Meaning of PRIEST

Minister specially designated for worship, officiating before the altar, and executor of certain rites on behalf of the community.

Being mediators between man and divinity, priests generally constituted a caste among the Egyptians, Midianites, Philistines and Greeks (Gen. 47:22; Ex. 2:16; 1 Sam. 6:2; Acts 14: 13).

At the dawn of humanity, it was the same individuals who exercised certain religious functions before the organization of the priesthood. The patriarchs assumed these functions for their families, as seen in the cases of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, etc. The leader of a town was also vested with a priestly position.

At the time of the exodus there were certain Israelites who possessed this prerogative by natural right. The growth in the number of Hebrews who resorted to their services seems to have led the Israelites invested with sacred functions to dedicate themselves to it full time (Ex. 19:22).

When the Levitical code was established, however, the priesthood was limited to the house of Aaron. In times of national confusion and apostasy, when God manifested himself directly to a man, he immediately recognized his right to sacrifice without going through official mediators (Judg. 6:18, 24, 26; 13:16).

After the schism, the pious Israelites of the northern kingdom could no longer resort to the official priesthood, which was centered in Jerusalem, capital of the kingdom of Judah; In order to offer the prescribed sacrifices, many of the pious emigrated to the southern kingdom (cf. 2 Chron. 15:9; 30:5-11 ff.; 35:16-19).

As in the time of the apostasy of the Judges, Elijah prepared an exceptional holocaust, under the authority of God, in Jehovah's war against Baal. However, to demonstrate, in addition to the power of God, the fact that there was no authorization for men to assume a position of independence before the sanctuary of Jerusalem as long as the Lord recognized it, it was Jehovah himself who cast fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice prepared by Elijah (cf. 1 Kings 18:20-40).

Thus, this sacrifice of Elijah cannot be presented as “an example of the offering of sacrifices by pious Israelites in the northern kingdom” independently of the Aaronic priesthood centered in Jerusalem. Truly pious Israelites were to offer their sacrifices not for themselves, but in Jerusalem.

The people of the children of Israel, called at Sinai to form an organized nation, received at the same time a sanctuary and a priestly body worthy of Jehovah. Aaron and his sons were those designated for the priesthood, declared hereditary, and reserved for Aaron's family (Ex. 28:1; 40:12-15; Num. 16:40; 17; 18:1-8; cf. Deut. 10:6; 1 Kings 8:4; Ezra 2:36 ff.).

All of Aaron's sons who did not suffer from bodily defects were priests (Lev. 21:16 ff.). When their class is mentioned, it is the "priests" or the "priests, the sons of Aaron", an allusion to their ancestry (Lev. 1:5; 2 Chr. 26:18; 29:21; 35:14; cf. Num. 3:3; 10:8; Jos. 21:19; Neh. 10:38); They are also referred to as “the Levitical priests,” referring to their tribe (Deut. 17:9, 18; 18:1; Josh. 3:3; 8:33; 2 Chron. 23:18; 30:27; Jer. 33:18, 21; cf. Ex. 38:21).

Later, it was said: "the Levitical priests, sons of Zadok," which is a designation for a branch of Aaron's family (Ez. 44:15; cf. 43:19). This way of designating the servants of the cult was common, as the distinction was maintained between the simple Levites, assistants in the act of sacrifice (Num. 1:47-54), and the priests themselves (Ex. 28:1).

The sacrifice on the altar of the Tabernacle and the use of the Urim and Thummim were strictly reserved for Aaron's family, as history demonstrates.

Priests had three essential duties:

(1) the service of the Lord in the sanctuary;

(2) the teaching of the Law to the people;

(3) consult Jehovah for the people, through the Urim and Thummim (Ex. 28:30; Ezra 2:63; Num. 16:40; 18:5; 2 Chron. 15:3; Jer. 18: 18; Ex. 7:26; Mi. 3:11).

The priests were subject to particular regulations (Lev. 10:8 ff.). They were forbidden to marry a dishonored or repudiated woman.

They had to marry an Israelite woman who was either a virgin or a widow, and whose genealogy was proven (Lev. 21:7; Ezra 10:18, 19; Against Apion 1:7). In the exercise of his functions he wore sacred vestments, the use of which was prohibited outside the Temple:

(a) The breeches, which went from the waist to the thighs.

(b) The tunic, fitted to the body, in a single piece, without sewing, reaching (at least in late times) to the ankles, and cinched over the kidneys with a belt embroidered with symbolic colors.

(c) A turban.
All of these pieces were of fine linen (Ex. 28:39-42; Ant. 3:7, 1-3).
In religious ceremonies, both priests and Levites wore a simple linen ephod; It was not obligatory to wear these garments, which had no possible comparison with the luxurious ephod of the high priest (1 Sam. 2:18; 22:18; 2 Sam. 6:14).

The priests descended from Aaron (no doubt the third generation) received, in accordance with the Mosaic rule, thirteen cities with their pastures and lands, sufficient also for their descendants (Josh. 21:10-19), whose number increased considerably with the passing of the centuries.

This is why the priests were divided by David into twenty-four orders. During the weeks of great solemnities, all twenty-four orders officiated simultaneously, but generally only one order performed its service each week; the change took place during the Sabbath, before the evening sacrifice (1 Chron. 24:1-19; 2 Kings 11:5, 9; Ant 7:14, 7).

Only four priestly orders returned from the Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:36-38); However, later the twenty-four orders were reconstituted (cf. Luke 1:5, 9).

The priests were constituted in a hierarchy headed by the high priest. Immediately below him was a priest (2 Kings 25:18) who may possibly be identified as the "prince of the house of God" (2 Chron. 31:13; Neh. 11:11) and with the " chief of the Temple guard” (Acts 4:1; 5:24).

The chief priests mentioned in the NT were the reigning high priest, the preceding high priests still alive, and members of their families.

The prevailing political confusion and foreign domination had de facto invalidated the provisions of the Law regarding the succession of the high priest. Since the time of the Seleucids, and as was also the case with the Romans, the position of the high priesthood was subject to political vicissitudes.

The Romans appointed and dismissed men invested with this very important position at their pleasure (see QUMRÁN [MANUSCRIPTS OF], VI, section Historical outline of Qumranism).

The priesthood in the dispensation of grace.

In the OT the religious hierarchy was presented as follows:
(a) Aaron (or his successor), the high priest, who had access once a year to the Holy of Holies on the day of atonement.

(b) The priests and their assistants the Levites, who carried out the service of the sanctuary.

(c) The people, who could present their offerings in the place before the altar of burnt offerings.
In the NT, Christ is our only perfect High Priest (Heb. 7:24-28).

The believers constitute, all of them, a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; cf. Rev. 1:6; Heb. 10:19-22); the multitude that must be evangelized and brought before the cross of the atoning sacrifice, the key to the path that leads to God.

So, fully admitting particular gifts and ministries (see CHARISMS), Christianity does not recognize any type of clergy, any separate caste of priests; In the New Testament the entire Church is a kingdom of priests.