Table of Contents

List of Maps and Figures

Abbreviations

I. PROLOGUE

II. THE ISRAELITE TEMPES

Temples and Altars

The High-Places

The Distribution of the Israelite Temples

III. TEMPLES AND OPEN SACRED PLACES

The Temples of Jerusalem and Later Temples

The Cultic Open Areas

IV. THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE TRIBE OF LEVI

The Prerogative of Priesthood and the Levitical Status

The Viewpoint of J and E

The Historical Aspect

The Levitical Priests in Historical Reality

V. THE AARONITES AND THE REST OF THE LEVITICAL TRIBE

The Aaronic Group—its Range and Position

The Non-Priestly Levites in Pre Exilic Times

The Jerusalemite Priesthood and the House of Aaron

The Levites of Ezekiel’s Code and in Post-Exilic Times

VI. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEVITICAL TRIBE

The Critical Views

The Distinguishing Features of the Levitical Cities

Between Utopia and Historical Reality

Conclusions

VII. THE CENTRALIZATIONS OF THE CULT

The Distinguishing Features of the Two Reforms

The Ideological Background of Hezekiah’s Reform

The Time-Span of the Priestly School

VIII. THE PRIESTLY IMAGE OF THE TABERNACLE

The Form

The Material Gradation

The Priestly Vestments

IX. GRADES OF SANCTITY IN THE TABERNACLE

The Prohibitions of Touch and Sight

The Prohibition of Approach and the Court Area

The Lethal Aura Surrounding the Holiness

X. TEMPLE AND TABERNACLE

Projections of the Temple

The Priestly Tradition and the Uniqueness of the Tabernacle

The Object of the Temple Legend

XI. THE RITUAL COMPLEX PERFORMED INSIDE THE TEMPLE

The Cultic Gradation and the Ritual of Tamid

Rites Performed within the Temple

The Unity of the Complex of Inner Rites

The Pre-Biblical Origins

Further Corollaries

XII. INCENSE OF THE COURT AND OF THE TEMPLE INTERIOR

The Censer Incense and the Antiquity of its Cultic Use

The Altar Incense

XIII. THE SYMBOLS OF THE INNER SANCTUM

The Two Symbols

The Symbol of the Throne

The Footstool and the Variations in the Form of the Cherubim

XIV. THE NON-PRIESTLY IMAGE OF THE TENT OF MO’ED

The Distinguished Features of ‘Ohel Mo’ed

The Tent of Mo’ed and the Temple

XV. THE EMPTYING OF THE INNER SANCTUM

The Acts of Manasseh and their Impact

Vessels of the Sanctums and of the Temple Treasuries

XVI. PILGRIM-FEASTS AND FAMILY FESTIVALS

The Three Pilgrim-Feasts

The Hag and the Exodus Stories

The Yearly Family Sacrifice

The Yearly Banquet and Other Family Feasts

XVII. THE PASSOVER SACRIFICE

Distinguishing Features and Supposed Origin

The Problem of the Passover’s Antiquity

The Ancient Injunctions Concerning the Passover

The Passover as a Temple Sacrifice

GLOSSARY OF BIBLICAL TERMS AND PHRASES

SUBJECT INDEX

INDEX OF BIBLICAL REFERENCES