γερουσί-α G1087
senate, council of elders; governing assembly of senior leaders
This noun denotes a council of elders or senate, a governing body of senior leaders. In Acts 5:21, it refers to the Jewish Sanhedrin or council of elders summoned to judge the apostles. The term was used for Greek city-state senates, the Roman Senate, and the Carthaginian council, generally designating formal assemblies of elder statesmen. The translations (Spanish senado, French sénat, German retaining the Greek) employ governmental terminology for senior legislative or judicial bodies, fitting the Sanhedrin's role as Judaism's supreme council.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The Jewish council of elders or Sanhedrin (Acts 5:21). The term emphasizes the assembly's character as an elder council with judicial and religious authority. The Spanish senado and French sénat both use standard political terminology for senior governing bodies, while the parallel with Greek and Roman governmental structures highlights the Sanhedrin's institutional role as Judaism's supreme court and legislative assembly in Jerusalem. 1×
AR["مَشْيَخَةَ"]·ben["প্রাচীন-সভা"]·DE["γερουσίαν"]·EN["senate"]·FR["sénat"]·heb["מוֹעֶצֶת-הַזְּקֵנִים"]·ID["dewan-tua"]·IT["senato"]·jav["para-pinisepuh"]·KO["그-"]·RU["старейшинство"]·ES["senado"]·SW["mkutano-wa-wazee"]·TR["ihtiyar-heyetini"]·urd["مشاورت"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
γερουσί-α, ἡ, Council of Elders, senate, Refs 5th c.BC+; compare γερωΐα and γεροντί; also of the Carthaginian Refs 4th c.BC+; and the Roman, Refs 1st c.AD+; of the Jewish Sanhedrin, LXX+NT __2 sacred college, ἱερὰ γ. Refs 3rd c.BC+ __II ={πρεσβεία}, Refs 5th c.BC+