Priesthood in the Old Testament

Module 1, Week 1

I. Priesthood
a. All of us have encountered priests.
In the Catholic Tradition priests are
men who choose to live celibate
lives, focusing their time, focus, and
abilities to pursuing holiness, loving
God, and serving others. But what
are priests?
b. In Ancient Roman culture a priest is described as a bridge-builder. His role
is to bridge people to the gods. This remains to be a valid description of
what priests are: the role of a priest is to connect (or mediate) between
the people and the divine
II. Priesthood in the Old Testament
a. Gentile Priests vs. Priests of Israel
i. Gentile Priests
• Their goal is to please their gods, or to appease them when
they are angry
• They “spoke” to and for their gods
a. They tried to find out what their gods want
b. They tried to predict the future
• They made various forms of sacrifice
a. Animal
b. Human
i. Adult sacrifices
ii. Infant sacrifices
iii. Virgin sacrifices
ii. Priests of the Old Testament
• The priests of the Israel had
somewhat similar roles as the gentile
priests, but because of the kind of
relationship God had with the
Israelites, it was very different
• In Mt. Sinai, God formed a covenant
with Israel. A covenant is very
different from a contract
a. Contracts
i. Establishes an agreement
ii. Exchange of things
b. Covenants
i. Establish a relationship
ii. Exchange of persons
• Roles of Priests (What they are)
a. Priest-Kings
i. Priests are supposed to
lead the people of Israel
as well. In this sense,
they lead Israel to
greater holiness and to
following God’s
Commandments. They
do this by studying the
Law and the
Commandments diligently. An example of this
was David, who, though he was king, also
acted as a priest to his people, leading them in
prayer and worship
 b. Levitical Priests
i. Priests also perform ritual sacrifices. They led
the people of God in worshipping Him and in
offering Him sacrifices. It was also their role to
make sure that the Temple is clean, orderly,
and kept holy. Aaron, the brother of Moses,
was an example of this
c. Prophetic Priests
i. Since priests were also scholars of the Law,
they had the role of teaching other Israelites
about it. This made them prophets as well
• Responsibilities of the Old Testament Priests (What they do)
a. Sacrifice and Purification of Israel
i. The sacrifice of Jews was different from the
gentiles. The gentiles sacrificed to please their
gods. The Jews, however, sacrificed so that
they will be clean and worthy to approach God
ii. The sacrifices of Israel were exclusively animal
sacrifices. They had specific instructions on
how to do it, but the priest would always act as
mediator in these sacrifices
b. Temple Upkeep
i. The Israelites had
the Ark of the
Covenant. Inside
the Ark were the
Stone Tablets of
Moses, the Rod of Aaron, and a jar of Manna
from the desert. This Ark signified God’s
presence to them. Wherever the Ark is, there
God is too. This is why one of the important
 roles of the priests is to maintain and protect
the Ark
ii. The Israelites also had the Temple of
Jerusalem. They maintained, cleaned, and
repaired it, and made sure that it was kept holy
c. Manifestation of God’s Will
i. Like prophets, the priests spoke God’s will to
the people. They made sure that God’s Law is
correctly interpreted and strictly observed. This
is why some priests were scholars and scribes