From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Matthew 26:59. All the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death.
This was the supreme court of the Jewish nation, which heard appeals from inferior courts, and tried cases of greater gravity than those which came before them. It is commonly known as the Sanhedrim, though the word is sometimes written Sanhedrin, and occasionally Synhedrium, Synedium, Synedrion. It is the Hebraizing of the Greek word συνέδριον, a sitting together, or, as in the text and in numerous other places, a council.
The number of members in the Sanhedrim is usually considered to have been seventy-one, though on this subject there is a diversity of opinion among authorities, some fixing the number at seventy, and others at seventy-two. Twenty-three members were necessary to make a quorum.
The origin of this council is thought by some writers to be found in the company of seventy elders who were appointed to assist Moses in the government of the Israelites. See Numbers 11:16-17. Others, however, deny that this could have been the origin of the Sanhedrim, and affirm that the seventy elders were only intended to serve a temporary purpose, since no trace of them is found after the death of Moses. They could hardly have been judges, as the members of the Sanhedrim were, since there were more than sixty thousand judges among the Israelites already. See Michaelis Laws of Moses, vol.1, p. 247. Those who agree with Michaelis in his views on this subject suppose that the Sanhedrim was instituted after the captivity. It is quite likely, however, that the council of Moses may have been the germ from whence the idea of the Sanhedrim was developed.
The members of the Sanhedrim were chosen from the chief priests, elders, and scribes. It was necessary to have priests and scribes in the body, and they were usually quite numerous, though the majority of the members are thought to have been laymen. The relative numbers of the three classes are not definitely known. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were both represented, sometimes the one and sometimes the other being in the majority. Most of the scribes probably belonged to the Pharisees.
Great care was taken in the selection of members, who were required to be morally and physically blameless. They were also expected to be learned in law, in sciences, and in languages. It was necessary for them to have been judges in their native towns; to have been transferred from there to the small Sanhedrin], which met at the temple mount; and thence to the second small Sanhedrim, which met at the entrance of the temple hall. They were not eligible unless they were the fathers of families, in order that they might be able to sympathize when cases involving domestic affairs were brought before them. If this rule was in force at the time of Stephen’s trial, and it as many suppose, Saul of Tarsus was a member of the Sanhedrim at that time, then Saul must have been a married man and a father. See Cony Beare and Howson, Life and Epistles of St. Paul, vol.1, p. 71.
The officers of the Sanhedrim) were a president, a vice-president, and a sage or referee, all of whom were elected by the members. The president was called Nasi that is, “prince” or “elevated one.” He represented the civil and religious interests of the Jewish nation before the Roman government abroad, and before the different Jewish congregations at home. In the Sanhedrm he occupied the highest seat, summed up the votes of the elders, and determined traditions. The high priest was eligible to the office of president of the council, but had no right to preside ex officio. He must first be elected to the office. The vice-president was called Ab-beth-din, that is, “father of the house of judgment.” He led and controlled the discussions on disputed points. The sage or referee was called Chakam, that is, “wise one.” It was his duty to put into proper shape the subject for discussion and present it to the council. The vice-president sat on the right of the president, and the sage or referee on his left.
The council held daily sessions, lasting from the close of the morning sacrifice to the commencement of the evening sacrifice. On Sabbaths and festival days, however, they held no sessions. The place of their meeting is not precisely known; it seems to have varied at different times. A number of years before the birth of Christ a building was erected within the temple enclosure, and called the “Hall of Squares,” or “Hall of Stones,” because of the square-hewn stones which made the floor. Talmudical authorities do not agree as to the position of this hall, whether north or south of the temple proper; but all agree that it was situated to the east. In the most carefully arranged plans of the temple it is usually put to the southeast. Here the Sanhedrim met until shortly before the death of Christ, when they removed to a place in the Court of the Gentiles, and were not even confined to that. They met in the high-priest’s palace when Jesus was brought before them. They subsequently settled at Tiberias.
When in session the Sanhedrim sat in a semicircle, the officers being in the center. The members sat cross-legged on the low cushions, or on carpets spread on the floor.
The council extended its jurisdiction beyond Palestine to every place where Jews had settlements. See Acts 9:1-2; 22:5. They could only try cases which involved violations of ecclesiastical law. They condemned to corporeal, and also to capital punishments. The latter were restricted to four modes: stoning, burning, beheading, and strangling. Forty years before the destruction of the temple the power of inflicting capital punishment was limited to those cases where the sentence of the Sanhedrim had been confirmed by the Roman procurator.
The Sanhedrim is often referred to in the New Testament. Besides the frequent mention of it in connection with the history of Christ, we find it engaged as an instrument of persecuting the apostles. Peter and John were brought before it (Acts 4:1-21). Not long after, all the apostles were arraigned (Acts 5:17-42. In a short time Stephen was brought for trial (Acts 6:12-15). Paul also, in later years, stood in the presence of this august body (Acts 22:30).
In addition to the great Sanhedrim there were smaller councils, for an account of which see note on Matthew 10:17.