An archipheracite was a
minister
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
of
Jewish synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s, who were charged with reading and interpreting the ''
perakim'' (chapters), where the titles and chapters of the law and the prophets are found.
The archipheracite was not the same as the
archisynagogus, as
Grotius and other have mistakenly believed, but rather the chief or principal of these appointed to read, explain, and profess the law in their schools.
The title is formed from the Greek prefix ' "chief", and the
Hebrew or
Aramaic , "pherak", division or chapter.
References
Archipheracite. ''Encyclopédie Ou Dictionnaire Raisonné Des Sciences, Des Arts Et Des Métiers''. 1751. 1st ed.
Jewish religious occupations
{{Jewish-hist-stub