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21. ὑπὸ τὸν ὄρθρον, at break of day. The words indicate a time as soon as possible after day dawn. They lost no time in obeying the command. How early it was possible for them to come to the Temple we find from the directions in the Talmud concerning the morning sacrifice. It is said (Mishna Joma III. 1) ‘The Memunneh (see note on Act 4:1) said to them: Go ye out (on to the Temple wall or roof) and see whether the time for killing the sacrifice has arrived. If it had arrived, the outlooker said, “It has flashed forth” (i.e. day has dawned). Matthia ben Shemuel said [that the form of question was], “Has the whole face of the east become lit up as far as to Hebron? And the man answered, Yes.” So that the first sacrifice took place at the very peep of day.’ A like explanation is found Mishna Tamid III. 2.
παραγενόμενος, having come, i.e. into the council-chamber, to consider what steps to take about their prisoners.
συνεκάλεσαν τὸ συνέδριον, they called together the council; i.e. the Sanhedrin proper. This was evidently deemed to be a matter of the gravest character, for, as we see from Gamaliel’s presence, it was not the Sadducees alone who were summoned to the council.
τὴν γερουσίαν. The word occurs many times in LXX. of the Pentateuch, and in the Apocryphal books, and is variously rendered clders, council, or senate (see 1Ma 12:6; 2Ma 1:10; 2Ma 4:44; 2Ma 11:27). The name indicates that they were older men, who probably were invited as assessors to join the council by reason of their age and consequent weight of character. We can find from the Jewish literature that such assessors were often appointed. In the extract Mishna Joma I. 1, quoted on iv. 6, the word for ‘assessors’ is parhedrin, i.e. the Greek πάρεδροι, and the adoption of such a word into the Jewish vocabulary shews that the institution which it describes was of so permanent a nature as to justify the adoption of a foreign expression to describe it.