Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

OK now I'm going to answer this email and then take a rest til after 
Shabbat, because I can feel myself getting real angry.

Moshe appointed a group of 70 men (and sit as its head), whose 
qualifications, and purpose and authority are outlined in the Torah 
BECAUSE G-D COMMANDED HIM TO!  It doesn't matter WHY G-d commanded 
this, it doesn't diminish the fact that Moshe did it, it doesn't 
diminish the authority of the Sanhedrin, it doesn't change its 
purpose, and just because you or Peter don't know what the sources 
are for the fact that the Sanhedrin existed until the last one in 
Tverya, as I posted, doesn't mean that it didn't exist.

And now you are not playing fair.  I asked who would verify that a 
prophet really did speak in the name of G-d or not if not Sanhedrin, 
you said the people would take it to the court system, then when we 
agreed that the (Great) Sanhedrin was the supreme court, now you say 
you don't have proof that there was one and that it endured until it 
was disbanded in Tverya.

I don't even understand what the reluctance is, to believe that a 
prophet had to be verified, and that there was a body authorized by 
the Torah, to do it, and also, that the Talmud recorded actual events 
and actual facts and actual people, and actual rulings, and also, 
that it was known and written down so we would know, who presided 
over the various Sanhedrins, and where they met.

Oh, and also - there was a smaller Sanhedrin - each city could have 
one - 23 people.

Oh, and also by the way, kings were not the final authority.  A king 
also had to submit to the authority of G-d, as adjudicated by the 
Sanhedrin - or whatever it was called before it got that name - which 
ordained him in the first place.

Shabbat Shalom - all I can say is thank G-d for Shabbat.

Shoshanna





> So was the Sanhedrin not the Supreme court?  Presided over by judges
> and wise men and even sometimes prophets?

HH: Yes, in its time, the Sanhedrin functioned as the supreme court.
Peter has already mentioned that there is no indication of a Sanhedrin
through the historical books. We cannot just assume it existed. Moses
appointed elders to assist him because he felt overwhelmed:

Num. 11:14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is
too heavy for me.
Num. 11:15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of
hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my
wretchedness.
Num. 11:16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of
the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people,
and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the
congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
Num. 11:17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will
take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and
they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it
not thyself alone.

HH: This was not necessarily an enduring institution. God did not
necessarily put His Spirit on any others later. These men were to help
Moses. Of course the tribal elders were always important. They appear
often in the historical narratives. The governmental structure in Israel
changed drastically quite a number of times. There is no hint of a
Sanhedrin during the period of the Judges, unless you want to identify
the elders of the assembly with the Sanhedrin:

Judg. 21:16 And the elders of the assembly said, ìWith the women of
Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left?

HH: These seem to be the tribal elders gathered in a crisis. Later there
are kings, who appoint people to chief offices. The king himself becomes
the last court of appeal. Still there are tribal elders, but we do not
see them functioning as a Sanhedrin.

HH: The main point is that Scripture says nothing about anybody
qualifying prophets, who obtained their authority directly from God.
They usually spoke to criticize authority and so had to be outside the
authority structure to some degree, not completely dependent on it.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard

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