Dictionaries :: Council, Councillor

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Council, Councillor:

"a uniting in counsel" (sun, "together," boule, "counsel, advice"), denotes

(a) "counsel" which is given, taken and acted upon, e.g., Mat 12:14, RV, "took counsel," for AV, "held a council;" Mat 22:15; hence

(b) "a council," an assembly of counsellors or persons in consultation, Act 25:12, of the "council" with which Festus conferred concerning Paul. The governors and procurators of provinces had a board of advisers or assessors, with whom they took "counsel," before pronouncing judgment.
See CONSULTATION.

Council, Councillor:

properly, "a settling together" (sun, "together," hedra, "a seat"), hence,

(a) "any assembly or session of persons deliberating or adjusting," as in the Sept. of Psa 26:4 (lit., "with a council of vanity"); Pro 22:10; Jer 15:17, etc.; in the NT, e.g., Mat 10:17; Mar 13:9; Jhn 11:47, in particular, it denoted

(b) "the Sanhedrin," the Great Council at Jerusalem, consisting of 71 members, namely, prominent members of the families of the high priest, elders and scribes. The Jews trace the origin of this to Num 11:16. The more important causes came up before this tribunal. The Roman rulers of Judea permitted the Sanhedrin to try such cases, and even to pronounce sentence of death, with the condition that such a sentence should be valid only if confirmed by the Roman Procurator. In Jhn 11:47, it is used of a meeting of the Sanhedrin; in Act 4:15, of the place of meeting.

Council, Councillor:

Joseph of Arimathaea is described as "a councillor of honorable estate," Mar 15:43, RV; cp. Luk 23:50 (not as AV, "counsellor").