This sheet on Deuteronomy 18 was written by Marc Gitler for 929 and can also be found here
In the previous chapter the Torah lists numerous restrictions to curtail the power of a king. In our chapter it aims to restrain the power of the priests. “The Levitical priests, the entire tribe of Levi shall have no territorial portion with Israel. The lord’s offering are their portion.”
Unlike the other tribes who would be granted vast tracts of land in Canaan, the Levites would only receive several cities to settle in. The priests and Levites livelihood would be inextricably tied with their Temple service, “the lord’s offerings are their portion.”
The priest’s lack of land is in direct contrast with their Egyptian counterparts. Genesis 47 tells of the dire effects of the famine upon the average Egyptian. At first the populace used their money to buy food. When their money ran out, they traded livestock for food. When they had no livestock left to barter, the Egyptians traded their land for food and seed, and became serfs to Pharaoh. The desperation allowed Joseph to gain possession “of all of the farmland of Egypt for Pharaoh,” with one notable exception “only the land of the priests he did not take over, for they had a special ruling from Pharaoh.”
In theory Horus, the god of the sky and protector of the king of Egypt, (Pharaoh was viewed as the living embodiment of Horus) owned all of Egypt. As such the temples with their land needed for the religious services, attained a special status that could not be infringed upon. The preferred status eventually lead to the attainment of unparalleled wealth. By the reign of Ramses III, Marie Parsons reports, the temple of Amun at Karnak comprised 433 orchards, 421,000 head of livestock, 65 villages, 83 ships and 46 workshops, with hundreds of acres of farmland, and a total labor force of more than 81,000. The temple of Ra at Heliopolis owned hundreds of acres, 64 orchards, 45,544 head of livestock, 103 villages, 3 ships and 5 workshops, with a personnel force of 12,700. The overseers of the estates and granaries, scribes, soldiers, all reported to the high priests of their temple.
The Egyptian priests attained a status that would later be replicated, even surpassed by the largest landowner in Medieval Europe: the Catholic Church. With their collection of tithes, selling of indulgencies, and power of excommunication, the pope and his church, were the unrivaled power of Europe for hundreds of years.
There were certainly periods in our history when priests (and later rabbis) seized enormous power and wealth, but by restricting the priests from being land rich the Torah largely succeeded in separating the spiritual and material worlds.
Unlike the other tribes who would be granted vast tracts of land in Canaan, the Levites would only receive several cities to settle in. The priests and Levites livelihood would be inextricably tied with their Temple service, “the lord’s offerings are their portion.”
The priest’s lack of land is in direct contrast with their Egyptian counterparts. Genesis 47 tells of the dire effects of the famine upon the average Egyptian. At first the populace used their money to buy food. When their money ran out, they traded livestock for food. When they had no livestock left to barter, the Egyptians traded their land for food and seed, and became serfs to Pharaoh. The desperation allowed Joseph to gain possession “of all of the farmland of Egypt for Pharaoh,” with one notable exception “only the land of the priests he did not take over, for they had a special ruling from Pharaoh.”
In theory Horus, the god of the sky and protector of the king of Egypt, (Pharaoh was viewed as the living embodiment of Horus) owned all of Egypt. As such the temples with their land needed for the religious services, attained a special status that could not be infringed upon. The preferred status eventually lead to the attainment of unparalleled wealth. By the reign of Ramses III, Marie Parsons reports, the temple of Amun at Karnak comprised 433 orchards, 421,000 head of livestock, 65 villages, 83 ships and 46 workshops, with hundreds of acres of farmland, and a total labor force of more than 81,000. The temple of Ra at Heliopolis owned hundreds of acres, 64 orchards, 45,544 head of livestock, 103 villages, 3 ships and 5 workshops, with a personnel force of 12,700. The overseers of the estates and granaries, scribes, soldiers, all reported to the high priests of their temple.
The Egyptian priests attained a status that would later be replicated, even surpassed by the largest landowner in Medieval Europe: the Catholic Church. With their collection of tithes, selling of indulgencies, and power of excommunication, the pope and his church, were the unrivaled power of Europe for hundreds of years.
There were certainly periods in our history when priests (and later rabbis) seized enormous power and wealth, but by restricting the priests from being land rich the Torah largely succeeded in separating the spiritual and material worlds.
(א) לֹֽא־יִ֠הְיֶ֠ה לַכֹּהֲנִ֨ים הַלְוִיִּ֜ם כׇּל־שֵׁ֧בֶט לֵוִ֛י חֵ֥לֶק וְנַחֲלָ֖ה עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אִשֵּׁ֧י יְהֹוָ֛ה וְנַחֲלָת֖וֹ יֹאכֵלֽוּן׃
(1) The levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no territorial portion with Israel. They shall live only off the LORD’s offerings by fire as their portion,
Rabbi Marc Gitler works for 929 North America
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