ra8b think of the Temple as a kind of feudal state
EMPLOYING THOUSANDS OF PRIESTS, SINGERS, PORTERS, SERVANTS, AND MINISTERS WHILE MAINTAINING VAST TRACTS OF FERTILE LAND TILLED BY TEMPLE SLAVES ON BEHALF OF THE HIGH PRIEST ÀND FÒR HÌS BENEFIT!
Add
to this
the revenue raked
in by the Temple tax and
the constant stream of gifts and offerings
from visitors & pilgrims - not to mention the huge sums
that pass through the hands of the merchants & money changers,
of which the Temple takes a cut - and it is easy to see why so many Jews
view the entire priestly nobility, and the High priest in particular, as nothing but
a band of avaricious "lovers of luxury'" to quote Josephus?
Picture the High Priest JONATHAN standing at the ALTAR,
INCENCE SMOLDERING IN HIS HAND, and it is easy to see where hìs enmity comes from!
Even his priestly garments, passed down to him by his wealthy predecessors, attest to the high priest's opulence?!
This long, sleeveless robe dyed purple (the color of kings) & fringed with dainty tassels & tiny golden bells sewn to the hem;
the hefty breast plate, speckled with 12 precious gems, one for each of the tribes of Israel; the immaculate turban
sitting upon his head like a tiara, fronted by a gold plate on which is engraved the unutterable "name of g d";
the URIM & THUMMIM, a sort of sacred dice made of wood & bone that this high priest carries in a pouch
near his breast & through which he reveals the will of g d by casting lots - all of these symbols
of ostentation are meant to represent the high priest's exclusive 'access to g d'!
They are what MAKES the high
priest different; THEY set
HÌM apart from
every other
Jew!
Add
to this
the revenue raked
in by the Temple tax and
the constant stream of gifts and offerings
from visitors & pilgrims - not to mention the huge sums
that pass through the hands of the merchants & money changers,
of which the Temple takes a cut - and it is easy to see why so many Jews
view the entire priestly nobility, and the High priest in particular, as nothing but
a band of avaricious "lovers of luxury'" to quote Josephus?
Picture the High Priest JONATHAN standing at the ALTAR,
INCENCE SMOLDERING IN HIS HAND, and it is easy to see where hìs enmity comes from!
Even his priestly garments, passed down to him by his wealthy predecessors, attest to the high priest's opulence?!
This long, sleeveless robe dyed purple (the color of kings) & fringed with dainty tassels & tiny golden bells sewn to the hem;
the hefty breast plate, speckled with 12 precious gems, one for each of the tribes of Israel; the immaculate turban
sitting upon his head like a tiara, fronted by a gold plate on which is engraved the unutterable "name of g d";
the URIM & THUMMIM, a sort of sacred dice made of wood & bone that this high priest carries in a pouch
near his breast & through which he reveals the will of g d by casting lots - all of these symbols
of ostentation are meant to represent the high priest's exclusive 'access to g d'!
They are what MAKES the high
priest different; THEY set
HÌM apart from
every other
Jew!
04 nov 2015 - bewerkt op 05 nov 2015
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