It was during the weekly course of Abia (eighth in order) that Zechariah had been chosen by lot to offer incense in the Holy Place, prob. Besides these two weeks they also traveled to Jerusalem for the three annual pilgrimage festivals. They were divided into twenty-four divisions (or courses ἐφημερίας, Luke 1:5) each of which performed the daily Temple sacrifices for a week, twice a year. Over against the priestly aristocracy were the vast majority of ordinary priests, who Jeremias estimates numbered approximately 18,000 in the time of Jesus. Hence their implication in the opposition to Jesus and the Early Church, esp.
These priests had various administrative duties, esp. Jeremias has shown persuasively that it more likely refers to the specific group of Temple officers that included not only the high priest and the captain of the Temple, but also the Temple overseers ( אֲמַרְכְּלִים, ’ammarklim) and treasurers ( גִּזְבָּרִים), listed twice in the Talmud ( Tosephta Shekalim ii, 14, 177 Mishnah Shekalim v. Schürer, most scholars have considered this term to refer either to the high priest and exhigh priests in particular, or in general to “the members of those privileged families from which the high priests were taken” (Schürer, II, I, 202-206). The chief priests.Īt least sixty-four times in the NT and often in Josephus and the Talmud, the term “high priest” occurs in the pl. was chosen from the near relatives of the high priest or in the time of Christ from one of the four leading families (cf. Because he was next in rank to the high priest, he usually was next in line for that office. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, and also served as chief of police in the Temple area as such he had power of arrest (cf. His chief ritual duties were to assist the high priest during the performance of his sacrifices and to substitute for the high priest in case of defilement. Next in importance to the high priest was the captain of the Temple ( στρατηγὸς του̂ ἱερου̂). 70, see Jeremias, 377-378.) The captain of the Temple. (For the list of high priests from 200 b.c. Not only did the office cease to be lifelong and hereditary, but it also became wholly dependent on political authority, with resulting cases of simony and nepotism. Herod the Great had begun the practice of dismissing and appointing the high priest, a practice continued under Rom. strict for him in comparison with others.ĭuring NT times, the high priesthood had lost its OT hereditary character. Ritual and marriage regulations were esp.
Moreover, he had the privilege of taking part in any sacrifice at any time he chose. What distinguished him from all other men was his unique privilege to enter the Holy of Holies once a year to offer sacrifice on the Day of Atonement. His leading position was based chiefly on the cultic character of his office. Primacy of position in the priestly hierarchy during NT times continued to belong to the high priest. rule-first under Herod and finally by procurator-have left their indelible imprints, and certain inevitable changes resulted. However, the Maccabean revolt and the subsequent Hasmonean dynasty of priest-kings, followed by Rom. First Peter also cites the Exodus passage, calling the Christian community a “royal priesthood.” The priestly caste.įor the most part the high priest and priests in the NT are extensions of what one finds in the OT. Elsewhere the terms are used only in Hebrews, to refer to Jesus in a theological understanding of His ministry, and in the Revelation, where the Christian community is referred to as “priests to God,” reflecting Exodus 19:6. In the gospels and Acts, the usage is restricted to the Jewish caste who continued to minister in the Temple. The NT usage of the terms “priest” and “high priest,” with but one exception ( Acts 14:13), reflects OT antecedents, esp.