3:5, 7, 10, 15, the word (keren) so rendered is a curved horn. The word
“cornet” in 2 Samuel 6:5 (Hebrews mena’an’im, occurring only here) was
some kind of instrument played by being shaken like the Egyptian sistrum,
consisting of rings or bells hung loosely on iron rods.
- COTES pens or enclosures for flocks (2 Chronicles 32:28, “cotes for
flocks;” R.V., “flocks in folds”). - COTTAGE (1.) A booth in a vineyard (Isaiah 1:8); a temporary shed
covered with leaves or straw to shelter the watchman that kept the garden.
These were slight fabrics, and were removed when no longer needed, or
were left to be blown down in winter (Job 27:18).
(2.) A lodging-place (rendered “lodge” in Isaiah 1:8); a slighter structure
than the “booth,” as the cucumber patch is more temporary than a
vineyard (Isaiah 24:20). It denotes a frail structure of boughs supported on
a few poles, which is still in use in the East, or a hammock suspended
between trees, in which the watchman was accustomed to sleep during
summer.
(3.) In Zephaniah 2:6 it is the rendering of the Hebrew keroth, which some
suppose to denote rather “pits” (R.V. marg., “caves”) or “wells of water,”
such as shepherds would sink.
- COUCH (Genesis 49:4; 1 Chronicles 5:1; Job 7:13; Psalm 6:6, etc.), a
seat for repose or rest. (See BED.) - COULTER (1 Samuel 13:20, 21), an agricultural instrument, elsewhere
called “ploughshare” (Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3; Joel 3:10). It was the
facing-piece of a plough, analogous to the modern coulter. - COUNCIL spoken of counsellors who sat in public trials with the
governor of a province (Acts 25:12).
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 Corinthians 11:24). In Psalm 68:27 the word “council” means
simply a company of persons. (R.V. 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