The ProrfedM f rah long fince come. 147 bLrchim, who were of the Tribe ofLevi, 1 fee no reafon. The Government andPo-. lity of the Nation was that of the /errs, whoever ufurped and enjoyed the place of Suprcam Rule. As in the Roman Empire the Rule and doverntneut was that of the Rrmanr, though Philip an Arabian, Maximinus a Thracian, andfundry others Forreigners, were Bmperours amongft them. One would falve thedifficultyof theHzfinon,eans and Herodlans by affirming that the fupream power of the Nationm their dayes was in the Sanhedrim; the greatelt number of theperfons whereof it was conftituted, being alwayes of the Tribe ofJudah, as theTalmudijfs confiantly affirm. But neither are we concernedherein. Thti Government as hath been manifetled was (Ell in and of the Tribe ofJndah, with the forementioned acce ons denominated from it, until the de- flrnfïion of the Country, City and Temple by VJffrafianand Titus, which is all that in the prcdi¿lion is intended. And that was the precife feafon aimed at,i efpecially if we fuppofe as rationally we may, that'T1p, is tobe repeated, & song, and to refped the lati dauCeof the prediâton, and to him the gathering of the Nations ; which was ac- complifhed figually before the finalruine of the Church and State ofthe Jews according as Chrill himlelf foretold, Mat. 24. 14. Now becaufe Come fix the departure of the Scepter and Law-giver unto the removal of the Sanhedrin, it may not be amifs to declare in our patlage , what that Sanhedrim was, andwhat the power wherewith it was entrutted ; and this briefly, Becaufe itis a fubjeft that many Learned men. have laboured in. The name p1T t or Mil, Sanedrim or Sanhedrim is taken from the Greek, nuvéd'eror. ueíieaor fometimes lignifies the place where the Senators meet, the fame with noueS.rhin ; as in Herodian, sugceor lip ix ueíi uvñdptor, elm' -its Te Ads 2e sarrroTie. They 'afmbled not in the accuflomedCouncil Haufi, but in the Capitol, theTemple of Jupiter. But molt frequently it is taken forconfffus Judieum, an Affembly of Judges. A court made up of many Afjfirs; whence the Aeeopagutn;thatis,the Court of Judges,is fo called inif:Pines. une,h,P. is an Affrffòr in fuch a Court ; and zuvadrív} eú0,. is fuck an AJmbly of Msgiflrates or Princes, as they call corona canfidentium; fuch as the Sanhedrimwas. And this name of Sanhedrim though it be. plainly a GreekWord, a little corrupted as is the mannerof theJews in their ufe of them, is frequently Mid in the Targnm of the Ht_ giographa, which places are collehed by Elias in Tifhbi. Some of the Jewifh Mailers would have if tobe a word oftheir own language; whence they invent flrange Ety- mologies of it, which are fome of them mentionedby Buxtorf. Lex. Tal.Coll. t 513. in Aruth they would have derived from no-rri tow ; haters rf gifts ; not knowing doubtlrf that doronoth was a Greek,, and noHebrew word. The firlt appointment ofthisCourt, the Original of this Confeffur Judicum is recorded, Numb. II. j6. where by Gods order, LXX. Elders are called and deigned to join with Mofis in the rule of the people, and are inftrudled with Gifts to fit ehbm for that pur- pofe. The continuance ofthis with the inflitution ofother Courts depending there- on is enjoyned thepeople, Deut. 16. Some fay thefiat LXX, were of them who had been Officers over the people in"Egypt, and had fittiered for.them ; whom thouknowe to be the-Elders of the people and Officers over them. aVrt I]71; .psoßúTepnt; and aY5vCiTopo; me r.oQ, in the New Teftament, Elders andElders of the people. Others think thefe had been Elders and Officers of the people, before in Criminal and CivilCaufes ; But now were abfolutelyjoyned withMP in all.Thefewith him made up LXXI, which was the conllant. number afterwards. The principal things recorded concerning this Court of Elders, or Judges; are (Firft, ) Their Orders;namely, that there was one that alwayes prefided amongft them, whom they called N'W. , thePrince, and ä'291O, the Excellent, who fupplied theplace ofMofis. Andon his right hand fate he, whom theycalled Z17n+11Dí, the Father of the H,ufeofJudgement, orconfitlory, who gathered the fu$rages of the AiTeffors. By whom flood twoScribe: a'Ytttt 110ll7, Scribes of Judgements, one on the right hand' of the Prince, the other on his left; one whereofwrote down the fentences of them who condemned, the other them who abfolved the perfons that were to be judged. There belonged alto to the Courts twoCriers, and two who received theAlms that was given by them whowere abfolved. Before them atfomediflance fate thefe wife men,out of whom the number ofthe Sanhedrimwhen any dyed, or were removed,was to be fupplied. Secondly, The place of their meeting; whichufually and ordinarily was at Jertafalem, f'L rt n7wt77, in a Chamber of hewed!tones, where the Judges are fometime's calledby them n'i,t D1tt, The Wigmen of the goneChamber. Althoughit may be; no more is U 2 intended f 3. g.15.
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