elders

Elders in Israel

Long before there were kings or a temple establishment, Israel had elders. Moses is told to 'gather the elders of Israel together' to hear that God has seen the affliction in Egypt (Exodus 3:16), and later to gather 'seventy men of the elders of Israel' to share the burden of leading the people (Numbers 11:16-17). Through Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Ruth they appear as the settled local authority of a town — hearing disputes at the gate, witnessing legal transactions, and representing the community. The office is not priestly and not prophetic; it is the standing of senior men whose age, family and reputation gave them a recognised say.

The Elders in the Gospels

By the first century 'the elders' in Jerusalem denotes the lay aristocracy who sat in the council alongside the priestly leadership, and the Gospels almost always name them as part of a group rather than alone. The formula recurs with slight variations: Jesus 'must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes' (Matthew 16:21); he 'must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes' (Mark 8:31). Luke 22:66 describes the body plainly — 'the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes' — and it is this assembly that hands Jesus to Pilate.

The elders also stand behind the phrase 'the tradition of the elders,' the accumulated body of oral interpretation that governed matters such as ritual handwashing, and which is the point at issue when the Pharisees challenge Jesus's disciples (Matthew 15:2; Mark 7:3-5). In Acts they appear in the same coalition opposing the apostles — 'their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem' (Acts 4:5).

A Note on the Word

The same English word does duty for two quite different things in the New Testament, and this article is only about the first. Alongside the Jewish elders above, the letters and the later chapters of Acts use 'elders' for an office in the Christian congregations — Paul and Barnabas 'appointed elders for them in every assembly' (Acts 14:23), Titus is told to 'appoint elders in every city' (Titus 1:5), and 1 Timothy 5:17 describes elders who 'rule well.' Revelation's twenty-four elders around the throne are a third thing again. Those senses are not covered here, and the app does not link them to this page.

Scripture references

• Exodus 3:16 — Moses told to gather the elders of Israel
• Numbers 11:16-17 — Seventy elders share the burden of leadership
• Matthew 15:2 — 'The tradition of the elders'
• Matthew 16:21 — Elders, chief priests and scribes named together
• Mark 8:31 — The Son of Man rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes
• Luke 22:66 — The assembly of the elders gathers at daybreak
• Acts 4:5 — Rulers, elders and scribes gathered against the apostles

Further reading

• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Sanhedrin