for a possible reconciliation. Numbers 16; Mishneh Torah, Yom Hakippurim 1:1–2. Second Kings 23:4-20 lists five categories of priests that existed in ancient Israel before Josiah's reformation, and arranges them according to their proximity to the Jerusalem temple: (1) the high priest (v. 4), (2) the second-order priests (v. 4), (3) the idolatrous priests in the cities of Judah and in the area surrounding Jerusalem (v. 5); (4) the priests of the high places in the cities of Judah from Geba to Beersheba (vv. In 2:17 the writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as the one who has come to our aid as our high priest by making "atonement for the sins of the people." Onias III, a descendant of Zadok, served as Kohen Gadol at the time. 23-27). On the seventh day, the nominee burnt the inaugural flour offering—which paralleled the High Priest’s daily flour offering (minchat chavitin)—and became a full-fledged Kohen Gadol. But Jesus abides forever as a priest according to the order of Melchizedek and therefore has a permanent priesthood through which he can save us completely and eternally ( 7:24-25 ). Second, the covenant ratification ritual in Exodus 24:3-8 actually inaugurated Israel as a "kingdom of priests, " that is, a nation that had direct access to God through his presence in the tabernacle and to which they would come and worship. Interestingly, the high priest Caiaphas unwittingly prophesied the substitutionary death of Jesus for Israel and for all believers even among the gentiles ( John 11:47-53 ; 18:14 ). Another tradition, brought in Numbers Rabba 2:7, has the children of Leah listed first, followed by the rest of the tribes in birth order: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. Num 28:3-8 ). See Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s Living Torah on Exodus 28:21 for a discussion on which precious stones were used. Direct references to Melchizedek and to Jesus as a priest according to the order of Melchizedek as opposed to the order of Aaron are limited to Hebrews 5-7. It occurs approximately 750 times and can refer to priests of the one true God or of other supposed gods that other nations and sometimes also the ancient Israelites themselves worshiped (for the latter, see, e.g., Genesis 41:45 Genesis 41:50 ; 2 Kings 10:11 2 Kings 10:19 ). Related terms are the verb kahan [;h'K], "to act as (or become) a priest" (23 occurrences), the feminine abstract noun kehunna [h"Nuh.K], "priesthood" (14 occurrences see Exod 29:9 ; 40:15 ; Num 3:10 ; Numbers 18:1 Numbers 18:7 ; 1 Sam 2:36 ; Ezra 2:62 ; Neh 7:64 ; 13:29, ; referring to the exclusivity, perpetuity, and responsibility of the Aaronic office of "priesthood" cf. Reply, Thank you.this was very interesting and correct. Exod 29:21 ; and Lev 8:30 ) and further substantiates this suggestion that, from the start (i.e., from Exod. There were also daily, weekly, monthly, and periodic festival offerings that the priests were responsible to offer as part of the regular pattern of tabernacle worship (Num. The High Priesthood. 4) He also condemned “Israel”, meaning the Ten Tribes, “because they sold the righteous for silver” (Amos 1; 4-6). The Mishnah23 required the sages to ask the Kohen Gadol if he had ever learned how to perform the Yom Kippur service; another Mishnah has the Kohen Gadol vow that he will carry out the incense ceremony properly. This, in turn, became the pattern for the thematic development of the Melchizedekian priesthood of Jesus Christ in Hebrews 5-7 since, not being a descendant of Aaron, he could not be a priest according to the order of Aaron ( Heb 7:11-14 ). Six other terms derive from it: the verb hierateuo [iJerateuvw] for Zacharias "serving as priest" ( Luke 1:8 ), the verb hierourgeo [iJerourgevw] referring to Paul "serving as a priest" by offering the Gentiles up as a holy offering to God ( Rom 15:16 ), and the nouns hierateia [iJerateiva] for the "priestly office" of Zacharias ( Luke 1:9 ) and the sons of Levi ( Heb 7:5 ), hierateuma [iJeravteuma] in reference to the "priesthood" of the church ( 1 Peter 2:5 1 Peter 2:9 ), archieratikos [ajrcieratikov"] referring to those of "high priestly" descent ( Acts 4:6 ), and especially archiereus [ajrciereuv"] ("high or chief priest(s), " 123 occurrences). This argument regarding the gentle and sympathetic nature of our high priestly mediator continues into 5:1-10. 24 forward), the whole nation was a "kingdom of priests" — they were "a holy people" ( Exod 19:6 , immediately following "a kingdom of priests" ). 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