Translation:Mishnah/Seder Nezikin/Tractate Sanhedrin/Chapter 4/4

Introduction

Sanhedrin deals primarily with the court and with court cases. The fourth chapter of Sanhedrin is focused mostly on the treatment of non-capital cases.

The fourth mishnah of this chapter continues with the layout of the Sanhedrin, focusing on the students who eventually become judges.

Hebrew Text

ושלש שורות של תלמידי חכמים יושבין לפניהם , כל אחד ואחד מכיר את מקומו.

היו צריכין לסמוך, סומכין מן הראשונה.

אחד מן השניה בא לו לראשונה ואחד מן השלישית בא לו לשניה, ובוררין להן עוד אחד מן הקהל ומושיבין אותו בשלישית.

ולא היה יושב במקומו של ראשון, אלא יושב במקום הראוי לו.

English Translation

And three rows of students sit before them, each one knows his (proper) place. (When) there was a need to appoint (a new judge), they appointed from the first (row). One from the second (row) comes to the first, and one from the third (row) comes to the second, and they choose for them one more (student) from the community who is seated in the third (row). He didn't sit in the place of the first (student), but rather he sits in the place seen for him.

Explanation

This mishnah presents the physical description of the students in the Sanhedrin who replace judges as necessary. These students sit in three rows, and each time a judge is picked, that judge comes from the first row, and every student moves up one space in the hierarchy. A simple illustration:

          Before:       After:
Row 1:   (1)(2)(3)    (2)(3)(4)*
Row 2:   (4)(5)(6)    (5)(6)(7)
Row 3:   (7)(8)(9)    (8)(9)(A)**

*Student 1 is now a judge
**Student A came from the community