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Post by jwolfe on Jun 4, 2014 3:58:01 GMT
How many high priests would there be at one time?
We were reading how someone could move to a city of refuge and stay there till the high priest died, and then could go home.
So reading that it appears the cities there were designated were all cities (or at least some of them were cities of the levites).
So was there just one high priest at a time?
Also there were six cities of refuge six is the number of man
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Lee
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Post by Lee on Jun 4, 2014 23:38:42 GMT
1. I think there was usually just one high priest at a time, but that brings in the question of who was high priest during Christ's time?
Annas was the official High Priest beginning in AD 6. Mosaic Law specified that the appointment of a High Priest was for life, and so he was still High Priest by Jewish standards during the time of Jesus' crucifixion.
In AD 15 Valerius Gratus (Pilate's predecessor) deposed Annas and his nephew Caiaphas was appointed. The Jews resented this arbitrary deposition -- especially by a Roman, and Annas remained High Priest in their sight. So by the time of Jesus' trial, Annas was technically (by Jewish standards) High Priest, as was his nephew Caiaphas (by both Jewish and Roman standards.)
Five of Annas' sons and his son-in-law Caiaphas served as High Priest at one time or another.1 Since Annas was the patriarch of a High-Priestly family (of which Caiaphas was a part), it made sense to bring Jesus to him first.
Note the following other passages from Scripture which lend further support to this answer:
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. -Luke 3:1-2
On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. -Acts 4:5-6
Carson's commentary on the scriptures
2. Regarding the 6 cities, that's probably by design as you mention! By a man (christ) would come our refuge!
The Cities of Refuge. The shedding of blood avenged by the nearest male relative, it therefore became desirable to appoint cities where a man who had killed another might fly. The land was about 144 miles long, the cities would therefore be about 40 miles apart, no man would have to go above 20 miles to reach his refuge. When he reached the City of Refuge, the manslayer was tried, and if found guilty of murder, was given up to the avenger, if not, he had to remain in the city until the death of the High Priest (see Num. 35.). Christ is our City of Refuge, if we remain in him we are safe; outside death awaits us. Let us all abide in him (John 15:4, 6–7). The Lord will be a refuge to the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble (Psa. 9:9–10).
. Vol. 38: The Christadelphian: Volume 38. 2001 (electronic ed.) (226). Birmingham: Christadelphian Magazine & Publishing Association.
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