{"title":"Numbers 4:20 and Non-Priestly Viewing of the Holy Vessels in the Second Temple Period","authors":"Matan Orian","doi":"10.1163/15700631-bja10074","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In discussing the dismantling and transport of the tabernacle and its furnishings, Numbers 4:20 prohibits any viewing of the “holy,” except by Aaron, the priest, and his sons. Philo of Alexandria, as well as several modern scholars, read this as a prohibition on any non-priestly viewing of the sacred, Jewish cultic vessels, including the menorah, the shewbread table and the incense altar. Accordingly, a dominant view in research holds that during the Second Temple period these cultic utensils were concealed from the sight of non-priests. However, this view partly overlooks and partly misinterprets our main source in that respect: Josephus indicates that the Jewish holy vessels were actually displayed to the Jewish crowd gathered in the temple court during the Second Temple period. This is supported by the images on certain Hasmonean coins as well as by later texts, such as P.Oxy. 840 and rabbinic literature.","PeriodicalId":45167,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of Judaism","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal for the Study of Judaism","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700631-bja10074","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract In discussing the dismantling and transport of the tabernacle and its furnishings, Numbers 4:20 prohibits any viewing of the “holy,” except by Aaron, the priest, and his sons. Philo of Alexandria, as well as several modern scholars, read this as a prohibition on any non-priestly viewing of the sacred, Jewish cultic vessels, including the menorah, the shewbread table and the incense altar. Accordingly, a dominant view in research holds that during the Second Temple period these cultic utensils were concealed from the sight of non-priests. However, this view partly overlooks and partly misinterprets our main source in that respect: Josephus indicates that the Jewish holy vessels were actually displayed to the Jewish crowd gathered in the temple court during the Second Temple period. This is supported by the images on certain Hasmonean coins as well as by later texts, such as P.Oxy. 840 and rabbinic literature.
期刊介绍：
The Journal for the Study of Judaism is a leading international forum for scholarly discussions on the history, literature and religious ideas on Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman period. It provides biblical scholars, students of rabbinic literature, classicists and historians with essential information. Since 1970 the Journal for Study of Judaism has been securing its position as one of the world’s leading journals. The Journal for the Study of Judaism features an extensive book review section as well as a separate section reviewing articles.
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