Sanhedrin

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Pronunciations

Sanhedrin (san-HED-rin) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The Supreme Court of the Jews who lived in ancient Israel.

Example Sentences

  • "Local Sanhedrins consisted of different numbers of sages, depending on the nature of the offenses it dealt with." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Aramaic

Etymology

  • סַנְהֶדְרִין

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

Notes

  • "[The Sanhedrin was c]omposed of 71 wise elders who dispensed legislation and judgment, it was the chief judicial and legislative body during the time of the Second Temple and for several hundred years after its destruction. The scholar Hillel served as its president at one time. It disbanded in 425 C.E." (JPS)

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