THE GREAT SANHEDRIM
Andre Widodo
© ORI
Bamidbar (Numbers) 11:16-17
16 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶסְפָה־לִּ֞י שִׁבְעִ֣ים אִישׁ֮ מִזִּקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָדַ֔עְתָּ כִּי־הֵ֛ם זִקְנֵ֥י הָעָ֖ם וְשֹׁטְרָ֑יו וְלָקַחְתָּ֤ אֹתָם֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וְהִֽתְיַצְּב֥וּ שָׁ֖ם עִמָּֽךְ׃
17 וְיָרַדְתִּ֗י וְדִבַּרְתִּ֣י עִמְּךָ֮ שָׁם֒ וְאָצַלְתִּ֗י מִן־הָר֛וּחַ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלֶ֖יךָ וְשַׂמְתִּ֣י עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְנָשְׂא֤וּ אִתְּךָ֙ בְּמַשָּׂ֣א הָעָ֔ם וְלֹא־תִשָּׂ֥א אַתָּ֖ה לְבַדֶּֽךָ׃
16 HaShem said to Moshe, “Bring me 70 of the leaders of Isra’el, people you recognize as leaders of the people and officers of theirs. Bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them stand there with you.
17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit which rests on you and put it on them. Then they will carry the burden of the people along with you, so that you won’t carry it yourself alone.
The Great Sanhedrin was comprised of 70 elders who helped Moshe judge the people of Israel. Notice that in Num 11:17, G-d put the Spirit on 70 elders.
The Great Sanhedrin is the "Supreme Court" of Israel. The head of Sanhedrin is called "HaNasi הנשיא" which means "the prince; the president" who served the role of Moshe. And the vice president is called "Av Beit Din אב בית דין" which means "father of the court."
Pirkei Avot 1:1 says,
"Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Yehoshua. Yehoshua gave it over to the 70 Elders, the 70 Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly. The Men of the Great Assembly would always say these three things: Be cautious in judgement. Establish many pupils. And make a safety fence around the Torah."
The last Jewish prophets were Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and they put the Spirit of Authority in Num 11:17 to the Men of the Great Assembly. Ezra was the one who build the Men of Great Assembly.
The Great Sanhedrin was the continuation of the function of the Men of Great Assembly. During the Second Temple period, the Great Sanhedrin was regarded as the final authority on Jewish Law.
Yeshua acknowledged it.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 23:2-3
2 “The Torah-teachers and the P’rushim,” he said, “sit in the seat of Moshe.
3 So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don’t do what they do, because they talk but don’t act!
After the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, a Sanhedrin in Yavneh took over many of its functions under the authority of Rabban Gamliel. The Rabbis in the Sanhedrin served as judges and establish discipleship to learn the Oral Traditions and the Pharisaic scriptural interpretation.
From Yavneh, the Sanhedrin moved to several cities in Galilee, and ended up in Tiberias.
Today, the Rabbinical Institution is the continuation of the Great Sanhedrin, and the chain of authority is kept from the time of Moshe in Num 11:17, until now.
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