Sceptre: (Heb. shebet = Gr. skeptron), properly a staff or rod. As a symbol of authority, the use of the sceptre originated in the idea that the ruler was as a shepherd of his people (Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:17; Psalm 45:6; Isaiah 14:5). There is no example on record of a sceptre having ever been actually handled by a Jewish king.