SANHEDRIN

Sanhedrin

The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty to twenty-three men appointed in every city in the biblical Land of Israel. The Mishnah arrives at the number twenty-three based on an exegetical derivation: It must be possible for a "community" to vote for both conviction and exoneration . The minimum size of a "community" is 10 men . One more is required to achieve a majority, but a simple majority cannot convict, and so an additional judge is required . Finally, a court should not have an even number of judges to prevent deadlocks; thus 23.

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