Governing council in Jerusalem, composed of leading priests, elders, and scribes. The Sadducees and Pharisees had members on it.

(san-HED-reen) n. Sanhedrin. High court of law. The highest court of ancient Israel (from about the third century b.c.e. until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 c.e). Comprised of 71 (70) rabbis, it produced a sophisticated system of jurisprudence that is still in effect today. The Sanhedrin sat in the Temple area and could only be convened while the offerings and rituals of the Temple were in play. Since there is no Temple today, a Sanhedrin cannot be convened.

an empowered Jewish court in Israel consisting of 23 judges (a lesser Sanhedrin) or 71 Sages (the High Court). This system stopped functioning with the destruction of the 2nd Temple. This is the name of one of the tractates of the Talmud, the Mishnah for which deals mainly with the Torah law (halacha) for the Jewish court system.

Jewish assembly of 71 members. Until the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, it functioned as the supreme authority in religious and political matters. The seat of the Sanhedrin was in Jerusalem.

(a) the highest Jewish court; (b) the tractate of the Talmud of that name

In Greek, synedrion; the Jewish court, based in Jerusalem; a judicial body composed of 71 members, 70 who were priests and scribes (Sadducees and Pharisees) and the president who was the high priest. Their jurisdiction was over Jews, primarily those in Jerusalem, and was limited to matters involving alleged infringement of the Jewish law (the Torah) and taxes; during the time of Roman occupation of Palestine, the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin was limited by Rome and the decisions of the court seem to have required the approval of the Roman governor, at least in matters involving the death penalty, though there are records of instances when, during a vacancy of the Roman procuratorship, the Sanhedrin seems to have imposed the death penalty without Roman consent or review.

(SAN·he·drin). The highest court and supreme council of the ancient Jewish nation in the post-exilic period, having religious and civil functions; it was composed of seventy members, presided over by the high priest, abolished with the destruction of Jerusalem in CE 70.

Highest Jewish Council at the time of Jesus. 71 members. High Priest was in charge.

rabbinic courts in the time of the Temple.

the High Court of 71 sages in Jerusalem which served as the supreme authority on Jewish law

(from Greek for "assembly" [of persons seated together]) A legislative and judicial body from the period of early Judaism and into rabbinic times, traditionally composed of 71 members. See also Synagogue, Church.

rabbinical supreme court of 70 sages.

the Jewish ruling council and religious supreme court permitted by the Roman government in Jesus' day (Mark 19:55ff). The Sanhedrin was composed of high priests, elders (tribal and family heads), and scribes or legal experts (Acts 4:5). The council included Pharisees and Sadducees (Acts 5:17,34), numbering about 70 members in all.

A Sanhedrin (; Greek: http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=4892 συνέδριον, synedrion, "sitting together," hence "assembly" or "council") is an assembly of 23Mishnah Sanhedrin 1B judges Biblically required in every city. The Great Sanhedrin is an assembly of 71 of the greatest Jewish judges who constituted the supreme court and legislative body of ancient Israel. The make-up of the Great Sanhedrin included a chief justice (Nasi), a vice chief justice (Av Beit Din), and sixty-nine general members who all sat in the form of a semi-circle when in session.

Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) is one of ten tractates of the Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, ie. civil and criminal proceedings). The Gemara of the tractate is noteworthy as precursors to the development of common law principles .