Herodians, Zealots, Sanhedrin
 
 
Sanhedrin The title of this Jewish governing body is the Greek: συνέδριον, meaning the council. It has also been known by two other names, the Gerousia (assembly of ancients) and the Beth-Din (house of judgment), the former used among Greek speaking Jews before the time of Christ, the latter used in post-Biblical times. The Sanhedrin is the supreme council of the Jewish people, in many cases including those living outside of the area of Jewish political control. Several stories for how the Sanhedrin came about: -Numbers 11.16: Moses would rather die than do the work the Lord has asked of him. So God had Moses appoint 70 elders, whom each received a portion of the Spirit that had come upon Moses. For Christians, this is a sign of Pentecost.  -Josaphat- the 4th King of Judah, a good king. Judges, (members of the fledgling Sanhedrin) were Levites, priests, and some of the family heads. -Neither group as the stories relate bears resemblance to the Sanhedrin we know. Flavius Josephus first mentions gerousia in Antiquities in the reign of Antiochus the great BC 223-187, it certainly existed from that time period until the dissolution of the Jewish Nation. The Gerousia was the forerunner to the Sanhedrin; Antiochus the Great wrote to it in a letter. It was made up of Presbyteroi. Originally, the Sanhedrin was not a standing body, but a synod called to discuss certain matters. Certain chief priests, scribes, and ancients (the elders of important families) were called together to decide the law. Though lacking a clear record, with a probability that it changed throughout time, the president of the Sanhedrin was the chief priest. There are several different sources for the requirements to be a member of the Sanhedrin. Among these requirements are: scholarship, modesty, popularity, strong, courageous, having held three offices of increasing dignity, tall, imposing appearance, advanced age, multilingual, as well as some arts of the necromancer, to know when someone is using false magic. The council consisted of 70 men, seated in a semicircle around the president and the record keepers, two scribes. A question or legal issue was raised. If anyone claimed knowledge of prior tradition that was applicable, it was stated and the matter decided. If there was no known tradition, the members debated, ballots were cast, and the law was decided. The scope or extent of their authority varied throughout its history. At time of Christ, it only had direct power of 11 toparchies of Judea, but Jews all over listened to them. Some of the political, religious, and criminal topics they had a say on were the: • Sending of armies • High priest accusations • Supervision of Temple services • provided correct copies of Torah • rendered final decision on teachers contrary to tradition. • Judge cases • heard appeals from lower courts • Women suspected of adultery There seems to contradiction recorded in the New Testament about their authority. They claim no power to kill Jesus, yet quickly stone Stephen to death. It seems likely that the Romans did not give them the power to execute, but in a rage would disregard that command and kill. T his shows their relationship with the ruling body at the time, the Romans. The powers they had varied in large measure due to the style of governance the ruling empire chose. The Greeks gave the quite a bit of freedom, the Persians, very little. The Romans gave them a moderate amount. The different Jewish kings also swayed the power and decisions by stacking the council with men favorable to their few of governance. The Sanhedrin is generally recognized as having come to an end in 358, the last official decision being the recognition of calendar of Hillel II. Since then there have been two known attempts to revive the Sanhedrin, the first by Napoleon, the second a few years ago in the new state of Israel in 2004. Napoleon, after determining the Jewish way of life was compatible with his governance, convened many of the more important members of the Jewish world to Paris in an attempt to allow them to continue what had been interrupted since 358. That attempt failed, especially after the collapse of the Napoleon empire. The second attempt has been hotly contested in many quarters, and the final influence of it has yet to be seen. Herodians The Herodians were followers of King Herod, and included his family, political allies, and mercenaries. They began following Herod’s gaining of power through the Roman army over Israel, and disbanded after his death. They were his gaurds, his spies, and officials who extended the reach of his power over the people. There are a few references to them in the New Testament, where they are usually placed alongside the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees, and also during the Passion of the Christ when he is sent to Herod and mocked. Their most powerful role for Christians is the beheading of John the Baptist for his defense of marriage, similar to Saint Thomas More. Zealots Zealots were defenders of the law and the national life of the Jews. They fiercely opposed those who would have them be subject to Rome, such as the Sadducees. They began to be organized around the time of Herod and lasted until the fall of the fortress at Masada. Simon, the Apostle of Christ is mentioned as a Zealot. Judas the Galilean is given credit for organizing the Zealots into a recognizable party. He and his followers sought to bring about the Kingdom of God by force. Two of his sons were crucified by the Romans for leading a revolt against Tiberius. A third son, Menahem, was killed the Roman garrison at Masada and proceeded to take over other fortresses, modeling himself as the next Judas Maccabeus. This caused much of Galilee to revolt and lead to the Romans calling in reinforcements. In the year 67AD, they were defeated in Galilee and then surrounded in the city of Jerusalem. They lasted for a while, trusting in the strength of the walls, but not each other. They literally stabbed the leaders of opposing parties in the back in an effort to gain control, even setting fire to a grain storage building to deprive the Sadducees of it, but also shortened the siege by destroying the food supply. When the Romans leveled Jerusalem, it effectively ended the power of the Zealots.