10 ¶ When the aprinces of
Judaha
heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the house of
the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD's
house.
11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the
princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for
he hath aprophesied against this city, as ye have heard
with your ears.
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10a princes of Judah Now as
the note in the LDS scriptures states, these are 'officers or rulers'. But to
be more precise these 'princes of the people' ought to be associated as being
members of the 'great Sanhedrin' which is spoken of in the Jewish Encyclopedia
as having so existed in the days of Jeremiah as in the days of Christ and as
initially instituted by Moses to govern the children of Israel in the
wilderness, even 70 such elders or princes from the tribes of Israel to so
administer judgment of the people according to the Laws of Moses. As such,
these 'princes or sarim of Judah' were not a part of the King's governing
body as a part of 'state government', but they stood separated as that body
which did govern over the 'church' or religion of the people, even that of
the house of the Lord under the direction and head of the great high priest of
the temple. And in the days of Jehoiakim it may be seen that it was king
Jehoiakim who did pursecute and murdered the prophets as in the case of
Urijah (see verses 20-23). And it was at that time certain of the 'Sarim'
who did stand by and protect Jeremiah such as Ahikam, son of Shapham (see
verse 24). Later, when all these 'chief men' had been taken to Babylon, those
who replaced those 'judges' of the great Sanhedrin in the days of Zedekiah
were all corrupt, seeking both the lives of Lehi and Jeremiah among such
others who came to prophesy against Jerusalem.
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