeonites, Jos 9:15. A little before his death, Joshua renewed the covenant with the Lord, in company with the elders, the princes, the heads, and officers of Israel, Jos 23; 24:1,28. After the death of Joshua, and the elders who survived him, the people were several times brought into bondage, and were delivered by their judges. We do not see distinctly what authority the elders had during this time, and still less under the kings who succeeded the judges.
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God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you ' This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.
Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel;
So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.
Then He said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance.
Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again. read more. But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. So a young man ran and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Then Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, "Moses, my lord, restrain them." But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD'S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!" Then Moses returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel. Now there went forth a wind from the LORD and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp and about two cubits deep on the surface of the ground. The people spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very severe plague. So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.
Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.