The most senior appointed priest in the cult, which in Israel's case, was originally appointed by Yahweh to Aaron and, after his death, his descendents(Exo 28:1, 29:44). The Hebrew term hakkohen haggadol is lit., "the great[est] priest."
Aaron was, upon his death, succeeded by his son, Eleazar (Deut 10:6),who, in turn, was succeeded by his son, Phinehas, who journeyed into the Promised Land during the conquest under Joshua, and seemed to have lived a long and fruitful life ministering on behalf of the people. We cannot be certain with the details of succession after Phinehas's death, for there must have been a considerable gap in time between him and the next priest we read about, Eli. For the corruption that he allowed his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, this levitical line was brought to an end (1 Sam 4:11, 18). As with all things with God, no man is indispensable: "herefore the Lord, the God of Israel, declares: "I promised that members of your family would minister before me for ever." But now the Lord declares: "Far be it from me! Those who honour me I will honour, but those who despise me will be disdained" (1 Sam. 2:30).
The state of the high-priesthood from that time on remain uncertain. Samuel seemed to have fulfilled some of its functions. The first indication of a restoration to a clearly Levitic line comes in the persons of Abiathar and Zadok, who went on to serve in David's administration. Though they seemed to have served as equals, they finally fell out when David's son, Adonijah, with the support of Abiathar and Joab, decided to claim the throne for himself. Hearing news of this coup, Zadok reported the matter to Bathsheba and engineered a counter-coup in which Solomon was then proclaimed the rightful king and heir to David. In the process Abiathar was sidelined and Zadok posted de facto high-priest.
The Zadokites held the office, through the centuries of Judah's fortunes through the fall of Jerusalem, exile, and restoration, until 174 BC, when Israel was invaded by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes of Syria and Onias III was deposed from the office. Onias's son, Onias IV, left for Egypt and founded a temple at Leontopolis, and the last Zadokite heir left Jerusalem to serve there. Though boasting a sacrificial ritual modelled on that of Jerusalem, the temple was viewed as schismatic, so that even Egyptian Jews would go to Jerusalem for their pilgrimage rather than Leontopolis. This disdain for the Leontopolis temple is reflected in the Mishnah, in which it is called simply "the house of Onias," and priests who served there were barred from ministering in the Jerusalem temple.
Appointment to the high-priesthood during this Hellenistic period became increasingly a matter of politics and corruption, going to the any candidate—even some with no connections to the Levitical line at all—who could please and pay Judea's Seleucid overlord the most. The high-priesthood returned to the Levitical line once again when—with the victory of the Hasmoneans in the Maccabean Revolt and the re-establishment of a Jewish independent state in Judea. From this time one the religious office of the high-priest became inexorably interwined with all the powers and complications of being also head of the Jewish state. Two important historical developments would change the nature of the high-priesthood forever. The first was the rise to power of parties that came eventually to be known as the Pharisees and, especially, the Sadducees. The latter had, by the reign of Salome Alexandra, already gained an upper hand in her rule. The other was the increasing political clout of the Romans as they sought to exert their influence in the region. They were offered a golden opportunity when the two Hasmoneans brothers—Hyrcanus II and Aristobolus II—sought the help their help in resolving their fight for power. It ended with power eventually devolving into the hands of the Romans with Herod as their agent. Under them, the office of the high-priesthood became even more so a political appointment with greatly reduced power. Though Roman officials were barred by Roman law from taking bribes, the opportunities offered in the provinces were almost always too alluring to resist, and the office in the Temple in Jerusalem were held by members of a small group of wealthy Sadducee families.
©ALBERITH