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“priests” in Israel prior to the official establishment of the Levitical priesthood. No doubt
priestly functions were performed in pre-Mosaic times by the head of the family, such as
Noah, Abraham, and Job. After the Flood, for example, Noah built an altar to the Lord
(Gen. 8:20-21). At Bethel, Mamre, and Moriah, Abraham built altars. In Gen. 22:12-13,
we read that Abraham was willing to offer his son as a sacrifice. Job offered up sacrifices
for his sinning children (Job 1:5).
The priesthood constituted one of the central characteristics of Old Testament
religion. A passage showing the importance of the priesthood is Num. 16:5-7: “And he
spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even tomorrow the Lord will show
who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom
he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do; Take you censers, Korah,
and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord … the
man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy.…”
God established Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar
as “priests” in Israel (Exod. 28:1, 41; 29:9, 29- 30). Because Nadab and Abihu were
killed when they “offered strange fire before the Lord,” the priesthood was limited to the
lines of Eleazar and Ithamar (Lev. 10:1-2; Num. 3:4; 1 Chron. 24:2).
However, not all individuals born in the family of Aaron could serve as “priest.”
Certain physical deformities excluded a man from that perfection of holiness which a
“priest” should manifest before Yahweh (Lev. 21:17-23). A “priest” who was
ceremonially unclean was not permitted to perform his priestly duties. Lev. 21:1-15 gives
a list of ceremonial prohibitions that forbade a “priest” from carrying out his duties.
Exod. 29:1-37 and Lev. 8 describe the sevenday consecration ceremony of Aaron and
his sons. Both the high priest (
) and his sons were washed with water
(Exod. 29:4). Then Aaron the high priest dressed in holy garments with a breastplate over
his heart, and there was placed on his head a holy crown— the mitre or turban (Exod.
29:5-6). After that, Aaron was anointed with oil on his head (Exod. 29:7; cf. Ps. 133:2).
Finally, the blood of a sacrificial offering was applied to Aaron and his sons (Exod.
29:20-21). The consecrating bloodmark was placed upon the tip of the right ear, on the
thumb of the right hand, and on the great toe of the right foot.
The duties of the priesthood were very clearly defined by the Mosaic law. These
duties were assumed on the eighth day of the service of consecration (Lev. 9:1). The Lord
told Aaron: “Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for
every thing of the altar, and within the veil; and ye shall serve …” (Num. 18:7).
The “priests” were to act as teachers of the Law (Lev. 10:10-11; Deut. 33:10; 2
Chron. 5:3; 17:7-9; Ezek. 44:23; Mal. 2:6-9), a duty they did not always carry out (Mic.
3:11; Mal. 2:8). In certain areas of health and jurisprudence, “priests” served as limited
revelators of God’s will. For example, it was the duty of the “priest” to discern the
existence of leprosy and to perform the rites of cleansing (Lev. 13-14). Priests determined
punishments for murder and other civil matters (Deut. 21:5; 2 Chron. 19:8-11).
B. Verb.
(
, 3547), “to act as a priest.” This verb, which appears 23 times in biblical
Hebrew, is derived from the noun
!
The verb appears only in the intensive stem.
One occurrence is in Exod. 28:1: “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his