There were three courts in Jerusalem, one sitting at the entrance to the Temple Mount, one higher up on the Temple Mount, sitting at the entrance of the Temple Courtyard, and one even higher up the Mount sitting in the Chamber of Hewn Stone.
The dissenting sage and his disputants on the local court would come to the court at the entrance to the Temple Mount, and the dissenting sage would say before the court, “Thus have I expounded, and thus have my colleagues expounded, thus have I taught, and thus have my colleagues taught.” If the judges of the court have heard from their teachers the answer, they tell the disputants the law, and if not, they go to a higher court. There the procedure is repeated. If the highest court have a tradition, they tell it, and if not, they decide it, and it becomes binding.
Jean-Léon Gérôme - Dispute D'Arabes
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