High Priest of Israel (from Hebrew כהן גדול, Cohen Gadol) is the name given to the highest religious dignitary of Ancient Israel.
In the early Hebrew religion and in the days of classical Judaism, that is, from the birth of the Israelite nation and until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the High Priest of Israel was the first and foremost among all Israelite priests.
The High Priest coordinated the worship and sacrifices, first in the Tabernacle, then in the Temple in Jerusalem. According to biblical tradition, only the descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother, could be elevated to office, or perform other priestly functions, even when this norm was later abolished due to various political events.
During the Second Temple period, the high priest often served as president of the Sanhedrin. His role declined with the Roman occupation (from 63 BCE onwards). The function of high priest disappeared with the destruction of the Second Temple, in 70 CE. During the period that the First Temple existed, there were eighteen High Priests of Israel; in Second Temple times, successive High Priests numbered about sixty.
Data provided by the Bible
Although only exceptionally called “high priest” and generally designated ha-kohen (the priest), Aaron was the first to hold the office of High Priest of Israel; His appointment to that position came from God (Exodus 28:1-2; 29:4-5).
The succession was to choose one of his sons, and stay within his own family (Leviticus 6:15). If he had none, the place was to revert to his eldest brother: such was apparently the practice in Asmodean times. By Eli’s time, however, (1 Samuel 2:23), he had passed over to Ithamar’s collateral branch. But King Solomon is said to have deposed the high priest Abiathar, to appoint in his place Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar (I Kings 2:35; I Chronicles 24: 2-3). After the Exile, the succession seems to be done, in principle, in a direct line from father to son; but then the civil authorities usurped that right of nomination. For example, Antiochus IV Epiphanes deposed Onias III, in favor of Jason, and then Menelaus.
Herod I the Great appointed six high priests, and Herod Archelaus two. The Roman legate, Quirinus, and his successors exercised the right of nomination, as did Herod Agrippa I, Herod Chalcis, and Herod Agrippa II. The people also, from time to time, chose their candidates. High priests before the Exile were apparently appointed for life; in fact, from Aaron to the Babylonian Captivity, the number of high priests was no more important than during the sixty years preceding the fall of the Second Temple. The last high priest was called Pinhas ben Samuel (67-70).
Requirements
Only the descendants of Aaron could exercise the position. The Torah does not specify a canonical age for the position, but rabbinic tradition establishes a minimum age of twenty. Despite this, Aristobulus III was only seventeen when appointed; Onias III’s son was too young to succeed his father.
It was essential to be of legitimate birth, hence the care taken to preserve genealogical records, and the distrust of those whose mothers had been captured in the course of a war. The high priest was to abstain from all ritual impurity. He could only marry a young Israelite girl. In the Book of Ezekiel 44:22, this restriction is extended to all kohanim (priests), an exception being made in favor of a priest’s widow (see Levirate Law). He was not allowed any contact with the bodies of the dead, even if they were his close relatives; he was not authorized to leave his hair in disarray, as a sign of mourning, nor to tear his clothes (Leviticus 21:10 et seq.). According to Flavius Josephus, birth on foreign soil was not prohibitive, but the disqualifications in Leviticus 21:17ff. they applied both to the high priest and to the other priests.
priestly vestments
The Torah establishes the specific garments that Israelite priests must wear when exercising their ministry in the Tabernacle: “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for the decency and beauty of his office” (Exodus 28:2). These garments are described in detail in Exodus 28, Exodus 39, and Leviticus 8. The high priest wore eight sacred garments, or bigdei kodesh. Four of them were identical to those carried by all the other priests, but an additional four were his own exclusively. The appearance of the High Priest of Israel presented attributes comparable to those of the Hebrew royal era.
Common to all Israelite priests were the following garments:
- Michnasaim, a kind of linen pants down to the knees “to cover their nakedness” (Exodus 28:42).
- Ktonet : full-length robe made of pure linen, covering from the neck to the feet, with sleeves reaching to the wrists. That of the high priest was embroidered (Exodus 28:39) ; those of the priests were simpler (Exodus 28:40).
- Avnet (belt): that of the high priest was of flawless linen, with elaborate embroidery in blue, purple, and scarlet (Exodus 28:39, 39:29); those of the priests were of twisted white linen. He surrounded the robe.
- Mitznéfet (kind of turban, linen): that of the High Priest was greater than those worn by the other priests. In the case of the High Priest, the linen was rolled up to form a kind of wide turban (apparently analogous to a current chef’s hat), with a flat roof. Those of the other priests took a conical shape; each of them was known as a migbahat.
Woven of fine linen, the four garments mentioned were also worn by the High Priest, who also had another four that were exclusively reserved for him and which he wore on top of the previous four:
- Me’il (Cloak of the Ephod): a long, sleeveless dress, woven in violet purple, the lower hem of which was embroidered with bells of gold, alternating with acorns of linen and wool, in the form of pomegranates, in blue, purple, and scarlet .
- Ephod – A richly embroidered vest or apron, held back by two onyx stones on the shoulders. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraved on these two stones, six on each stone.
- Joshen (pectoral) : fixed in front of the ephod, it was adorned with twelve precious stones, each one engraved with the name of one of the Israelite tribes. It consisted of a square gold tablet, where the High Priest carried the Urim and Thummim.
- Tzitz (crown), or Nezer (plate): gold plate displaying the inscription “קדש ליהוה” (qodesh le-YHWH), « Consecrated to the Eternal ». It was attached to the front of the mitznephet by a violet-purple thread, so that it rested on the High Priest’s forehead.
Source: Wikipedia
Aaron
The High Priest in the Bible