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Sanhedrin is the name given in the mishna to the body of seventy-one sages who constituted the supreme court and legislative body in Judea during the Roman period. The make-up of the seventy-one sages included a president, vice president, and sixty-nine general members who all sat in the form of a semi-circle when in session.
The Sanhedrin traced its lineage back to its formation in the time of Moses, although the Greek root for the word suggests that the institution may have developed during the Hellenic period. The Sanhedrin ceased to exist some time after the destruction of the Second Temple.
One of the requirements of being a member of the Sanhedrin is having received semicha. According to Rabbinic tradition, semicha was transmitted in an unbroken line extending back to Moses.
The Sanhedrin as a body claimed powers that other courts did not have. As such, they were the only ones who could try the king, extend the boundaries of the Temple and Jerusalem, and were the ones to whom all questions of law were finally put.
The Jewish anticipation for the arrival of the Messiah includes the reconstitution of this body of sages.
The Sanhedrin is mentioned frequently in the New Testament. According to the Gospels, the council conspired to have Jesus of Nazareth killed by paying one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, thirty pieces of silver in exchange for delivery of the rabbi into their hands. When the Sanhedrin was unable to provide evidence that Jesus had committed a capital crime, false witnesses came forward and accused the Nazarene of blasphemy. Because the council was deprived of the ability to condemn criminals to death circa AD 30, Jesus was brought before the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, for a decision concerning his fate.
The apostles Peter, John, Stephen, and Paul were all brought before the Sanhedrin at one time or another for the crime of spreading the Gospel.
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