Agreement
Lev 21:10 the ss between .. shall not uncover his head…
Zec 3:1 showed me ss Joshua, which was…
Mat 26:3 they met in the courtyard of the ss called…
Matt 26:57; Tue 14:53; Luk 22:54 they took him to the ss…
Joh 11:49 Caiaphas, one of them, ss that year, them…
Joh 18:19 ff asked Jesus about his…
Joh 18:22 gave him .. saying: Is this how you answer the ss?…
Act 5:17 then rising the ssy all the…
Act 7:1 the ss then said: Is this so?…
Act 9:1 Saul, breathing … threats … came to the ss …
Act 23:4 they said: To the ss of God you revile?…
Heb 2:17 merciful and faithful ss in what to God…
Heb 3:1 consider the yss apostle of our…
Heb 4:14 having a great ss that pierced the…
Heb 5:1 everything ss taken from among men is…
Heb 5:10 declared by God ss after the order of…
Heb 6:20 where Jesus entered…ss forever…
Heb 7:26 such ss suited us: holy, innocent, without…
Heb 7:28 the law constitutes ssa weak men…
Heb 8:1 that we have such a ss, which sat down at the…
Heb 9:7 only the ss once a year, not without blood…
Heb 9:11 already present Christ, ss of goods…
Heb 9:25 the ss enters the Holy of Holies…
Definitions
The high priest was the highest religious dignitary, representative of the nation before the Lord. Aaron was appointed to this position after the proclamation of the covenant at Sinai and the command to build the Tabernacle (Ex. 27:21; 28). At first, Aaron had been only the mouthpiece, the “prophet” of Moses (Ex. 4:14-16; 7:1); he fulfilled the order about the vessel of manna surely later (Ex. 16: 33-34); he went up to Sinai with his sons and the elders of Israel (Ex. 24:1, 9). Moses, at this time, was the only one admitted before the very presence of God, either on the mount, or in the tabernacle of testimony (Ex. 19:3, 19; 20:21; 24:12-18; 33:7 -11; 40:35). But once the tabernacle was up and ready to receive the sacrifices, a permanent priesthood became necessary. Then Aaron was consecrated, along with his sons, purified, anointed and clothed in priestly garments (Lev. 8). Having offered the first sacrifices for himself, his house, and Israel, Aaron solemnly blessed the people (Lev. 9). The Lord expressed his approval by manifesting his glory and consuming the offerings by fire from heaven (Lev. 9:23-24). The fact of the association of Aaron’s sons with his father suggested that the position of the latter would become hereditary (Ex. 28:43). Eleazar, son of Aaron, actually came to succeed him (Num. 20:25-26). From then on, the legal head of the house of Aaron was invested with the high priesthood. In the house of Aaron it is possible that the right of succession was given by the right of primogeniture, except if the successor was ruled out by illness or mutilation provided for by the Law (Lev. 21:16-23). Also, often theocratic-political considerations had a great influence on the choice (1 Kings 2:26, 27, 35). The tradition had fixed the age of the beginning of functions in the 20 years; however, Aristobulus acceded to the high priesthood at the age of 17 (Ant. 15:3, 3). There were special laws that determined what was to be the conduct of the high priest (Lev. 21:1-15). (a) Function. The most important function of the high priest was to make atonement once a year for all the sins of the people (see ATONEMENT, ATONEMENT). Bearing the atoning blood, protected by the cloud of perfume around him, he crossed the veil that separated the Holy place from the Most Holy, and stood before the mercy seat (see MERCY SEAT). He made atonement for himself, for his house, for the sanctuary, and for all the people (Lev. 16:11-19). Then he went out and confessed on the head of the escaped goat all the iniquities of Israel, and the animal was led into the desert, carrying the sins away from the presence of Jehovah (Lev. 16: 20-22). In all this, Aaron acted as a type of Christ (see end of this article). In charge of the high priest was also the general supervision of the sanctuary, of those who exercised the service, and of the treasury (2 Kings 12:7 ss.; 22:4). It was he who had to consult God through the Urim and Thummim (Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21; Dt. 33:8). In addition to that, he had the right to exercise any priestly function. He used to offer the sacrifices on the Sabbath day, the new moon, and at annual festivals (Wars 5:5, 7). He presided over the Sanhedrin when this council was to discuss religious matters (Mt. 26:57; Acts 5:21). (b) his garments. In addition to the tunic of fine white linen, the vestment of all the priests, he had an official garment consisting of: (A) The pectoral; square, made of gold, blue, purple, crimson thread, and fine twisted linen; it had four rows of three precious stones each, engraved, bearing the name of each tribe. The Urim and Thummim were inside the breastplate (see URIM). (B) The ephod, a garment embroidered with colored threads, and made of the same precious fabric as the breastplate. Its two pieces, which covered the back and chest, were joined at the shoulders by two onyx stones, each bearing the names of six tribes. The ephod, which had the breastplate in front, was tied around the waist with a belt woven from the same materials. (C) The robe of the ephod was longer than the ephod, and was worn underneath, all blue, sleeveless, adorned on its lower edge with pomegranates of blue, purple, crimson, and twisted linen alternating with bells of pure gold (see BELLS). (D) The miter was a fine linen turban. At a later date there was another white headdress on top of this, all surmounted by a triple gold crown. A blue cord fixed the gold plate on which was engraved: HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH (Ex. 28; cf. Eclo. 45:8-13; Ant. 3:7, 1-6; 1 Mac. 10:20 ). (See MITER). The high priest dressed in this official dress for the fulfillment of his particular obligations. (c) Consecration. For the consecration of the high priest, among other ceremonies, the anointing oil was poured over his head (Ex. 29:7; Lev. 8:12; Ps. 133:2); to characterize him, he is called “anointed priest” (Lev. 4:3, 4, 16; 21:10; Num. 35:25). The difference between the consecration of the high priests and that of the ordinary priests is not fully specified (Ex. 29:21; Lev. 8:30); but the tradition of the rabbis makes this distinction reside in the amount of oil used. While it was poured liberally on the head of the high priest, it was poured sparingly on that of an ordinary priest. At first, the function of the high priest was for life, but Herod, and after him the Romans, jealous of the authority that could grant a position for life, appointed and dismissed them at will. (d) Typology. Aaron was the type of Jesus in his office as high priest of the faith we profess (Heb. 3:1-3). Aaron, and his successors, were sinful men, and were forced to first make atonement for their own sins. Furthermore, they could only offer animal sacrifices, unable to erase sins. Finally, they were mortal, and their priesthood was constantly interrupted. In stark contrast, Christ is eternal in the manner of Melchizedek; absolutely without blemish, he offered a single effectual sacrifice, ever since living eternally, so that his intransmissible priesthood is sufficient to save us perfectly (Heb. 4: 14-5: 6; 7: 21-8: 6; 9 :11-14; 10:11-14). Jesus, having crossed the veil and entered heaven itself with his own blood, now intercedes for us before the Father. From there he will return to give us eternal blessing (Heb. 9: 24-28). (See HEBREWS (EPÍSTOLA A LOS).) For the expression “chief priests”, see end of article PRIEST. Bibliography: See bibliographies under LEVITICUS, HEBREWS, PRIESTHOOD. See also: Saphir, A.: “Epistle to the Hebrews” (Kregel Pub., Grand Rapids, 1983); Soltau, HW: “The Tabernacle, the Priesthood, and the Offerings” (Bible Truth Publishers, Oak Park, Illinois).
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
See High Priest of Israel: Qualifications and Vestments
Sacred figure, or consecrated, in the Temple of Jerusalem, which already existed in the Sanctuary that accompanied the Israelites in the desert, in which the Ark of the Covenant was deposited. (Lev. 21.20; Ex. 30. 22.25; Ex. 29.30). The choice first fell on Aaron, the brother of Moses. His firstborn was then designated Eleazar and then Zadok, from whom the “Sadducees” descended.
His representative capacity increased when Solomon inaugurated the Temple and designed a priestly caste in accordance with his cult pretensions. Then the figure of him was completed with rich dresses, with solemn rituals and with high attributions, rights and cultic and social privileges, of which the material benefits of the religious offerers in the Temple were not unrelated.
His mission was to offer the daily Sacrifice for the people, to be the head of the entire priestly class, to have the first part of the sacrifices and in the religious tributes and to preside over and appoint the other priests and Levites with their functions.
With the arrival of the Maccabees, with Simon in particular, leadership left the priestly castes and was deposited, or usurped, in the warrior figures of the Maccabees and their descendants who, after all, were only Levites.
In the time of Jesus, the high priest appointed by the Romans, who followed the custom established by Herod of being the one who designated such a figure and received in exchange for heavy tributes, was Joseph Caiaphas (he was from 18 to 36), who I replace the dismissed Anás (who was from 6 to 15) and of whom he was the son-in-law. The last High Priest, who died in the Jewish rebellion against the Romans, was Pinchas. Since then the lineage of the high priests disappeared.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
See Aaron
Main representative of the people before God who was in charge of supervising the other priests.
Various terms are used in the Bible to designate the high priest: “the high priest” (Nu 35:25, 28; Jos 20:6, footnote), “the priest, the anointed one” (Le 4:3), “the chief priest” (2Ch 26:20, note; 2Ki 25:18, note), “the head” (2Ch 24:6), or simply “the priest” (2Ch 26:17). In the latter case, the context determines whether it is the high priest or someone else. In the Christian Greek Scriptures the expression “chief priests” is used to refer to the leading men of the priesthood, who may include former deposed high priests and possibly also the heads of the 24 priestly divisions. (Mt 2:4; Mr 8:31.)
Jehovah appointed Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. (Heb 5:4) The high priesthood of Israel began with Aaron, passing from father to firstborn son, unless that son died or was disqualified, as was the case with both…