The Temple Service in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Of the severall ranks of Priests, and severall Officers of the Temple.
THE distinction of the Priests that attended the Temple service, was into these severall ranks and degrees.
1. The High-priest, of whom there is so known, and common mention in the Scripture.
2.[a]Vid. Maym. in kele hammikdash. per. 4. The Sagan or second Priest, as Jer. 52.24. where the Chaldee Paraphrast useth the word Sagan; and which word in this sense, is most ordinary in all Jewish writers; betokening the Vice-high-priest, or one next substitute to him.
3. There were two Katholici foreign which were substitutes to the Sagan, as the Sagan was to the High-priest.
4. There were seven Amarcalin foreign [the word is used by the Chaldee Paraphrasts exceeding often.]
5. There[b]Talm. in Shekalim per. 5. were three Gizbarin foreign or Treasurers, these were in a manner under the Amarcalin.
6. The foreign chief Priest of every course that served interchangeably its week.
7. The foreign chief of any family that served in that course.
8. And lastly, there was foreign An ordinary Priest, or one that was of none of these ranks, but an inferiour.
Now these degrees were one above another as they are named, the High-priest above the Sagan, the Sagan above the Katholici, the Katholici above the Amarcalin, the Amarcalin above the Gizbarin, the Gizbarin above the chief of any course, and the chief of the course above the head of any family.
These severall ranks [of the five first especially,] were as a constant and standing Councell, for the continuall regulating and ordering of the affairs of the Temple service, and attendance there.
These are those that are called the Beth dinshel cohanim, The consessus or consistory of Priests: spoken of by the Talmud in the Treatise Ketubboth in these words, foreign.[k]Ketubboth. per. 1. It is all one whether she be the widow of an Israelite, or the widow of a Priest, her contractive dower is a Maneh. The consistory of Priests demanded 400 Zuzims for a virgin: and the wise men did not contradict them: which may be confirmed by that passage of Maimonides; [d]Maym. in mechosere Caparah. per. 1.who relating how women after fluxes and child-bearing, brought money to buy turtles and pigeons and put it foreign into the Treasury, foreign, &c. saith that the consistory of Priests departed not thence till they had taken out all the money, and offered Turtles and Pigeons answerable to it.
And these also we may wel understand to be the foreign [e]Ioma. per. 1.Elders of the Priesthood, to whom the High-priest was delivered by the Sanhedrin, that they might prepare him for the service of the day of Expiation, and these were the foreign Counsellers of the Temple, of which wee have had occasion to speak elsewhere.
Besides these, there were[f]Vid. Shekalim. per. 6. Maymen. in Kele. Mikdash. per. 7. fifteen Overseers foreign or Presidents over fifteen severall companies, in so many severall emploiments.
1. foreign The Overseer concerning the times: Hee or one of his Deputies, when it was now time to begin the service, cried aloud, O yee Priests to your service, O yee Levites to your desks [to sing] and O ye Israelites to your station; and all of them upon his proclamation went to their severall duties.
2. foreign The Overseer for shutting of the doores: by whose appointment they were opened and shut, & by whose appointment the trumpets sounded when they were opened: He was some one appointed by the Amarcalin for this care; for they seven had the keeping and disposing of the keyes of the seven Court gates.
3. foreign The Overseer of the Guards. This was called foreign [g]Mid. per. 1.The man of the mountain of the House: He went about among the Levites guards every night walking as it the were round, and if hee found any one asleep he cudgelled him, and set fire on his coat.
4. foreign. The Overseer of the Singers. He appointed who should be every dayes Songs-men, and blowers of the Trumpets.
5. foreign. The Overseer of the Cymball musick: As the other appointed the voices, trumpets and strung instruments, so did this take care for the musick by the cymball, which was of another kind, as shall be shewed ere long.
6. foreign. The Overseer of the lots: Who by lots every morning designed the Priests their severall services at the Altar.
7. foreign The Overseer about birds: He provided Turtles & pigeons ready, that those that needed them might have them for their money, and hee gave account of the money to the treasurers.
8. The Overseer of the Seals, foreign. These seals were such kind of things, as the tickets or stamps that Ministers have used to give to those they admitted to the Sacrament:[h]Shekalim. per. 5. There were four kinds of these seales or tickets, and they had four severall words written or stamped on them: on one was foreign a calfe, on another foreign a male, on a third foreign a kid, and on the fourth foreign a sinner.
Now the use of them was this: Any person that brought a sacrifice, to which he must have a drink-offering, went to this Overseer of the tickets: He looked what his sacrifice was, and so upon the sight of it, considered what drink-offering was assigned by the Law to such a sacrifice: Thereupon he gave him a seal or ticket, whose inscription was sutable to his sacrifice: as was it a ram? he gave him a ticket with foreign a male: was it a sin-offering? then the ticket foreign a sinner, and so of the others: And for the ticket he received from the man, as much money as his drink-offering would cost: with this ticket the man went to
9. foreign the Overseer of the drink-offerings, who took care to provide them ready, and delivered them out to every man according to his ticket, for by that he saw what nature his sacrifice was of, and what drink-offering it required, and so he suted them therewith accordingly: And at night this overseer of the drink-offerings, and the overseer of the seals, reckoned together what one had received and the other had given out.
10. foreign The Overseer of the sick: The attendance of the Priests at the Altars bare-footed, and thin-clothed, and their eating much flesh, which in those parts was not so very agreeable, made them subject to Colds, Colicks, and other diseases: therefore was a skilfull man appointed to look to such as were ill, and to give them Physick.
11. foreign The Overseer of the waters. Who was to look and take care that wels, cisterns, and conduits should bee digged and made, that the Temple and Jerusalem might never want water: and more especially that there might be no such want at the three festivalls, when all Israel was gathered thither together.[i]Avoth. R. Nathan. per. 6. Taanith. fol. 19. Nicodemus if he be the same with Nicodemus mentioned in the Talmud, seemeth to have been of this imployment, for it relateth a strange story of him tending to such a purpose.
12. The Overseer of the making of the shew-bread.
13. The Overseer of the making of the Incense.
14. The Overseer of the workmen that made the vails.
15. The Overseer for the providing of garments for the Priests.