Levitical Caananite Priests?

[PacMan]

Random question:

It is rather clear that the Israelites were given commandment regarding who they could not marry. From Moses to Christ, the Israelites were not the best at following the rules. The question I have is what would happen if a Levite married a non-Israelite (or Canaanite) and had a son. Could he be a priest? Any references (biblical or extra-biblical) would be appreciated.

PacMan

[Ron Beron]

Random question:

It is rather clear that the Israelites were given commandment regarding who they could not marry. From Moses to Christ, the Israelites were not the best at following the rules. The question I have is what would happen if a Levite married a non-Israelite (or Canaanite) and had a son. Could he be a priest? Any references (biblical or extra-biblical) would be appreciated.

PacMan

Probably not since lineage passes from the mother to the son. If it was the opposite way when a Jewish woman married a non-Jewish males then it should be okay. Just an educated guess. Although Ruth wasn't Jewish, was she.

[volgadon]

Probably not since lineage passes from the mother to the son. If it was the opposite way when a Jewish woman married a non-Jewish males then it should be okay. Just an educated guess. Although Ruth wasn't Jewish, was she.

Tribal lineage is still patrilineal, actually.

[Ron Beron]

Tribal lineage is still patrilineal, actually.

Does the matrilineal authority only hold for today or am I wrong in this assumption? I was adopted, but I believe my birth mother was Jewish. Would that, therefore, make me "Jewish"? Humorously, my adopted father was Mexican/American and my mother was Cherokee. I guess that doesn't necessarily make either Latino or American tribal. I have a very strange family setup.

[Bill Hamblin]

Israelite priests returning from the exile needed to prove their pure Levitical lineage to serve in the restored temple.

There is lots of evidence, however, that Israelite priests performed ritual worship to Canaanite gods.

[Ron Beron]

Israelite priests returning from the exile needed to prove their pure Levitical lineage to serve in the restored temple.

There is lots of evidence, however, that Israelite priests performed ritual worship to Canaanite gods.

That is fascinating. Where can I read about it?

[PacMan]

Bill,

If you had a reference, it would be greatly appreciated. That is exactly what I'm looking for.

PacMan

[volgadon]

Does the matrilineal authority only hold for today or am I wrong in this assumption?

Shaye Cohen has some very good essays on the history of matrilineal descent in Judaism. In Judaism the matrilineal principle decides if you are Jewish or not (conversion is a different story), but tribal affiliation is patrilineal.

I was adopted, but I believe my birth mother was Jewish. Would that, therefore, make me "Jewish"?

Yes.

Humorously, my adopted father was Mexican/American and my mother was Cherokee. I guess that doesn't necessarily make either Latino or American tribal. I have a very strange family setup.

Fun mix.

[Bill Hamblin]

Bill,

If you had a reference, it would be greatly appreciated. That is exactly what I'm looking for.

PacMan

On evaluation of the Levites at the second temple, Ezra 10, and Nehemiah 12:1-26.

On Levites and priests engaging in Canaanite religious cult, see the narratives of the reforms of Hezekiah (2 Kg 18; 2 Chr. 29) and Josiah (2 Kg 23), which outline these practices.

[J Green]

Israelite priests returning from the exile needed to prove their pure Levitical lineage to serve in the restored temple.

There is lots of evidence, however, that Israelite priests performed ritual worship to Canaanite gods.

Not to mention that the very name Zadock has obvious ties to Canaan and is a late insertion into the geneological lists (as is Abiathar).

I just finished Himmelfarb's book A Kingdom of Priests, and she does a great job of demonstrating the tension in second temple literature about the idea of priestly ancestry versus priestly merit.The fact that Ruth could possibly be written at the same time that Ezra and Nehemiah are advocating divorce from foreign spouses tells us something of the tension that was likely still going on at the time.

Cheers

Edited September 5, 2011 by J Green

[Sevenbak]

The irony, as I see it, is that Moses received his priesthood from Jethro, who was a Midianite. His lineage (and Priesthood) isn't even through the tribes of Israel, but rather through Abraham and his last wife Keturah.