Acts 4:5

Arraignment before the Sanhedrim, 5-7.

Acts 4:5. Their rulers. ‘Their' refers not to the apostles, but to the Jewish people; ‘rulers,' to the Sanhedrists in general. The Sanhedrim is then further described as consisting of three orders:

(1.) Elders. Heads of families who had a seat in the great council.

(2.) Scribes. Recognised teachers and interpreters of the divine law. Certain representatives of this important class in the Jewish state had seats in the supreme council. Wordsworth, on Matthew 2:4, quotes a supposition of Lightfoot that the scribes were Levites, and masters of colleges and schools.

(3.) Annas the high priest ... and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest. In the other passages where the Sanhedrim is alluded to, this third order consisting of priests is termed ‘the chief priests,' and occupies the first place These chief priests included the reigning high priest, with others of his house who had borne the title (see note below), and possibly also the heads of the twenty-four courses of priests. Maimonides (quoted by Alford on Matthew 2:4) speaks of the Sanhedrim as consisting of seventy-one members made up of priests, Levites, and Israelites. Each of these three-orders is represented in the meeting of the Sanhedrim recounted in this passage the priests, in the persons of Annas, Caiaphas, etc.; the Levites, by the scribes, if we adopt the supposition of Lightfoot given above; and the Israelites, by the elders, who, being heads of families, would represent Israel generally.