Shophet
In Hebrew and several other Semitic languages, shophet or shofet (plural shophtim or shofetim) literally means "Judge", from the verb "Š-P-T", "to pass judgment". Cognate titles exist in other Semitic cultures, notably Phoenicia.
Hebrew[edit]
In the Hebrew Bible, the shoftim were chieftains who united various Israelite tribes in time of mutual danger to defeat foreign enemies. See Book of Judges for more details.
Punic[edit]
In the various independent city states constituting Phoenicia proper (the coasts of present-day Lebanon and southern Syria) and the Punic colonies on the Mediterranean Sea, a shofet (in Punic, sufet or suffete) was a non-royal magistrate granted control over a city-state, sometimes functioning much in the same way as a Roman consul.
The term is mostly widely known from the suffetes of Carthage, a former Phoenician colony. Following the overthrow of its monarchy in the fifth century BCE, Carthage was ruled by a number of aristocratic councils presided over by two suffetes, who served in a similar capacity to Roman consuls.
Links[edit]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Judges". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. Judges