An Alternative View to the Development of Priesthood in Ancient Israel

Year 2017, , 31 - 61, 01.08.2017

Kürşad Demirci Tolga Savaş Altınel

https://doi.org/10.1501/Ilhfak_0000001471

Abstract

In the Torah, it is mentioned that God chose the Levites, among children of Israel in the Mount Sinai, to serve Himself and that the Kohens/Priests (descendants of Aaron), who represented a branch of the Levites, had priority for this service. So, the Jewish tradition affirms that the priesthood among children of Israel was formed with Aaron’s blessing by Moses in Mount Sinai. During the time of Zadok, the chief priest of the First Temple, the priesthood became institutionalized and acquired its mature form during the period of the Second Temple. However, the critical studies on the Holy Bible indicate that the phases of the system of priesthood in the history of children of Israel had a course different from what this traditional interpretation of the Tanakh entails. Relying on the findings of these studies, this article revisits the process of the development of the priesthood, as accepted in the Jewish tradition, and suggests that there were three priest hearths, namely, descendants of Zadok, Moses and Aaron. The article argues that the priests of the Second Temple, descendants of Zadok constructed the traditional narrative of the development of the priesthood based on lineage, which underlined the privileged status of this group, and suppressed the memory of the roles of descendants of Moses and Aaron for this service

Keywords

Kohen, Mushites, Zadok, Aaron, Priest

Erken Dönem İsrailoğulları Tarihinde Rahipliğin Gelişim Sürecine Alternatif Bir Bakış

Abstract

Tevrat’ta Tanrı’nın, Sina’da İsrailoğulları arasından Levilileri özel olarak kendi hizmetine seçtiği ve Levililerin bir kolu olan kohenlerin de (Harun soyu) bu hizmetin ayrıcalıklı boyu kabul edildiği bilgisi yer almaktadır. Buna göre Yahudi geleneği, İsrailoğullarında rahiplik uygulamasının, Harun’un Sina’da Musa tarafından kutsanmasıyla tesis edildiğini ileri sürmektedir. Daha sonra Birinci Mabed’in Başkoheni Ṣadoḳ döneminde rahiplik kurumsallaşmış, İkinci Mabed döneminde son halini almıştır. Ancak Kitab-ı Mukaddes eleştirisi kapsamında yapılan çalışmalar, İsrailoğulları tarihinde rahiplik sistemine ait evrelerin Tanaḫ’ın bu geleneksel yorumundan farklı biçimde geliştiğine işaret etmektedir. Bu makale, söz konusu eleştirilerden yararlanarak erken dönem İsrailoğulları tarihinde, Ṣadoḳīler, Musacılar ve Harunîler diye isimlendirilebilecek üç rahip ocağının varlığına işaret etmekte ve Yahudi geleneğinde kabul gördüğü şekliyle kohenliğin gelişim sürecini yeniden yorumlamaktadır. Makalenin temel iddiası, İkinci Mabed rahipleri olan Ṣadoḳīlerin, Musacıları ve Harunîleri soy esaslı rahiplik sistemi içinde erittikleri ve esas payeyi kendilerine veren bir soy üstünlüğüyle rahipliğin geleneksel yorumunun mimarı oldukları şeklindedir

Keywords

Kohen, Musacılar, Ṣadoḳ, Harun, Rahip

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