The priesthood as you did not know it - XNUMX: What in the scrolls?

The Copper Scroll is a short composition, with a total of 12 pages containing 180 lines, describing the Temple in Jerusalem after its destruction, probably near the rebellion of Ben Kusaba, according to an inventory that the priests recorded and it is a record of the treasures of the Temple that were stowed away during the approach of the Roman legions to Jerusalem

Let us make another slight reference to the events of the rebellion and refer to the priesthood issue in relation to the Copper Scroll, one of the various scrolls of the Judean Desert.

The Copper Scroll is a short composition, with a total of 12 pages containing 180 lines, which describes the Temple in Jerusalem after its destruction, probably near the rebellion of Ben Kusaba, according to an inventory that the priests recorded and it is a record of the treasures of the Temple that were stowed away during the approach of the Roman legions to Jerusalem. The Geniza was held out of fear that these treasures would fall into the hands of the Romans.

Yosef ben Mattheyo brings us an interesting and somewhat dramatic passage, right at the end of the rebellion, during the descriptions of the horror in Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple and its burning, as follows: "And in those days one of the priests came out, his name was Yehoshua ben Tebuti, to whom the emperor swore to save his soul. If he hands over a part of the holy vessels, and takes out to him from the wall of the temple two golden lamps as a pattern for the lamps of the temple and tables and syringes (goblets) and bowls, all closed gold and very heavy in weight. Apart from this, he also gave him the parochet and the clothes of the high priests with the precious stones and many other tools of the holy service. The keeper of the temple's treasure, whose name was Pinchas, fell into the hands of the Romans and revealed to them the location of the priests' gifts and their sashes, also a lot of crimson and second wormwood, which was accumulated there for the needs of the priest. And apart from that, a lot of cinnamon and allspice and a lot of other perfumes (drugs), which confused them and offered incense to God every day. And in addition to these, he handed over a lot of the string of the temple vessels and also of the holy witnesses, and even though he was caught with a strong hand, Titus did him like the trial of the war fugitives and gave him his life as a booty" (Yosef ben Matatiyo, The Wars of the Jews, XNUMX. XNUMX. XNUMX).

Sound treacherous? Maybe? And it depends on who you ask. According to the descriptions in Josephus, the zealots in Jerusalem did their own thing and in the process desecrated the temple and its servants. More than that, they were responsible for the initial fires and fires within the temple complex and its halls, long before it was destroyed by the Romans. Well, that "traitor" (Yohshua ben Teveti) had two options - let the temple vessels be burned in the fire or save them at the price of handing them over to the Romans.

Later on, Joseph ben Matthieu enumerates the temple utensils that were presented in the triumphal procession - the triumph - in Rome: "The golden table, which weighed many loaves, and the lampstand that was also made of pure gold..." (ibid. XNUMX).

And in any case, there is no hint in Yosef ben Matthieu about the smuggling of the temple's treasures, their removal and burial in the desert. And despite all this, there is a possibility that such an action did take place, and hints of it are buried here and there in the literature of the Sages.

The treasures that were stored in the temple were many and enormous and despite the fact that these were occasionally stolen, the remainder was much more than what was missing. In the Mishnah Midod, the one that describes all the details of the temple, it is told, for example, about "a golden vine (that) stood at the entrance of the temple and was modeled on stilts. Anyone who volunteered a leaf or a grain or a cluster, brings and hangs it" (Midot XNUMX) and she goes on to say with great pomp that "there was an act and we numbered three hundred priests on it" to clear it. This description echoes the testimony of Joseph son of Mattathias who recounts the description of Herod's temple: "And over the gate was a vine of gold with grapes hanging from it" (Kadmoniot XNUMX:XNUMX), or - "And over the gate was found a vine of gold, from which came clusters as tall as a man's height" (Wars XNUMX, XNUMX, XNUMX).

In the context of the most important work in the temple, we were always a sacrifice, the Mishnah emphasizes that "the priests entered the vessel room and took out ninety-three silver vessels and gold vessels from there. Water the tamid in a cup of gold" (tamid XNUMX XNUMX), and it is from the apartment and glorifies along its detailed and varied length the many vessels, gold and silver vessels, intended for ritual function.

And we will return to the matter of the scroll. Well, the scroll in question, known as the "Copper Scroll" was discovered in the early XNUMXs in the vicinity of Kherbet Qumran in the Judean Desert (on the plains of Jericho), and it appears on its surface as a riddle, as a "pirate map", containing many details about the temple's treasures.
It opens with a mysterious description of the location of the utensils in a free translation as follows: "In the village of Haruba in the Akkur valley, under the front of the stairs at a depth of forty cubits, there is a chest containing money and utensils, the total weight of which reaches about seventeen kilos...", which was a huge weight, about 370 kg "third. In the following it is told about forty silver coins (about 880 kg), as well as dozens of gold bars, gold coins, hundreds of silver coins and dozens of urns containing silver. In addition to this, "kasauts" are distinguished, which are kaswats - serving utensils made of gold, and how important they were to the worship ceremonies is evidenced by an ancient Mishna along the lines of "He who steals the kaswat...a zealot offends him" (Sanhedrin 609:XNUMX), meaning that his blood is permitted. Next to this are the "cleaners" which are among the vessels that were used on the golden table in the temple and have a bowl shape, and a total of XNUMX vessels.

Apart from the bowls and the gold and silver vessels, we also remember "clothes", that is, the surviving clothes of priests, which were treated with reverence and holiness. Among them were also dresses woven with gold threads and elaborate embroideries.

The "million dollar" question is when the scroll is dated. The opinion of some scholars is firm that this is about the end of Ben Kusaba's rebellion, or at least during its advanced period (135-134 AD), when the forces of Hadrian the emperor besieged Jerusalem and were about to break into it. And then, when a sort of escape route to Jericho through the Judean desert was cleared, the treasurers of the temple hastened and saved the holy treasures by smuggling them and burying them in the desert. Moreover, the burial area was very close to the estates of many of the priests of the temple and even contained a large part of their estates. And it must be assumed, so the explanation turns out, that the treasures, objects and other sacred vessels were buried in the precincts of the priests' houses and all the details of the hoards were recorded.

It is more likely to assume that this is a burial and a burial after the destruction of the Second Temple or very shortly before its final destruction in terms of a predictable vision, and not during the Ben Kusava rebellion, for the following reasons:

First - the siege of Beitar was perfect in all respects and did not allow tools to be removed and buried at such a great distance from there.

Second - the literary evidence and even the archeology do not support the fact that the worship of the temple was renewed by Ben Khosva. At most, these are means of propaganda, such as coins or rumors designed to instill a high level of motivation among the rebels and their supporters in the public.

Thirdly - precisely during the Great Revolt there was a greater chance of smuggling tools and money out of Jerusalem, when it comes to the eve of the Roman siege with the almost certain assumption that the destruction of the Temple is only a matter of time.

Fourthly - knowledge does not allow that after the destruction of the house, vessels and huge quantities of gold and silver remained that were returned to Jerusalem and were again smuggled and buried in the Jericho prairie.

This is, so it seems, the atmosphere after the destruction, and maybe a little before it.

The series of articles "The Priesthood You Didn't Know" by Dr. Yehiam Sorek

• Part I - the end of the First Temple and the exile in Babylon
• Part II - Return to Zion
• Part III - The Hellenistic period
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood in Marumiya
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood makes muscles
• Part XNUMX - Matthew turns over in his grave
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood begins to lose height
• Part VIII - The reign of Hyrcanus
• Part IX - Herod stirs up the priesthood
• Part XNUMX - The Priesthood and the Christian Jesus
• Part XNUMX - There is life after Herod
• Part XNUMX - The priesthood deals with clothes
• Part XNUMX - Bureau for Exposing Corruption
• Chapter XNUMX - The priesthood in Mim Bemol
• Chapter XNUMX - The priesthood in the worship of the sun and the war cheer
• Chapter XNUMX - Going to fight the Romans
• Chapter XNUMX - The Great Rebellion and the Priesthood
• Chapter XNUMX - A total mess in Jerusalem
• Chapter XNUMX - to the places, the school, get out!
• Chapter XNUMX - One righteous man in Sodom