Acts 4:5
King James Version (KJV)
And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
Translations
Acts 4:5 - Amplified Bible
Then on the following day, their magistrates and elders and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem,
Acts 4:5 - American Standard Version
And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;
Acts 4:5 - Bible in Basic English
And on the day after, the rulers and those in authority and the scribes came together in Jerusalem;
Acts 4:5 - Darby Bible
And it came to pass on the morrow that their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together at Jerusalem,
Acts 4:5 - English Standard Version
On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem,
Acts 4:5 - King James Version
And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
Acts 4:5 - La Biblia de las Americas
Y sucediò que al dìa siguiente se reunieron en Jerusalén sus gobernantes, ancianos y escribas;
Acts 4:5 - The Message
The next day a meeting was called in Jerusalem. The rulers, religious leaders, religion scholars, Annas the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander—everybody who was anybody was there. They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: "Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?"
Acts 4:5 - New American Standard Bible
On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem;
Acts 4:5 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
Sucediò que al dìa siguiente se reunieron en Jerusalén sus gobernantes, ancianos y escribas.
Acts 4:5 - World English Bible
It happened in the morning, that their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.
Acts 4:5 - Young's Living Translation
And it came to pass upon the morrow, there were gathered together of them the rulers, and elders, and scribes, to Jerusalem,
Acts 4:5 - Additional Comments
These 3 groups, the rulers, elders, and scribes, made up the Sanhedrin. This was the high court of the Jewish people.
- Originally there was a hierarchy of judges set up by Moses, but designed by Jethro, Moses' father-in-law - Exodus 18:13-26. This was not the Sanhedrin.
- Later God told Moses to select 70 elders to rule the people - Num 11:16-17. At that time is was the 70 elders plus Moses, so the Sanhedrin is made up of 71 rulers, the 70 elders plus the High Priest. As individuals within the Sanhedrin died, or otherwise became unfit for service, new members underwent ordination, or Semicha. This body was also known as the Great Sanhedrin, as there were lesser Sanhedrin's that governed smaller areas, with local rulers.
Here we see rulers, probably members of the Sanhedrin, plus elders and scribes. The scribes were like lawyers, educated in the Law, and skillful & familiar with the Law, because they worked with it constantly. They were responsible for making hand-written copies of the law.
There were 2 mainstream Jewish beliefs, or sects - the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
While the Pharisees primarily came from middle-class families and were zealous for the Mosaic law, the Sadducees were generally wealthy members of the Jewish aristocracy who had embraced hellenism. The Pharisees emerged as a significant force in Jewish affairs because of their influence with the common people.
Herod the Great (ruled 37-4 B.C.) sought to diminish the position of the Sadducees, who held the high priesthood and the majority of the seats on the Sanhedrin. He turned the Sanhedrin into a religious court only, taking away its power in secular matters. Since he was only half Jewish, Herod knew the people would not tolerate him serving as high priest in addition to being king, as others had. So he separated the two positions and began appointing high priests at his pleasure. When Herod was appointed king by the Romans, he no longer nominated the chief priests from the ancient lineage, but conferred the honour upon certain obscure individuals. This broke the custom of the high priesthood being attached to a particular family. Herod also abolished the practice of the high priest holding the position for life. In the 107 years from the beginning of Herod's reign to the fall of Jerusalem, there were 28 high priests. By the time of Messiah, the high priest bought the office from the government and the position was changed every year.
While most of the priests in the service of the Temple belonged to the party of the Sadducees, there were some who were Pharisees. The difference between the Sadducees and the Pharisees was not a simple one of priests versus laymen (many Pharisees were also priests - mostly of the lower ranks, but probably some even in the upper levels). There is some dispute among scholars about who actually controlled the Temple sacrifices and rituals before and during the time of Messiah.
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