Guide
Early Criticism of the Priesthood
2nd Century BCE–1st Century CE
Restricted
By Carol Bakhos
Given the centrality of the Temple and its worship and the diversity of groups and views among Judeans, conflict over the Temple and its practices was common. Such conflict, often centering on claims that the priesthood was illegitimate, is attested in a wide range of sources.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
Priests Accused of Violence and Fornication
Miktsat Ma‘asei ha-Torah^e 4-7
And concerning the wom[en . . .] and the disloyalty [ . . . ] for in these matters [. . . because of] violence and fornication [many] places have been ruined. [And also] it is writ[ten in the book…
Primary Source
Defilement of the Temple
Damascus Document 5:6–7, 17–19
And they also defiled the temple, for they did not keep apart in accordance with the law, but instead lay with her who sees the blood of her menstrual flow. [ . . . ]
The…
Primary Source
A Sinful Priesthood
Pseudo-Moses^e
[And each] will steal what belongs to one’s neigh[bour] and they will oppress one another; they…
Primary Source
The Corruption of the Priests
Testament of Levi 14:1–18:13
And now, my children, I know from the writings of Enoch that in the end-time you will act impiously against the Lord, setting your hands to every evil deed; because of you, your brothers…
Primary Source
The Priests as False Stewards
2 Baruch 10:18
You, priests, take the keys of the sanctuary,
and cast them to the highest heaven,
and give them to the Lord and say,…
Primary Source
The Brazenness of Priests
t. Menaḥot 13:18–19, 21
18. At first they would bring in the skins of sacrificial animals to the chamber of the parvah [in which skins were salted], and they would divide them in the evening among the entire household [of…