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Comments Upon 'Sanhedrin requirements'
- From: Noach
Subject: Sanhedrin requirements
Date: 5-31-2009
"The Sanhedrin was something of a religious high court consisting of 70 priests plus a chief priest."
"One qualifies for the Sanhedrin in two ways: (a) as a priest from a pre-eminent family or (b) as an appointee of the king (i.e., Herod and his descendants) who were of priestly families whose policies favored the Herodians."
These two statements are factually incorrect. The Sanhedrin had nothing to do specifically with Kohanim (priests). They were the pre-eminent scholars of their generation. They could be Kohanim, Leviim (Levites), or Yisraelim (Jews who were not Kohanim or Leviim). One of the requirements to sit on the Sanhedrin was that the person had to versed in all areas of Torah law and know all languages. The requirements you mentioned may have been in effect when the non Jewish governments took control of the Holy Land, but in no way are they the real requirements for membership into the Sanhedrin. In fact, at any time when a scholar exhibits greater scholarship than an existing member he is appointed replacing the other. These were not elected officials. The High Priest (Kohen Gadol) was the head of the Temple service. The only official connection that the Sanhedrin had with the Temple was that it met in a room connected to the Temple structure called the Chamber of Hewn Stone (Lishgat Hagazit).
- From: JJR
Subject: Sanhedrin
Date: 5-31-2009
Thanks for the comment Noach.
"These two statements are factually incorrect. The Sanhedrin had nothing to do specifically with Kohanim (priests)."
Where did I state one had to be Kohanim to be a member of the Sanhedrin? My contention is that Kohanim was only a requirement for the high priesthood, not the Sanhedrin. Please point it out if I have said otherwise so this can be corrected.
"The only official connection that the Sanhedrin had with the Temple was that it met in a room connected to the Temple structure called the Chamber ... ."
My comments on this website relate to the 2nd Temple period. It's beyond disingenuous to say there was no connection between the Temple priesthood and the Sanhedrin. The high priest was appointed by Herod. The Sanhedrin was appointed by Herod. Religion = politics in this period IMHO. The two institutions during the Herodian period were intertwined. The high priest was himself a member of the Sanhedrin. Certainly I agree that the "chief priests" of the Temple had their own religious / political subdivisions (principally Pharisee and Sadducee) that were independent institutions from the Sanhedrin. And the Sanhedrin was a vassal of the Herodians during the 2nd Temple period, which the religious parties were not. The priests did in fact spark two very large revolts during the 2nd Temple period (one just after the death of Herod and the other, the great revolt, that resulted in the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD). But the religious parties were separate organizations from the Temple priesthood, which was heavily influenced by Herod (and his descendants). The power to appoint the high priest was Herod's big stick against the Temple priesthood. He wielded it often.
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