[maj-uh-streyt, -strit] 
| 1. | a civil officer charged with the administration of the law. |
| 2. | a minor judicial officer, as a justice of the peace or the judge of a police court, having jurisdiction to try minor criminal cases and to conduct preliminary examinations of persons charged with serious crimes. |
| mag·is·trate (māj'ĭ-strāt', -strĭt) n. A civil officer with power to administer and enforce law, as: a. A local member of the judiciary having limited jurisdiction, especially in criminal cases. [Middle English magistrat, from Old French, from Latin magistrātus, from magister, magistr-, master; see meg- in Indo-European roots.] |
Magistrate
a public civil officer invested with authority. The Hebrew shophetim, or judges, were magistrates having authority in the land (Deut. 1:16, 17). In Judg. 18:7 the word "magistrate" (A.V.) is rendered in the Revised Version "possessing authority", i.e., having power to do them harm by invasion. In the time of Ezra (9:2) and Nehemiah (2:16; 4:14; 13:11) the Jewish magistrates were called _seganim_, properly meaning "nobles." In the New Testament the Greek word _archon_, rendered "magistrate" (Luke 12:58; Titus 3:1), means one first in power, and hence a prince, as in Matt. 20:25, 1 Cor. 2:6, 8. This term is used of the Messiah, "Prince of the kings of the earth" (Rev. 1:5). In Acts 16:20, 22, 35, 36, 38, the Greek term _strategos_, rendered "magistrate," properly signifies the leader of an army, a general, one having military authority. The _strategoi_ were the duumviri, the two praetors appointed to preside over the administration of justice in the colonies of the Romans. They were attended by the sergeants (properly lictors or "rod bearers").
əˌstreɪt
