Sanhedrin

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The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic סַנְהֶדְרִין, a loanword from Koine Greek: συνέδριον, romanized: synedrion, 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was a Jewish legislative and judicial assembly in the ancient land of Israel. There were two classes of Rabbinite courts called sanhedrins: Greater and Lesser. A lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was appointed to sit as a tribunal in each city. In general usage, the Sanhedrin without qualifier usually refers to the Great Sanhedrin. There was only one Great Sanhedrin of 71 judges, which, among other roles, acted as a supreme court, taking appeals from cases that lesser courts decided. The Great Sanhedrin was presided over by the Nasi (lit. "prince", often translated as "president"), assisted by the Av Beit Din ("chief of the court"). In the Second Temple period, the Great Sanhedrin met in the Temple in Jerusalem, in a building called the Hall of Hewn Stones. The Great Sanhedrin convened every day except festivals and...

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