Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MAGISTRATE

A judicial official who implemented the Torah as the official law for the Jews (Aram. šāpṭîn; Ezra 7:25). In the NT the term refers to Roman rulers (Gk. archḗ, árchōn; Luke 12:11, 58; Tit. 3:1) who were annually elected and were the highest state officials of Roman colonies and towns (stratēgós; Acts 16:20, 22, 35-36, 38). Their official Latin titles were duoviri (“two men”) in colonies and quattuorviri (“four men”) in towns. Although they constituted the highest council of civil administration, their office was beneath the senatorial and equestrian orders. Magistrates built amphitheaters and maintained public works (drainage, roads, religious buildings, public baths, markets, and the food supply), often at their own expense. They also maintained civil order and dispensed justice. Every five years they revised the town census rolls for taxation. To celebrate their year in office they often sponsored games, built new public buildings, or repaved streets. Town councils often erected statues or monuments for prominent magistrates, and they were given the best seats in amphitheaters.

Bibliography. L. Keppie, Understanding Roman Inscriptions (Baltimore, 1991), 52-59; J. E. Sandys, Latin Epigraphy, 2nd ed. (1927, repr. Chicago, 1974), 228-30.

Richard A. Spencer

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MAGISTRATE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)