Rabbi Tanchum Hayerushalmi on the Sons of Tzaddok

In Yechezkel it's stated a number of times that the only branch of kohanim that remained loyal to Hashem were the sons of Tzaddok. It has been interpreted by some to mean that from that point on, only the sons of Tzaddok can be Kohanim Gedolim (High Priests). The cult in the Dead Sea were big fans of the sons of Tzaddok, and apparently were very much against the House of Chashmonai for taking the High Priesthood for themselves, apparently stealing the sons of Tzaddok's right to the post.

So who was Tzaddok? Most believe that Tzaddok refers to the KG in the time of Shlomo. After the KG Evyatar sided with Adoniyah, Shlomo fired him and sent him to Anatot (Melachim 1:2:26-27), and Tzaddok stepped in his stead (ibid. 35).

Another option is Tzaddok II, a descendant of the first (Divrei Hayamim 1:5:38).

A third option was suggested by Rabbi Tanchum Hayerushalmi in his commentary on Chaggai 1:1:

"עם אותו יהושע בן יהוצדק הכהן, מפני שהוא יורש הכהונה, שהרי יהוצדק אביו היה כהן גדול בבית ראשון, והוא ראשון שנתמנה כהן גדול בבית שני, ואחריו עזרא. והוא שהתנבא עליו יחזקאל ע"ה בכתוב והכהנים הלוים בני צדוק (יחזקאל מ"ד, ט"ו), וכננתו ליהושע זה ואחיו ועזרא ע"ה...אם כן צדוק הוא יהוצדק עצמו, כפי שיהושע זה נקרא פעמים רבות בספר עזרא ישוע."

Translation: "With the same Yehoshua ben Yehotzaddak Hakohen, for he was the inheritor of the priesthood, because his father Yehotzaddak was High Priest in the First Temple, and he was the first appointed to the position of High Priest in the Second Temple, and after him Ezra. And he is whom Yechezkel A"H prophecised about him in the verse "But the levitical priests descended from Zadok" (Yechezkel 48:15), and he was referring to Yehoshua and his brothers Ezra A"H...therefore, Tzaddok is Yehotzaddak himself, as Yehoshua is called many times in the Book of Ezra Yeshua."

It's certainly creative. Dr. Chaim Chefetz has an interesting essay about the first High Priests of the Greek era. He maintained that Matityahu was a direct descendant of Shimon Hatzaddik, a direct descendant of Yehoshua the KG. If so, then that calls into question this particular point of criticism of the House of Chashmonai attributed to the cult of the Dead Sea.

At the same time, though, Rabbi Tanchum's interpretation is a bit hard to swallow, because while Yehoshua is sometimes called Yeshua, Yehotzaddak is sometimes called...Yotzaddak! One would wonder why Yechezkel didn't call Yehotzaddak Yotzaddak, if he really wanted to use a lesser theophoric name (missing the Heh).



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pre-Islamic Arabian Dust Worship

One of my interests is researching idolatrous practices mentioned in Tanach and later Jewish sources. For the last three years or so, I've been conducting an on-and-off search for the possible identity of a deity hinted at in this section of the Talmud, tractate  Bava Metzia 86b : "The Gemara continues its analysis of the verse: “Let now a little water be fetched and wash your feet” ( Genesis 18:4 ). Rabbi Yannai, son of Rabbi Yishmael, said that the guests said to Abraham: Are you suspicious that we are  Arabs who bow to the dust of their feet ?" It is reasonable to conclude that the sages were aware of an Arabian pagan cult that practiced some form of dust worship. Last year I discovered that one of my professors shares this interest in researching idolatry and even wrote his doctorate on idol worship mentioned in Talmudic literature, although he was focused on particular pagan religions (Greece, Rome, and a couple of others) and didn't analyze this quote. But I did
Read more

Anakim, Rephaim, oh my!

This week's parsha features Bnei Yisrael passing through Edom and the two Emorite countries - Sichon's country and Og's country ( Bamidbar 21:21-35 ). Og was the last of the Rephaim ( Devarim 3:11 ), a race of giants that were wiped out way back during the War of the Four and Five Kings in Beresheet ( 14:5 ). Some midrashim state that Sichon was also a giant, of the antediluvian kind (for example, Devarim Rabbah 11:10 ). Looking through Tanach it occurred to me that giants might be frightening, but they obviously aren't unbeatable. David and his men defeated a number of giants, and, as mentioned already, the four Mesopotamian kings managed to defeat the Rephaim. And yet, two parshas ago, when the spies told Bnei Yisrael that there were Anakim in the Land of Yisrael ( Bamidbar 13:28 ), Kalev and Yehoshua said nothing about "hey, guys, giants are not unbeatable!" Kalev made a more generalized statement, that "yes we can, because we have Hashem!" ( ibid
Read more

Big news! Kind of...

Big news! Last week I emailed out an academic-level essay that I had been working on for nearly a year (!!!) to an academic-level Tanach-studies journal in Israel. This is the first time that I've attempted to get one of my essays published outside of my yeshiva's monthly journal, which is only handed out in the yeshiva and it's also the first time that I'm trying to get published in an academic, peer-reviewed journal. This essay deals with the subject of the Levitical Cities and I offered up a theory of mine based on analyzing archeological findings of the cities in the territory of one specific tribe. Right now I'm not going to say too much on the theory because I'm holding out for the paper being published (whether in that journal or another one if it gets rejected). B"H I'll update on what happens - whether it gets accepted or is rejected and I'll be turning to a different journal.
Read more