High Priest

Biblical Text

The first high priest was Aaron, the elder brother of Moses. Exodus 28–29 sets out his garments and the regulations for his consecration, and Leviticus 8 describes the consecration ceremony. According to Leviticus 16, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement and sprinkled blood for the sins of the people. Aaron's office passed to his son Eleazar (Numbers 20:25–28). Later high priests mentioned in Scripture include Eli, Zadok in the time of Solomon, and Joshua after the return from exile (Haggai 1:1). In the New Testament, Caiaphas and Annas are involved in the trial of Jesus (John 18:13–24). In the Book of Acts, the high priest and the Sadducees interrogate the apostles (Acts 4:6; 5:17).

Background

In Hebrew the office is designated by a term meaning "great priest," and in New Testament Greek it is called archiereus. Over the ephod the high priest wore a jeweled breastplate engraved with the names of the twelve tribes, and the Urim and Thummim were placed inside the breastplate. On the front of his miter was a gold plate engraved "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" (Exodus 28:6–38). A person who fled to a city of refuge remained there until the death of the high priest then in office (Numbers 35:25). In the Roman period, Herod and the Roman governors appointed and replaced high priests, and the high priest is understood to have presided over the Sanhedrin. The plural expression "chief priests" in the Gospels is generally taken to refer collectively to former and current high priests together with the leading priestly families.

Meaning in the New Testament

The Epistle to the Hebrews calls Jesus "a great high priest" (Hebrews 4:14). It explains that he is an eternal high priest, not after the order (that is, the line) of Aaron but after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6; chapter 7; Psalm 110:4). Whereas the high priests of old entered year after year with the blood of animals, Hebrews says of Christ that "by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place" (Hebrews 9:11–12). First Peter 2:9 and Revelation 1:6 call the whole body of believers priests.

Interpretation and Debates

• Protestants generally regard Christ as the sole High Priest and Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). In keeping with the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, they do not consider pastors to be priests.
• The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church teach that ordained priests participate in the one priesthood of Christ. The Anglican Church of Korea also uses the title "priest."
• Interpretations that assign symbolic meaning to each of the breastplate's jewels or to each color of the garments vary from interpreter to interpreter. The text itself does not directly explain such meanings.
• A widely circulated story holds that a rope was tied to the high priest's ankle so that he could be dragged out if he died in the Most Holy Place. This story, however, is not found in the Bible. Scripture mentions only the sound of the bells on the hem of his robe (Exodus 28:35).

In the Korean Church

Hebrews 4:14–16 is frequently used as a sermon text exhorting believers to pray with boldness. The prayer of John 17 is commonly called the "High Priestly Prayer." This is a traditional designation rather than a title attached to the biblical text.