these councils was that of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem, of which
we have a detailed account in Acts 15.
- COUNSELLOR an adviser (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22), a king’s state
counsellor (2 Samuel 15:12). Used once of the Messiah (Isaiah 9:6). In
Mark 15:43, Luke 23:50, the word probably means a member of the
Jewish Sanhedrim. - COURSES When David was not permitted to build the temple, he
proceeded, among the last acts of his life, with the assistance of Zadok and
Ahimelech, to organize the priestly and musical services to be conducted in
the house of God. (1.) He divided the priests into twenty-four courses (1
Chronicles 24:1-19), sixteen being of the house of Eleazar and eight of that
of Ithamar. Each course was under a head or chief, and ministered for a
week, the order being determined by lot. (2.) The rest of the 38,000
Levites (23:4) were divided also into twenty-four courses, each to render
some allotted service in public worship: 4,000 in twenty-four courses were
set apart as singers and musicians under separate leaders (25); 4,000 as
porters or keepers of the doors and gates of the sanctuary (26:1-19); and
6,000 as officers and judges to see to the administration of the law in all
civil and ecclesiastical matters (20-32).
This arrangement was re-established by Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31:2); and
afterwards the four sacerdotal courses which are said to have returned from
the Captivity were re-divided into the original number of twenty-four by
Ezra (6:18).
- COURT the enclosure of the tabernacle (Exodus 27:9-19; 40:8), of the
temple (1 Kings 6:36), of a prison (Nehemiah 3:25), of a private house (2
Samuel 17:18), and of a king’s palace (2 Kings 20:4). - COVENANT a contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old
Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is
derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a
“cutting,” with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two
parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a
covenant (Genesis 15; Jeremiah 34:18, 19).
The corresponding word in the New Testament Greek is diatheke, which
is, however, rendered “testament” generally in the Authorized Version. It