Council.
1. The great council of the Sanhedrin, which sat at Jerusalem. See Sanhedrin.
2. The lesser courts, Matthew 10:17; Mark 13:9, of which there were two at Jerusalem and one in each town of Palestine. The constitution of these courts is a doubtful point. The existence of local courts, however constituted, is clearly implied in the passages quoted from the New Testament; and perhaps the "judgment," Matthew 5:21, applies to them.
3. A kind of jury or privy council, Acts 25:12, consisting of a certain number of assessors, who assisted Roman governors in the administration of justice and in other public matters.