Reference: Sanhedrin
American
Or BETHDIN, house of judgment, was a council of seventy senators among the Jews, usually with the addition of the high priest as president, who determined the most important affairs of the nation. It is first mentioned by Josephus in connection with the reign of John Hyrcanus II, B. C. 69, and is supposed to have originated after the second temple was built, during the cessation of the prophetic office, and in imitation of Moses' council of seventy elders, Nu 11:16-24. The room, in which they met, according to the rabbins, was a rotunda, half of which was built without the temple, that is, without the inner court of Israel, and half within, the latter part being that in which the judges sat. The Nasi, or president, who was generally the high-priest, sat on a throne at the end of the hall; the vice-president, or chief counselor, called Ab-bethdin, at his right hand; and the sub-deputy, or Hakam, at his left; the other senators being ranged in order on each side. Most of the members of this council were priests or Levites, though men in private stations of life were not excluded. See SADDUCEES.
The authority of the Sanhedrin was very extensive. It decided causes brought before it by appeal from inferior courts; and even the king, the high priest, and the prophets, were under its jurisdiction. The general affairs of the nation were also brought before this assembly, particularly whatever was in any way connected with religion or worship, Mr 14:55; 15:1; Ac 4:7; 5:41; 6:12. Jews in foreign cities appear to have been amenable to this court in matters of religion, Ac 9:2. The right of judging in capital cases belonged to it, until this was taken away by the Romans a few years before the time of Christ, Joh 18:31. The Sanhedrin was probably the "council" referred to by our Lord, Mt 5:22. There appears also to have been and inferior tribunal of seven members, in every town, for the adjudication of less important matters. Probably it is this tribunal that is called "the judgment" in Mt 5:22.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever says to his brother Raca shall be in danger of the high-council; and whosoever shall say, O foolish one! shall be in danger of the Hell of fire.
But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever says to his brother Raca shall be in danger of the high-council; and whosoever shall say, O foolish one! shall be in danger of the Hell of fire.
And the high priests and all the Sanhedrin were seeking for testimony against Jesus, in order to put Him to death; and they were not finding it.
And straightway in the morning the high priests with the elders, and the scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, having held a consultation, binding Jesus, carried Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate.
Pilate, therefore, said to them, "Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to kill anyone:"
And, having set them in the midst, they were inquiring, "In what power or in what name, did ye do this?"
They, therefore, were going from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they were accounted worthy to suffer dishonor in behalf of The Name.
And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the Scribes; and, coming upon him, they seized him, and brought him to the Sanhedrin,
asked from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that, if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Fausets
Sanhedrin formed from the Greek sunedrion. Sanhedrin is the Chaldee form. (See COUNCIL.)
Hastings
The Gr. word synedrion (English Version council) became so familiar to the Jews that they adopted it in the form of Sanhedrin, which occurs very frequently both in Josephus and in the Talmud.
1. According to Rabbinical tradition, the Sanhedrin was originally created by Moses in obedience to Divine command (cf. Nu 11:16), and it is taught that this assembly existed, and exercised judicial functions, throughout the whole period of Biblical history right up to Talmudic times. That this cannot have been the case is seen already in the fact that, according to Biblical authority itself, king Jehoshaphat is mentioned as having instituted the supreme court at Jerusalem (2Ch 19:8); but that this court cannot have been identical with the Sanhedrin of later times is clear from the fact that, whereas the latter had governing powers as well as judicial functions, the former was a court of justice and nothing else. It is possible that the 'elders' mentioned in the Book of Ezra (Ezr 5:5,9; 6:7,14; 10:8) and 'rulers' in the Book of Nehemiah (18/type/worrell'>Ne 2:18; 4:8,18; 5:7; 7:5) constituted a body which to some extent corresponded to the Sanhedrin properly so called. But seeing that the Sanhedrin is often referred to as a Gerousia (i.e. an aristocratic, as distinct from a democratic, body), and that as such it is not mentioned before the time of Antiochus the Great (b.c. 223
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever says to his brother Raca shall be in danger of the high-council; and whosoever shall say, O foolish one! shall be in danger of the Hell of fire.
And, while He is yet speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a large multitude, with swords and clubs, from the high priests and elders of the people.
And those who seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.
And those who seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.
And the high priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false witness against Jesus, that they might put Him to death;
And Jesus answering, said to them, "Did ye come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs, to seize Me?
And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and there come together with him all the high priests and the elders and the scribes.
And straightway in the morning the high priests with the elders, and the scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, having held a consultation, binding Jesus, carried Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate.
there came Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable councillor; who also himself was looking for the Kingdom of God; and boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
And, when it was day, the eldership of the people was gathered together, both high priests and scribes; and they led Him away into their Sanhedrin, saying,
And, behold, a man, Joseph by name, who was a councillor, a good and righteous man
The high priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, "What are we doing? because This Man is doing many signs.
Pilate, therefore, said to them, "Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to kill anyone:"
The Jews, therefore, answered him, "We have a law, and according to the law He ought to die, because He made Himself God's Son."
And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody till the next day; for it was now evening.
And it came to pass, the next day, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem,
And it came to pass, the next day, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest. read more. And, having set them in the midst, they were inquiring, "In what power or in what name, did ye do this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are this day examined in regard to a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this person has been made whole; be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, Whom ye crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, in Him does this man stand here before you well! This is the Stone That was set at naught by you, the builders, Which was made into a head of a corner. And in no one else is there salvation; for neither is there any other name under Heaven, that has been given among men, in Which we must be saved." Now, beholding the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlettered and ignorant men, they were wondering; they also were recognizing them, that they had been with Jesus; and, seeing the man who had been healed, standing with them, they had nothing to say against it. But, having ordered them to go aside out of the Sanhedrin, they were conferring one with another,
But, having ordered them to go aside out of the Sanhedrin, they were conferring one with another, saying, "What shall we do to these men? for, indeed, that a notable sign has been done through them is manifest to all those dwelling in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it; read more. but, that it spread no further among the people, let us threaten them, that they speak no more to any man in This Name." And, having called them they charged them not to speak at all, nor teach, in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John, answering, said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken to you, rather than to God, judge ye; for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard." And they, when they had further threatened them, released them, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people; because all were glorifying God for what had taken place; for the man, on whom this sign of healing had been done, was more than forty years old. And, being released, they went to their own friends, and reported all that the high priests and the elders said to them.
And the high priest, rising up, and all those with him, being the sect of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in a public prison.
And, having heard this, they entered at dawn, into the temple, and were teaching. And the high priest, having come, and those with him, called together the Sanhedrin, and all the senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison-house to have them brought.
And, having heard this, they entered at dawn, into the temple, and were teaching. And the high priest, having come, and those with him, called together the Sanhedrin, and all the senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison-house to have them brought.
And, having heard this, they entered at dawn, into the temple, and were teaching. And the high priest, having come, and those with him, called together the Sanhedrin, and all the senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison-house to have them brought.
And, having heard this, they entered at dawn, into the temple, and were teaching. And the high priest, having come, and those with him, called together the Sanhedrin, and all the senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison-house to have them brought. But the officers, having come, did not find them in the prison, and, returning, they told, read more. saying, "The prison-house we found shut in all safety, and the prison-keepers standing at the doors; but, having opened, we found no one within." Now, when both the captain of the temple and the high priests heard these words, they were thoroughly perplexed concerning them, what this might become. But a certain one, coming near, told them, "Behold, the men whom ye put in the prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people!" Then the captain, having gone away with the officers, brought them, not with violence, for they were fearing the people, lest they should be stoned; and, having brought them, they set them before the Sanhedrin. And the high priest asked them, saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in This Name; and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching! and intend to bring upon us the blood of This Man!" But Peter and the apostles, answering, said, "It is proper to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, Whom ye slew, having suspended Him on a tree: This One God exalted as a Prince and Savior, with His right hand, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; also the Holy Spirit, Whom God gave to those who obey Him." And they, hearing it, were being convulsed with rage, and were taking counsel to slay them. But a certain one, having risen up in the council?? Pharisee, by name Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people??rdered to put the men without a little while. And he said to them, "Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves with regard to these men, what ye are about to do; for before these days arose Theudas, alleging that he himself was somebody, to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves; who was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were disbanded, and came to nothing. After this arose Judas, the Galilean, in the days of the enrollment, and drew away people after him; he also perished; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered abroad. And now I say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for, if this counsel or this work be of men, it will be overthrown; but, if it be of God, ye will not be able to overthrow them; lest perhaps ye be found even fighting against God." And to him they assented; and calling the apostles to them, beating them, they charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go,
And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the Scribes; and, coming upon him, they seized him, and brought him to the Sanhedrin,
But, crying out with a loud voice, they closed their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; and, having thrust him forth outside of the city, they kept stoning him! And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul.
asked from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that, if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
as also the high priest testifies for me, and all the eldership; from whom, having received letters, I was journeying to Damascus, intending to bring those also who were there bound to Jerusalem, that they might be punished.
as also the high priest testifies for me, and all the eldership; from whom, having received letters, I was journeying to Damascus, intending to bring those also who were there bound to Jerusalem, that they might be punished.
And, on the morrow, wishing to know the certainty, wherefore he was accused by the Jews, he released him, and gave orders that the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin should assemble together; and, bringing Paul down, he set him among them.
And, on the morrow, wishing to know the certainty, wherefore he was accused by the Jews, he released him, and gave orders that the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin should assemble together; and, bringing Paul down, he set him among them.
Now, therefore, do ye with the Sanhedrin signify to the chief captain that he bring him down to you, as if ye would ascertain more exactly the things concerning him; and we, before he comes near, are ready to kill him.
And he said, "The Jews agreed to ask you, that tomorrow you would bring Paul down into the Sanhedrin, as if they would inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him.
And, wishing to know clearly the cause for which they were accusing him, I led him down into their Sanhedrin;
Meanwhile as I was journeying to Damascus, with authority and a commission from the high priests,
Smith
San'hedrin
(from the Greek sunedrion, "a council-chamber" commonly but in correctly Sanhedrim), the supreme council of the Jewish people in the time of Christ and earlier.
1. The origin of this assembly is traced in the Mishna to the seventy elders whom Moses was directed,
to associate with him in the government of the Israelites; but this tribunal was probably temporary, and did not continue to exist after the Israelites had entered Palestine. In the lack of definite historical information as to the establishment of the Sanhedrin, it can only be said in general that the Greek etymology of the name seems to point to a period subsequent to the Macedonian supremacy in Palestine. From the few incidental notices in the New Testament, we gather that it consisted of chief priests, or the heads of the twenty-four classes into which the priests were divided, elders, men of age and experience, and scribes, lawyers, or those learned in the Jewish law.
Mt 26:57,59; Mr 15:1; Lu 22:66; Ac 5:21
2. The number of members is usually given as 71. The president of this body was styled nasi, and was chosen in account of his eminence in worth and wisdom. Often, if not generally, this pre-eminence was accorded to the high priest. The vice-president, called in the Talmud "father of the house of judgment," sat at the right hand of the president. Some writers speak of a second vice-president, but this is not sufficiently confirmed. While in session the Sanhedrin sat in the form of half-circle.
3. The place in which the sessions of the Sanhedrin were ordinarily held was, according to the Talmad, a hall called Gazzith, supposed by Lightfoot to have been situated in the southeast corner of one of the courts near the temple building. In special exigencies, however, it seems to have met in the residence of the high priest.
Forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and consequently while the Saviour was teaching in Palestine, the sessions of the Sanhedrin were removed from the hall Gazzith to a somewhat greater distance from the temple building, although still on Mount Moriah. After several other changes, its seat was finally established at tiberias, where it became extinct A.D. 425. As a judicial body the Sanhedrin constituted a supreme court, to which belonged in the first instance the trial of false prophets, of the high priest and other priests, and also of a tribe fallen into idolatry. As an administrative council, it determined other important matters. Jesus was arraigned before this body as a false prophet,
Joh 11:47
and Peter, John, Stephen and Paul as teachers of error and deceivers of the people. From
it appears that the Sanhedrin exercised a degree of authority beyond the limits of Palestine. According to the Jerusalem Gemara the power of inflicting capital punishment was taken away from this tribunal forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem. With this agrees the answer of the Jews to Pilate.
Joh 19:31
The Talmud also mentions a lesser Sanhedrin of twenty-three members in every city in Palestine in which were not less than 120 householders.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then the high priests and the elders of the people were gathered together into the court of the high priest who was called Caiaphas;
And those who seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.
And the high priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false witness against Jesus, that they might put Him to death;
And straightway in the morning the high priests with the elders, and the scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, having held a consultation, binding Jesus, carried Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate.
And, when it was day, the eldership of the people was gathered together, both high priests and scribes; and they led Him away into their Sanhedrin, saying,
The high priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, "What are we doing? because This Man is doing many signs.
The Jews, therefore, (since it was the Preparation), that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, (for the day of that sabbath was great), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and they be taken away.
And, having heard this, they entered at dawn, into the temple, and were teaching. And the high priest, having come, and those with him, called together the Sanhedrin, and all the senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison-house to have them brought.
asked from him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that, if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.