DOCSLIB.ORG

FROM SYNEDRION to SANHEDRIN Howard Clark

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
FROM SYNEDRION to SANHEDRIN Howard Clark CENTRAL AUTHORITY IN SECOND-TEMPLE JUDAISM AND SUBSEQUENTLY: FROM SYNEDRION TO SANHEDRIN Howard Clark Kee (University of Pennsylvania) 1 The Traditional Understanding of the Nature and Role of the Sanhedrin Based on the contents of Mishnah Tractate Sanhedrin and the asso- ciated Tosefta, many New Testament scholars have interpreted the New Testament historically and exegetically on the assumption of the existence and function in the time of Jesus of an official Jewish body, known as the Sanhedrin, whose task was to interpret the Law of Moses and to enforce it in the ongoing life of the Jewish people. Accordingly, the execution of Jesus and the opposition to the apostles and their work depicted in the New Testament are widely perceived to have been the direct result of official opposition of the Jewish religious leaders who constituted the Sanhedrin. Rabbinic sources depict the Sanhedrin as a legislative and judicial scholarly body, headed by the two leading Pharisaic scholars of the time. But in the Greek Jewish sources of the Hellenistic and Roman periods synedrion is a political council-court, presided over by the po- litical head of state, who in the latter days of the Second Temple was either a king or a Sadducean high priest, or both. Buechlerl claimed, however, that both co-existed: (1) bet din ha-gadol is said to have met in the Great Court in the Hall of Gazlit and was the supreme religious body; (2) the Great Sanhedrin was a criminal court with something of a political character, dominated by the priestly aristocracy. Presided over by the High Priest, it met in an inner court in the Temple, had been created by the procurators, and came to an end with the de- struction of the Temple. Scholars differ on details of numbers and special roles of each. Mantel2 also concluded that there were two ' A. Buechler, Das Synhedrionin Jerusalemund das GrosseBeth-Din in der Qyaderkammer des jerusalemischenTempels (Vienna, 1902); Studies in Jewish History (London and New York, 1956). 2 Hugo Mantel, Studiesin the Historyof the Sanhedrin(Cambridge, MA, 1961), pp. 54-101.. 52 sanhedrins: (1) an aristocratic agency presided over by the high = priests, dealing with political issues (as in Josephus, Ant. 20,10,5.251 Small Sanhedrin; no record of numbers); (2) the Great Sanhedrin, a legislative body, which was in some cases a judicial court. In the early days of the Hasmoneans, Mantel infers, the Great Sanhedrin was "the supreme political and religious body of the land." The nature and extent of its power varied, but under Herod it lost all political authority and never regained it during the days of the Temple.3 "In theory at least, the high priest was in a position to insist at all times on his scriptural prerogative to act as the president of the most authori- tative religious tribunal."4 According to Josephus, Herod and most of the high priests gave the Pharisaic teachers a free hand. It was to them that the people looked for guidance: "Even when they speak against a king or high priest, they immediately gain credence" (Ant. XII. 10, 5, 288). Mantel concludes that the leading Pharisaic scholars wielded supreme religious authority in the Great Bet Din.5 These assumptions are operative in many analyses and historical reconstruc- tions of the Second Temple period. But careful examination of the relevant evidence points in a different direction. 2 Evidence concerning synedrion in Greek and Jewish sources from the Hellenistic and early Roman period It is essential to examine the range of meanings of the term synedrion as it appears in the wider Greek literature and especially in that of the two centuries before and the two after the beginning of the Common Era. In classical Greek, the term is used with reference to consulta- tions of a variety of kinds. For example, Plato, Protagoras (317d), de- scribes Socrates in conversation with this sophist proposing that an informal gathering-a synedrion-of philosophical scholars and inquir- ers be convened. Xenophon uses it with reference to a council of war.6 In Herodotus it is a place of meeting or a council chamber (8.79). Later, the term is given more specific meaning, as when the second century B.c.E. historian Polybius uses it for the senates of Rome and Carthage? The term Synedrion tes gerousias makes explicit 3 Mantel, 96, 100. 4 pp. Mantel, 100. 5 p. Mantel, p. 101. 6 Historia Graeca1. 1. 3 1 ff. Polybius, 1.11.1 and 1.31.8. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • IMW Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1
    Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1 Spring 2015 Article 1 2015 IMW Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal Recommended Citation "IMW Journal of Religious Studies Volume 6 Number 1." Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies 6, no. 1 (2015). https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/imwjournal/vol6/iss1/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies is designed to promote the academic study of religion at the graduate and undergraduate levels. The journal is a student initiative affiliated with the Religious Studies Program and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Utah State University. Our academic review board includes professional scholars specializing in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Mormonism, as well as specialists in the fields of History, Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, and Religion. The journal is housed in the Intermountain West, but gladly accepts submissions from students throughout the United States and around the world. INTERMOUNTAIN WEST JOURNAL Of RELIGIOUS STUDIES ‡ Advisors PHILIP BARLOW RAVI GUPTA Managing Editor CORY M. NANI Editor JEDD COX Associate Editor CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS Emeritus Editors CHRISTOPHER BLYTHE MARK BULLEN RASMUSON DAVID MUNK Cover Design CORY M. NANI ________________________________________________________________ Academic Review Board RAVI GUPTA Utah State University REID L. NIELSON LDS Church Historical Department KAREN RUFFLE University of Toronto ANNE-MARIE CUSAC Roosevelt University STEPHEN TAYSOM Cleveland State University KECIA ALI Boston University PETER VON SIVERS University of Utah R.
    [Show full text]
  • Demetrius Poliorcetes and the Hellenic League
    DEMETRIUSPOLIORCETES AND THE HELLENIC LEAGUE (PLATE 33) 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND D JURING the six years, 307/6-302/1 B.C., issues were raised and settled which shaped the course of western history for a long time to come. The epoch was alike critical for Athens, Hellas, and the Macedonians. The Macedonians faced squarely during this period the decision whether their world was to be one world or an aggregate of separate kingdoms with conflicting interests, and ill-defined boundaries, preserved by a precarious balance of power and incapable of common action against uprisings of Greek and oriental subjects and the plundering appetites of surrounding barbarians. The champion of unity was King Antigonus the One- Eyed, and his chief lieutenant his brilliant but unstatesmanlike son, King Demetrius the Taker of Cities, a master of siege operations and of naval construction and tactics, more skilled in organizing the land-instruments of warfare than in using them on the battle field. The final campaign between the champions of Macedonian unity and disunity opened in 307 with the liberation of Athens by Demetrius and ended in 301 B.C. with the Battle of the Kings, when Antigonus died in a hail of javelins and Demetrius' cavalry failed to penetrate a corps of 500 Indian elephants in a vain effort to rescue hinm. Of his four adversaries King Lysimachus and King Kassander left no successors; the other two, Kings Ptolemy of Egypt and Seleucus of Syria, were more fortunate, and they and Demetrius' able son, Antigonus Gonatas, planted the three dynasties with whom the Romans dealt and whom they successively destroyed in wars spread over 44 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Occupy Sanhedrin Brochure
    Sarah Zell Young is the 4th annual Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (HBI) Artist-in Residence. The 2012 HBI Artist-in-Residence Program is made possible thanks to the generous support of Carol Spinner at Sarah Zell Young Avoda Arts and Arnee and Walter Winshall. About the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Occupy Sanhedrin The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute develops fresh ways of thinking about Jews and gender worldwide by producing and promoting scholarly research and artistic projects. March 29 - May 18, 2012 About the Women’s Studies Research Center The Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC) is a place where research, art and activism converge. The Kniznick Gallery is committed to feminist exhibitions of artistic excellence that reflect the activities of the Women's Studies Research Center Scholars and engage communities within and beyond Brandeis University. About Occupy Sanhedrin & As Old as the World The term Sanhedrin refers to the Great Court of ancient Israel during the Second Temple Period. It was composed of 71 men, one chief justice referred to as the Nasi (prince), one assistant chief justice, the Av Beit Din (Patriarch of the rabbinic court) and 69 general members. This judicial body made binding decisions about all aspects of Jewish life in and beyond Jerusalem. The Great Sanhedrin is a prime example of an exclusively male space—not only in its physical gathering of 71 men, but in the scope of influence these men had in making decisions that ruled over all bodies. We learn about the Sanhedrin in the Talmud, an elaborate six-volume documentation of laws derived from interpretations of the Bible.
    [Show full text]
  • The Court of Alexander the Great As Social System
    Originalveröffentlichung in Waldemar Heckel/Lawrence Tritle (Hg.), Alexander the Great. A New History, Malden, Mass. u.a. 2009, S. 83-98 5 The Court of Alexander the Great as Social System Gregor Weber In his discussion of events that followed Alexander ’s march through Hyrcania (summer 330), Plutarch gives a succinct summary of the king ’s conduct and reports the clash of his closest friends, Hephaestion and Craterus (Alex. 47.5.9-11).1 The passage belongs in the context of Alexander ’s adoption of the traditions and trap ­ pings of the dead Persian Great King (Fredricksmeyer 2000; Brosius 2003a), although the conflict between the two generals dates to the time of the Indian campaign (probably 326). It reveals not only that Alexander was subtly in tune with the atti­ tudes of his closest friends, but also that his changes elicited varied responses from the members of his circle. Their relationships with each other were based on rivalry, something Alexander - as Plutarch ’s wording suggests - actively encouraged. But it is also reported that Alexander made an effort to bring about a lasting reconcili ­ ation of the two friends, who had attacked each other with swords, and drawn their respective troops into the fray. To do so, he had to marshal “all his resources ” (Hamilton 1969; 128-31) from gestures of affection to death threats. These circumstances invite the question: what was the structural relevance of such an episode beyond the mutual antagonism of Hephaestion and Craterus? For these were not minor protagonists, but rather men of the upper echelon of the new Macedonian-Persian empire, with whose help Alexander had advanced his con ­ quest ever further and exercised his power (Berve nos.
    [Show full text]
  • This Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation Has Been Downloaded from Explore Bristol Research
    This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Hoag, Gary G Title: The teachings on Riches in 1 Timothy in light of Ephesiaca by Xenophon of Ephesus General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. The Teachings on Riches in I Timothy in light of Ephesiaca by Xenophon of Ephesus Gary G. Hoag A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol and Trinity College in accordance with the requirements for award of degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts.
    [Show full text]
  • THE JEWISH CONSTITUTION from NEHEMIAH to the MAOOABEES. from the Close of the Governorship of Nehemiah, About 430 B.C., to the F
    THE JEWISH CONSTITUTION FROM NEHEMIAH TO THE MAOOABEES. FROM the close of the governorship of Nehemiah, about 430 B.c., to the fall of the Persian Empire, 333-331, and from this onwards under the Ptolemies to'. the Seleucid conquest of Palestine in 197, the history of Jerusalem is covered by an almost unbroken obscurity. Summers and winters, nearly two hundred and fifty of them, passed over the City. The spaces of sunshine, the siroccos, the clouds from the west, the great washes of rain and the usual proportion of droughts-these we can easily imagine with the constant labour of the olive, vine and corn ; also the equally unceasing smoke of sacrifice from the Temple Courts, the great annual festivals, and-this is undoubted -the steady increase of the population. But it is difficult to discern either the political events or the growth of the institutions throughout the period. Yet both were of the utmost importance. The City herself was twice taken and sacked, under Artaxerxes Ochus, about 350, and by Ptolemy Soter in 320. The Law which the nation had adopted under Nehemiah became, with additions, gradually opera~ tive, a.nd the supreme civil power was in time absorbed by the only national chief whom the Law recognized, the High Priest ; while around him but beneath him there devel~ . loped, out of the loosely organized body of elders and nobles, whom we have found under Nehemiah, an aristo~ cratic council or senate, for which also there was room left by the Law. The Samaritan schism was completed and vor.
    [Show full text]
  • Priests and Levites Martin C
    The New Testament: The Good News of Jesus Christ Priests and Levites Martin C. Albl, PhD In modern times, we think of a priest or a minister as a person who has a special calling or vocation to serve God and God’s people. In ancient Judaism, however, the priesthood was hereditary—the tribe of Levi was set aside to serve as priests. Aaron, Moses’ brother, a member of the tribe of Levi, was the first priest, and all his male descendants were priests (see Ex 28:1). The entire tribe of Levi was set apart to oversee the worship of God, at first in the dwelling that contained the Ark of the Covenant, and later in the Temple (see Nm 1:47– 54, 8:5–26; 1 Chr 24). Male members of the tribe who were not sons of Aaron were known as Levites. They acted primarily as assistants to the priests in conducting the worship of the Lord (see Nm 18:1–5). Because they had been set aside for this special task, members of the tribe of Levi did not inherit a portion of the land of Israel, nor were they to work the land. Priests and Levites were supported directly through activities of worship. Portions of the sacrifices provided food for the priests, and the Levites were supported by tithes (see vv. 8–21). These tithes were essentially on crops; the Levites in turn were to give a tenth of their tithes to the priests (see vv. 21–32). Within the priestly families, Zadokite priests (descendants of Zadok, a priest who had anointed and supported King Solomon against his rivals [see 1 Kgs 1:38–39]) held a special position.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ieleusinian Endowment
    THE IELEUSINIANENDOWMENT IN THE courseof an investigationinto Romanpolicy in respectto the protection of local endowments the author has been obliged to face a group of problems around one inscription found in the great sanctuary at Eleusis. The inscription con- tains more than one document concerning an endowment in support of the sanctuary. Who established the endowment, why, when, for what purpose and for how much are some of the problems which will be treated here, also the basic problems in regard to the establishment of the text. The source and character of the Roman declaration are problems to be relegated to the author's forthcoming study " Roman Declarations Protecting Greek Endowments." We begin with the primary task of re-editing the inscription, partly from measurements and squeezes made for the author most kindly by the distinguished archaeologist and friend of all archaeologists, Eugene Vanderpool. THE TEXT OF I.G., II2 1092 -1 [ vacat Ta Et T4Srag av j ] tacat r [ip]EtE 04[uara] vacat [ vct ] vacat vacat 2 [ ??-? @l Cr]EPvotar[ct crvv]E8pt,Cd& ]A[ * r) [ [~ ???~~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~C ---]E(t[ . .] aSEv]o'T..... E[wflvosrov i(V0 ] 5 [Ka?] a'AcA tr[t]ap[Xtav?] a'peav [--O]v 'EXX[flvo[vv lri] a] [KVoVI.(dVW ??? ] TEq6 /[ .] a.[. Ev]EPe L-[- ?- ?- -AXa]---- - - - - ?- ,-ppsatra [.; . ]pr,qa [ ???-------------] tv aviro[ -]?pt 10 I ??-] E`ravt`rac [E'O'u]oXtat [----------------E'(q-rc 8av&crwOva [1, Kat ra] vrag [- ???- - - - ?- -] Ta 'TOV^ CrTE4C[LV]7arov IcrvviE8piOV -- ---O-ltg aOITETEO0) 'r[ojt]9 1EpOT [-- ?---- ?-vvay6p]Evov TOKOV KatiEKacTov 15 [Evtavrov--- ---pax- a]sXa Vo Kat 5EKaXacurpipa [?----] /3v8ovXevrcaJ -.gav-tra [------------?----] e' yov&EoSt i[E]pEV [o-LV?] a 14 [o]i&'aKra[t.
    [Show full text]
  • What Sugyot Should an Educated Jew Know?
    What Sugyot Should An Educated Jew Know? Jon A. Levisohn Updated: May, 2009 What are the Talmudic sugyot (topics or discussions) that every educated Jew ought to know, the most famous or significant Talmudic discussions? Beginning in the fall of 2008, about 25 responses to this question were collected: some formal Top Ten lists, many informal nominations, and some recommendations for further reading. Setting aside the recommendations for further reading, 82 sugyot were mentioned, with (only!) 16 of them duplicates, leaving 66 distinct nominated sugyot. This is hardly a Top Ten list; while twelve sugyot received multiple nominations, the methodology does not generate any confidence in a differentiation between these and the others. And the criteria clearly range widely, with the result that the nominees include both aggadic and halakhic sugyot, and sugyot chosen for their theological and ideological significance, their contemporary practical significance, or their centrality in discussions among commentators. Or in some cases, perhaps simply their idiosyncrasy. Presumably because of the way the question was framed, they are all sugyot in the Babylonian Talmud (although one response did point to texts in Sefer ha-Aggadah). Furthermore, the framing of the question tended to generate sugyot in the sense of specific texts, rather than sugyot in the sense of centrally important rabbinic concepts; in cases of the latter, the cited text is sometimes the locus classicus but sometimes just one of many. Consider, for example, mitzvot aseh she-ha-zeman gerama (time-bound positive mitzvoth, no. 38). The resulting list is quite obviously the product of a committee, via a process of addition without subtraction or prioritization.
    [Show full text]
  • The Controversy Concerning Early Burial
    The Controversy Concerning Early Burial http://www.medethics.org.il/articles/JME/JMEB2/JMEB2.36.asp?printPr... מאמר זה הינו חלק ממרכז מאגרי מידע לרפואה אתיקה והלכה ע"ש עו"ד חיים קהן (www.medethics.org.il/db) ניתן למצוא את המאמר בכתובת: http://www.medethics.org.il/articles/JME/JMEB2/JMEB2.36.asp It is the accepted custom in Jerusalem as well as in certain other places to bury the dead as soon as possible after death and under ordinary circumstances not to leave a corpse unburied overnight.[1] This is a literal interpretation of the biblical command (Deut. 21:22-23): “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee for an inheritance.” The Sages of the Talmud hold that this regulation applies to all the dead, with the exception of special cases that will be considered later. Two main talmudic sources are Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin, 46 a-b, and Talmud Yerushalmi, Nazir, ch.7, 1. Let us briefly consider these sources. 1 of 4 5/11/2011 1:55 PM The Controversy Concerning Early Burial http://www.medethics.org.il/articles/JME/JMEB2/JMEB2.36.asp?printPr... Yerushalmi, Nazir ch. 7, 1: that ,(קבור תקברנו) ’It is evident from what is written (Deut.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Inscriptions
    GREEK INSCRIPTIONS This report on inscriptions found in the American Excavations of the Athenian Agora continues those which have appeared in previous volumes of Hesperia, and gives a preliminary discussion of twelve texts. The texts are arranged in five groups, decrees of the Demos and the Council, a decree of a tribe or religious organization, financial records, lists of offices, and dedications. Within each group the texts are placed in so far as possible in chronological order. DECREES 1. Fragment of a stele of Hymettian marble with the left face and a bit of the rougrh-pickedback preserved, found March 28, 1936, in a late wall in Section P. Height, 0.22 m.; width, 0.24 m.; thickness, 0.075-0.08 m. Height of letters, 0.005 m.; eight letters, measured on centres, 0.078 m.; eight lines, 0.084 m. Inv. No. I 3878. No. 1 American School of Classical Studies at Athens is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Hesperia ® www.jstor.org GREEK INSCRIPTIONS 443 321|0 B.C. CT'OIX.26 Iirt 4 ovX1k?V xovroPetL T7 .] [ ? ~ Otgu :71vrar8e] [ag -t - [- aTf8' eThV8) xat Ef.. 5 .... ... O''ova3vcaJ [ij El, trera,e8t [xat Qlaxocvl8t T6] g rrQv a8ag2 E[xx])A. [oa xTct1& 1r] laya f?ovxig 7tYviro [8hewv elaq] 10 Tq9WEV"'AIcp)oxog Fv .rtI0wv? eYd] Ogsv Te flovxt xaal TWl aJ[I( o tv TnXox.X-Ti;Xvyvrlo [v] '42[w),-xIe] eV 87fEV, 44irXl*&4E o. .EV 'r- r(-O -,UM,0ffUffT68 X'[,OoV(l dlte-r] 15 2&t eUrOvg6V WY TJP 6Wb[{wtTlt ~d0Ov] UTrMvIcat xalv T[&g E11qOUSgEt] or8p'vroXev 6 [ar>8it[7rt,t6, d7iyuo] xdat AV OtXe[i]Og [&v TWV SO00VrwrV] 20 SlJZt HQWUOV[.
    [Show full text]
  • The King's Torah and the Torah's King רחא רבד | a Different Perspective
    TORAH FROM JTS www.jtsa.edu/torah A Different Perspective | דבר אחר Limbs Gavriella Bernat-Kunin שופטים תשע"ז Alumna, Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies, ’17 Shofetim 5777 Limbs (2017) The King’s Torah and the Torah’s King Sharpie, colored pencil, Dr. Barry W. Holtz, Theodore and Florence Baumritter and acrylic on plexiglass Professor of Jewish Education at the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, JTS This work was created as This week’s Torah portion focuses on a wide array of topics, but underlying part of JTS’s artist-in- virtually everything we can see a thematic coherence well reflected in the residence program and is parashah’s name (“judges”). The sidrah contains one of the most famous lines in on display at JTS as part the entire Bible, tzedek, tzedek tirdof: “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deut. of the Corridors II 16:20). And throughout the parashah we see the Torah outlining various aspects exhibition. of the pursuit of justice. First is the establishment of courts, their organization and their authority. But the parashah has a larger vision than establishing the nature of the judiciary alone. Bernard M. Levinson, in his commentary on Deuteronomy in The Oxford Jewish Study Bible, points out “Although western political theory is normally traced back to ancient Athens, this section is remarkable for providing what seems to be the first blueprint for a constitutional system of government.” Over the course of this week’s reading the Torah presents a careful balance among four specific elements of power in ancient Israel: the judges, the priests, the prophets, and the king.
    [Show full text]