Cover image for Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel: An Inquiry into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School By Menahem Haran

Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel

An Inquiry into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School

Menahem Haran

Buy

$84.95 | Hardcover Edition
ISBN: 978-0-93146-418-8

$50.95 | Paperback Edition
ISBN: 978-1-57506-185-6

416 pages
5.5" × 8.5"
1985

Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel

An Inquiry into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School

Menahem Haran

This milestone study is a thorough examination of the various cultic and social phenomena connected with the temple—activities connected with the temple’s inner sphere and belonging to the priestly circle. The book also seeks to demonstrate the antiquity and the historical timing of the literary crystallization of the priestly material found in the Pentateuch. Contents: Prologue, The Israelite Temples, Temples and Open Sacred Places, The Priesthood and the Tribe of Levi, The Aaronites and the Rest of the Levitical Tribe, The Distribution of the Levitical Tribe, The Centralizations of the Cult, The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle, Grades of Sanctity in the Tabernacle, Temple and Tabernacle, The Ritual Complex Performed Inside the Temple, Incense of the Court and of the Temple Interior, The Symbols of the Inner Sanctum, The Non-Priestly Image of the Tent of Mo’ed, The Emptying of the Inner Sanctum, Pilgrim-Feasts and Family Festivals, and The Passover Sacrifice.

 

  • Description
  • Table of Contents
This milestone study is a thorough examination of the various cultic and social phenomena connected with the temple—activities connected with the temple’s inner sphere and belonging to the priestly circle. The book also seeks to demonstrate the antiquity and the historical timing of the literary crystallization of the priestly material found in the Pentateuch. Contents: Prologue, The Israelite Temples, Temples and Open Sacred Places, The Priesthood and the Tribe of Levi, The Aaronites and the Rest of the Levitical Tribe, The Distribution of the Levitical Tribe, The Centralizations of the Cult, The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle, Grades of Sanctity in the Tabernacle, Temple and Tabernacle, The Ritual Complex Performed Inside the Temple, Incense of the Court and of the Temple Interior, The Symbols of the Inner Sanctum, The Non-Priestly Image of the Tent of Mo’ed, The Emptying of the Inner Sanctum, Pilgrim-Feasts and Family Festivals, and The Passover Sacrifice.

List of Maps and Figures

Abbreviations

I. PROLOGUE

II. THE ISRAELITE TEMPES

Temples and Altars

The High-Places

The Distribution of the Israelite Temples

III. TEMPLES AND OPEN SACRED PLACES

The Temples of Jerusalem and Later Temples

The Cultic Open Areas

IV. THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE TRIBE OF LEVI

The Prerogative of Priesthood and the Levitical Status

The Viewpoint of J and E

The Historical Aspect

The Levitical Priests in Historical Reality

V. THE AARONITES AND THE REST OF THE LEVITICAL TRIBE

The Aaronic Group—its Range and Position

The Non-Priestly Levites in Pre Exilic Times

The Jerusalemite Priesthood and the House of Aaron

The Levites of Ezekiel’s Code and in Post-Exilic Times

VI. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEVITICAL TRIBE

The Critical Views

The Distinguishing Features of the Levitical Cities

Between Utopia and Historical Reality

Conclusions

VII. THE CENTRALIZATIONS OF THE CULT

The Distinguishing Features of the Two Reforms

The Ideological Background of Hezekiah’s Reform

The Time-Span of the Priestly School

VIII. THE PRIESTLY IMAGE OF THE TABERNACLE

The Form

The Material Gradation

The Priestly Vestments

IX. GRADES OF SANCTITY IN THE TABERNACLE

The Prohibitions of Touch and Sight

The Prohibition of Approach and the Court Area

The Lethal Aura Surrounding the Holiness

X. TEMPLE AND TABERNACLE

Projections of the Temple

The Priestly Tradition and the Uniqueness of the Tabernacle

The Object of the Temple Legend

XI. THE RITUAL COMPLEX PERFORMED INSIDE THE TEMPLE

The Cultic Gradation and the Ritual of Tamid

Rites Performed within the Temple

The Unity of the Complex of Inner Rites

The Pre-Biblical Origins

Further Corollaries

XII. INCENSE OF THE COURT AND OF THE TEMPLE INTERIOR

The Censer Incense and the Antiquity of its Cultic Use

The Altar Incense

XIII. THE SYMBOLS OF THE INNER SANCTUM

The Two Symbols

The Symbol of the Throne

The Footstool and the Variations in the Form of the Cherubim

XIV. THE NON-PRIESTLY IMAGE OF THE TENT OF MO’ED

The Distinguished Features of ‘Ohel Mo’ed

The Tent of Mo’ed and the Temple

XV. THE EMPTYING OF THE INNER SANCTUM

The Acts of Manasseh and their Impact

Vessels of the Sanctums and of the Temple Treasuries

XVI. PILGRIM-FEASTS AND FAMILY FESTIVALS

The Three Pilgrim-Feasts

The Hag and the Exodus Stories

The Yearly Family Sacrifice

The Yearly Banquet and Other Family Feasts

XVII. THE PASSOVER SACRIFICE

Distinguishing Features and Supposed Origin

The Problem of the Passover’s Antiquity

The Ancient Injunctions Concerning the Passover

The Passover as a Temple Sacrifice

GLOSSARY OF BIBLICAL TERMS AND PHRASES

SUBJECT INDEX

INDEX OF BIBLICAL REFERENCES

Mailing List

Subscribe to our mailing list and be notified about new titles, journals and catalogs.