The Jewish councils were the Sanhedrim, or supreme council of the nation, which had subordinate to it smaller tribunals (the "judgment," perhaps, in Matthew 5:21,22 ) in the cities of Palestine (Matthew 10:17; Mark 13:9 ). In the time of Christ the functions of the Sanhedrim were limited (John 16:2; 2 co. 11:24 ). In Psalm 68:27 the word "council" means simply a company of persons. (RSV marg., "company.")
In ecclesiastical history the word is used to denote an assembly of pastors or bishops for the discussion and regulation of church affairs. The first of these councils was that of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, of which we have a detailed account in Acts 15 .
Easton's Bible Dictionary was written by Matthew George Easton, who lived from 1823-1894. This Scottish Presbyterian's other significant literary achievements were his English translations of two of Franz Delitzsch's commentaries. The nearly 4,000 entries cover material from Aaron to Zuzims!Wikipedia
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