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SANHEDRIN

The hebraized form of Gk. synédrion, meaning “a counsel or assembly.” Sanhedrin is first used in the Mishnah (ca. a.d. 200) as the name of a tractate and occasionally as a term for courts (the ordinary Mishnaic Hebrew word for court is bêt dîn, lit., “house of judgment”). The use of “Sanhedrin” in some NT versions to translate the Greek term is anachronistic.

The terms for courts and councils are very imprecise in the NT, Mishnah, and Greek culture in general, and the historical reconstruction of these institutions is similarly uncertain. In the NT synédrion is used for judicial courts in general (Matt. 5:22; 10:17; Mark 13:9) and the supreme judicial and legislative court in Jerusalem presided over by the high priest (e.g., Matt. 26:59; Mark 14:55; Acts 5:21). But the terminology is imprecise and mutable. In Acts 5:21 the synédrion is linked to “the whole council of the elders (gerousía) of Israel.” In Luke 22:66 the “presbytérion (another word for ‘council of elders’) of people,” consisting of the chief priests and scribes, is said to have gathered and then to have brought Jesus into their synédrion. Here synédrion simply means “gathering” or “assembly” and the official name of the group is presbytérion. Similarly, in Acts 22:5 Paul claims that the high priest and the whole presbytérion had given him the authority to arrest Jewish followers of Jesus in Damascus. The Gospel of Mark (Mark 15:1) refers to this supreme council as a symboúlion (yet another word for “council”). In general, the Greek NT terms for the Jerusalem legislative and judicial body vary greatly and the English translations of these terms are similarly imprecise.

Josephus speaks of many local and national councils (synédria) whose powers and memberships changed with political circumstances. Gabinius, the Roman governor, set up five regional councils in Judea and Samaria in 457 b.c. Herod the Great assembled frequent councils of his family and friends. The Roman senate is referred to as a synédrion or a boulḗ (city council in a Hellenistic city), and Josephus uses both terms for councils in Jerusalem. Josephus does not describe a single, continuous body functioning as supreme council in Jerusalem nor does he refer to such a body by one name or specify its membership or powers, probably because the council’s nature varied over time.

The mishnaic use of the term “Sanhedrin” reflects the later rabbinic sages’ reconstruction of temple institutions. The “Great Court” (bêt dîn) or “Great Sanhedrin” had 71 members and met in the Chamber of Hewn Stone in the temple complex (m. Sanh. 11:2; Mid. 5:4). It made final decisions in legal disputes (m. Sanh. 11:2), judged the fitness of priests to serve in the temple (m. Mid. 5:4; Qidd. 4:5), and decided on additions to the temple (m. Šeb. 2:2). The sages’ exalted and nostalgic view of the Jerusalem council can be seen in two statements: the “Great Court” on the temple mount was the place from which “Torah goes forth to all Israel” (m. Sanh. 11:2) and its loss in a.d. 70 caused an end to singing at wedding feasts (m. Soṭa 9:11). The word “Sanhedrin” is also used in the Mishnah for courts of 23 judges that decide capital cases inside or outside of Israel (m. Mak. 1:10). These courts, which have sages for judges seated in a semi-circle (m. Sanh. 4:3-4), seem to reflect 3rd-century realities contemporary with the Mishnah, rather than the Second Temple period.

The NT, Mishnah, and Josephus do not present a consistent picture of Jewish governance and the role of various councils, but they testify to the frequency of councils with legislative and judicial functions within the political contest of the Roman Empire. Such councils would have been composed of the elders and respected members of the literate governing classes (ca. 10 percent of the population). In Jerusalem high officials and the senior members of the most powerful priestly and wealthy aristocratic families would have constituted the supreme council. Since religious laws and practices were thoroughly embedded in political and social life, no distinction should be made between a secular and religious council or Sanhedrin, nor should the religious scholars of the rabbinic period and their legal concerns be projected back into the 1st century. The Jerusalem council probably legislated and ruled in limited ways, depending on the political strength of the ruling high priest and on the freedom given by Roman governors and their Herodian clients. As members of the governing class, the Jerusalem councilors probably busied themselves with maintaining public order, preserving their own power and position in Judean society, and mediating between the empire and the people.

Anthony J. Saldarini

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SANHEDRIN

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)