Priests

[Thomas L Cossette]

not only just designated duties, but also designated living areas around the tabernacle
Thus the meaning of the statement the Son of Man (HighPriest) come from the lightening of dawn I.E. the east of the tabernacle the Hasmons (Maccabees came from Modin west of the tabernacle, there fore had no right to the priesthood
(Numbers chapter 3)

 

[sevengreenbeans]

Yes, the Levites were not priests. The Aaronites were priests, such as Nadab and Abihu (who were eventually killed due to offering unclean fire) and Ithamar etc and from the Aaronites came also the High Priests.
The regular Levites did non-priestly things.

The interrelation of priesthood to Moses' leadership, the Sanhedrin/70 elders, the eventual Davidic kingdom, the Shoftim, and so on, is beyond the scope of mine or anyone's ability to delineate here, but suffice to say the high priest had essentially no political power until the time of the Maccabees or so.

I do not agree with you, but will get back to this later...

 

[Thomas L Cossette]

not only were there designated duties assigned, but also designated living areas around the tabernacle. Thus the meaning of the statement; "The Son of Man (high Priest) comes from the lightening of the dawn, i.e. the east of the tabernacle. The Hasmons (Maccabees came from the west of the tabernacle, therefore had no right to the office of high priest. There designated living area is as good as finger prints and DNA as far who is really of Aaron's Line or not.

not only just designaled duties, but also designated living areas around the tabernacle
Thus the meaning of the statement the Son of Man (HighPriest) come from the lightening of dawn I.E. the east of the tabernacle the Hasmons (Maccabees came from Modin west of the tabernacle, there fore had no right to the priesthood
(Numbers chapter 3)

 

[sevengreenbeans]

Yes, the Levites were not priests. The Aaronites were priests, such as Nadab and Abihu (who were eventually killed due to offering unclean fire) and Ithamar etc and from the Aaronites came also the High Priests.
The regular Levites did non-priestly things.

The interrelation of priesthood to Moses' leadership, the Sanhedrin/70 elders, the eventual Davidic kingdom, the Shoftim, and so on, is beyond the scope of mine or anyone's ability to delineate here, but suffice to say the high priest had essentially no political power until the time of the Maccabees or so.

The Levites are set apart and belong to YHWH. The number of the firstborn of Israel are redeemed by the number of Levites. If the firstborn of Israel exceed the number of Levites, they are redeemed with money and the redemption money given to Aaron and/or his descendants.

Num 3:45 'Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be Mine, even the L-RD'S.
47 thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll; after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them - the shekel is twenty gerahs.
51 And Moses gave the redemption-money unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the L-RD, as the L-RD commanded Moses.

Levites = Gershonites, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:23 The families of the Gershonites were to pitch behind the tabernacle westward;
25 and the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting the tabernacle, and the Tent, the covering thereof, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,
26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court - which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar, round about- -and the cords of it, even whatsoever pertaineth to the service thereof.

Num 4:24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
Read Numbers 4:24-28. Ithamar, son of Aaron, was over the charge of the Gershonites.

Levites = Kohathites, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward;
31 and their charge the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith the priests minister, and the screen, and all that pertaineth to the service thereof;
32 Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest being prince of the princes of the Levites, and having the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

Eleazar is mentioned here with the Kohathites, because he is a Kohathite. However, he will camp to the east of the Tabernacle with Aaron's lineage, while all other Kohathites camp to the south of the Tabernacle.

Num 4:4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, about the most holy things:
Read Numbers 4:4-15 and Numbers 4:18-20. The sons of Aaron, were to cover all the most holy things before the Kohathites, "lest they die", could come in to carry.

Levites = Merarites, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.
35 the prince of the fathers' house of the families of Merari being Zuriel the son of Abihail; they were to pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward;
36 the appointed charge of the sons of Merari being the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all that pertaineth to the service thereof;
37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

Num 4:29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;
Read Numbers 4:29-33. Ithamar, son of Aaron, was over the charge of the Merarites.

High Priest, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:38 And those that were to pitch before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary, even the charge for the children of Israel; and the common man that drew nigh was to be put to death.

Anyone besides a descendant of Aaron to enter the holy of holies was to be put to death.

Num 4:16 And the charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil: he shall have the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, whether it be the sanctuary, or the furniture thereof.'

Eleazar carried the oil for the menorah, the incense, the meal-offering, and the anointing oil.
He was in charge of the entire Tabernacle, but these are the specific things which he, himself, carried.

 

[Hoshiyya]

The Levites are set apart and belong to YHWH. The number of the firstborn of Israel are redeemed by the number of Levites. If the firstborn of Israel exceed the number of Levites, they are redeemed with money and the redemption money given to Aaron and/or his descendants.

Num 3:45 'Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be Mine, even the L-RD'S.
47 thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll; after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them - the shekel is twenty gerahs.
51 And Moses gave the redemption-money unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the L-RD, as the L-RD commanded Moses.

Levites = Gershonites, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:23 The families of the Gershonites were to pitch behind the tabernacle westward;
25 and the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting the tabernacle, and the Tent, the covering thereof, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting,
26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court - which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar, round about- -and the cords of it, even whatsoever pertaineth to the service thereof.

Num 4:24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:
Read Numbers 4:24-28. Ithamar, son of Aaron, was over the charge of the Gershonites.

Levites = Kohathites, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:29 The families of the sons of Kohath were to pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward;
31 and their charge the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith the priests minister, and the screen, and all that pertaineth to the service thereof;
32 Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest being prince of the princes of the Levites, and having the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary.

Eleazar is mentioned here with the Kohathites, because he is a Kohathite. However, he will camp to the east of the Tabernacle with Aaron's lineage, while all other Kohathites camp to the south of the Tabernacle.

Num 4:4 This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, about the most holy things:
Read Numbers 4:4-15 and Numbers 4:18-20. The sons of Aaron, were to cover all the most holy things before the Kohathites, "lest they die", could come in to carry.

Levites = Merarites, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:33 Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites; these are the families of Merari.
35 the prince of the fathers' house of the families of Merari being Zuriel the son of Abihail; they were to pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward;
36 the appointed charge of the sons of Merari being the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all that pertaineth to the service thereof;
37 and the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.

Num 4:29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;
Read Numbers 4:29-33. Ithamar, son of Aaron, was over the charge of the Merarites.

High Priest, where they camp, what they were in charge of and what they carried.
Num 3:38 And those that were to pitch before the tabernacle eastward, before the tent of meeting toward the sunrising, were Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary, even the charge for the children of Israel; and the common man that drew nigh was to be put to death.

Anyone besides a descendant of Aaron to enter the holy of holies was to be put to death.

Num 4:16 And the charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the continual meal-offering, and the anointing oil: he shall have the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, whether it be the sanctuary, or the furniture thereof.'

Eleazar carried the oil for the menorah, the incense, the meal-offering, and the anointing oil.
He was in charge of the entire Tabernacle, but these are the specific things which he, himself, carried.

Yes, and?
What did I say that you are trying to contradict?
It sounds like you're trying to prove me wrong on some point, but not sure which...

 

[Thomas L Cossette]

Maybe they are trying to agree with you

 

[sevengreenbeans]

Maybe they are trying to agree with you

I agree with you about the Maccabees.

I feel the same about all of the priests who served at Jerusalem, as well as Eli and those who were with him.

 

[sevengreenbeans]

suffice to say the high priest had essentially no political power until the time of the Maccabees or so.

The reason the office of the high priest had political power at the time of the Maccabees, and afterward, is because they were appointed to the office by those in power, rather than by birthright.

 

[Hoshiyya]

The reason the office of the high priest had political power at the time of the Maccabees, and afterward, is because they were appointed to the office by those in power, rather than by birthright.

OK so is that the point you were making earlier?

My only concern was with whether non-Aaronites could be priests.

 

[sevengreenbeans]

OK so is that the point you were making earlier?

My only concern was with whether non-Aaronites could be priests.

"Aaronites" is a new term for me, I've never seen that before.

Aaron and his sons were Kohathites of the Levites. Not all Kohathites are eligible for the High Priesthood. Only the lineage of Aaron is eligible.

You said Levites do non-priestly things. I disagree, because the Levite men, as a whole, were set apart to YHWH. There were specific duties only they were responsible for. For example, Kohathites, not descended from Aaron, but all other Kohathites, were responsible for carrying the covered ark of the covenant. The sons of Aaron were responsible for first covering the ark of the covenant in blue cloth before the other Kohathites could come in to carry it on its poles.

Any non-Levite should not carry the ark.
More specifically, any non-Kohathite should not carry the ark.
The sons of Aaron should not carry the ark.
The sons of Aaron should cover the ark.

I understand where you're coming from, but not sure if we agree. The High Priest can only come through the Levites, more specifically, the Kohathites, more specifically, Aaron. And even though Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar were sons of Aaron, there can be only one High Priest at a time. So, it was Eleazar after Aaron, because Nadab and Abihu entered the holy of holies intoxicated, two men, not one, offering strange fire - whatever that might be - in any case, they were not following the commands of YHWH, they were doing their own thing. Eleazar as High Priest, and his son Phinehas after him. All of Eleazar's other sons would be priests, but only one could be High Priest. Ithamar would be priest, but not High Priest, and his sons would be priests. All sons of Eleazar and Ithamar being "in line" for the office of the High Priest by birth order. Ithamar's descendants not rightfully serving as High Priest as long as there are living descendants of Eleazar.

Korach was a Kohathite, a cousin of Moses and Aaron, but not in line for High Priest, so technically not a priest. His duty was to carry the vessels of the most holy with the other Kohathites. However, he was responsible for carrying out duties regarding the service of the Tabernacle. A man from the tribe of Asher, for example, should not carry any part of the Tabernacle, as specific duties were given among the Levites (Gershonites, Merarites, and Kohathites). When you say "the regular Levites did non-priestly things" it makes it sound as if they had no requirements, such as being subject to purity laws, etc. I guess I should have asked for more information from you on your perspective.

 

[Hoshiyya]

" Aaron and his sons were Kohathites of the Levites. Not all Kohathites are eligible for the High Priesthood. Only the lineage of Aaron is eligible. "

Exactly.

"The High Priest can only come through the Levites, more specifically, the Kohathites, more specifically, Aaron. And even though Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar were sons of Aaron, there can be only one High Priest at a time."

Yes.

"You said Levites do non-priestly things. I disagree, because the Levite men, as a whole, were set apart to YHWH. "

Non-Aaronite Levites, yes. Only Aaronite Levites can be priests and high priest. Merarites for example were never priests, though they were Levites.

 

[sevengreenbeans]

Num 4:22 'Take the sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses, by their families;
Num 4:23 from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them: all that enter in to wait upon the service, to do service in the tent of meeting.

Num 4:29 As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;
Num 4:30 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth upon the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting.

Num 4:34 And Moses and Aaron and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites by their families, and by their fathers' houses,
Num 4:35 from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered upon the service, for service in the tent of meeting.

So, among the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites (of the Levites), men aged 30-50 were responsible for their specific duties regarding the Tabernacle.

From the Kohathites, of the lineage of Aaron, the High Priest served lifetime, from whatever age upon entering until death, then the next oldest in the lineage would step in for life, etc.

 

[sevengreenbeans]

Thanks for clarifying, Hoshiyya.

Exo 29:42 It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before the L-RD, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto you.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tentshall be sanctified by My glory.
44 And I will sanctify the tent of meeting, and the altar; Aaron also and his sons will I sanctify, to minister to Me in the priest's office.
45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their G-d.
46 And they shall know that I am the L-RD their G-d, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the L-RD their G-d.

 

[sevengreenbeans]

Were there any prescribed sin offerings for ordinary (not High) priests in Torah?

Sin offerings can also be known as purification offerings. This is the distinction between offerings being brought for atonement, where blood was brought into the holy place, and offerings made for purification.

Lev 4:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If any one (nefesh) shall sin through error, in any of the things which the L-RD has commanded not to be done, and shall do any one of them:

Lev 4:3 if the anointed priest (kohen) shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer for his sin, which he has sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the L-RD for a sin-offering.

Lev 4:5 And the anointed priest shall take of the blood of the bullock, and bring it to the tent of meeting.
6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the L-RD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
7 And the priest shall put of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the L-RD, which is in the tent of meeting; and all the remaining blood of the bullock shall he pour out at the base of the altar of burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tent of meeting.

Only the High Priest is authorized to approach the items highlighted in bold text in Leviticus 4:5-7.

Lev 6:25(6:18) Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying: This is the law of the sin-offering: in the place where the burnt-offering is killed shall the sin-offering be killed before the L-RD; it is most holy.
26(19) The priest that offers it for sin shall eat it; in a holy place shall it be eaten, in the court (chatser - a yard, as enclosed by a fence) of the tent of meeting.
27(20) Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy; and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, you shall wash that whereon it was sprinkled in a holy place.
28(21) But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken; and if it be sodden in a brazen vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water.
29(22) Every male among the priests may eat thereof; it is most holy.
30(23) And no sin-offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place, shall be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire.

If I am understanding this correctly, every male among the priests may eat of the sin-offering (purification offering), only the High Priest can carry out the requirements for the offering itself. If blood of a sin-offering was carried into the Tabernacle to make atonement in the holy place, it shall not be eaten, but rather burnt with fire.

 

[ananda]

...If I am understanding this correctly, every male among the priests may eat of the sin-offering (purification offering), only the High Priest can carry out the requirements for the offering itself. If blood of a sin-offering was carried into the Tabernacle to make atonement in the holy place, it shall not be eaten, but rather burnt with fire.

This was what I was thinking too ... that the High Priest gives the offering on behalf of the ordinary priests.

If we are ordinary priests, then our High Priest (Messiah) is interceding on our behalf for our sins in the Heavenly Temple. We (as ordinary priests), have no intercessory (literal) sacrificial duties then!

 

[sevengreenbeans]

Were there any prescribed sin offerings for ordinary (not High) priests in Torah?

Since the topic of priests/High Priest has perhaps been sorted out...
the following scripture is for all Levites, if this is what you were asking, and remember that sin offering can mean purification offering, as well. One is not to be eaten by anyone, one may be eaten by male priests, depending on the blood being carried in to the holy place for atonement, or not.

Num 8:5 And the L-RD spoke unto Moses, saying:
6 'Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.
7 And thus shall you do unto them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them, and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves.
8 Then let them take a young bullock, and its meal-offering, fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shall you take for a sin-offering.
9 And you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting; and you shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel.
10 And you shall present the Levites before the L-RD; and the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites.
11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the L-RD for a wave-offering from the children of Israel, that they may be to do the service of the L-RD.
12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks; and offer you the one for a sin-offering (purification), and the other for a burnt-offering, unto the L-RD, to make atonement for the Levites.
13 And you shall set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for a wave-offering unto the L-RD.
14 Thus shall you separate the Levites from among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be Mine.
15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tent of meeting; and you shall cleanse them, and offer them for a wave-offering.
16 For they are wholly given unto Me from among the children of Israel; instead of all that opens the womb, even the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto Me.
17 For all the first-born among the children of Israel are Mine, both man and beast; on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself.
18 And I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel.
19 And I have given the Levites - they are given to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, that there be no plague among the children of Israel, through the children of Israel coming near unto the sanctuary.'
20 Thus did Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the Levites; according unto all that the L-RD commanded Moses touching the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.
21 And the Levites purified themselves, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them for a sacred gift before the LORD; and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them.
22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron, and before his sons; as the L-RD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.
23 And the L-RD spoke unto Moses, saying:
24 'This is that which pertains unto the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to perform the service in the work of the tent of meeting;
25 and from the age of fifty years they shall return from the service of the work, and shall serve no more;
26 but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, but they shall do no manner of service. Thus shall you do unto the Levites touching their charges.'

Here we have age 25-50. Maybe 30-50 was for carrying the Tabernacle through the wilderness and 25-50 is for the "service of the work"?

 

[sevengreenbeans]

This was what I was thinking too ... that the High Priest gives the offering on behalf of the ordinary priests.

I believe the offerings were brought to the priests by the common people where if there was any part of the sacrifice/offering which had to be carried to the holy place within the Tabernacle, then the High Priest would be the only one who could accomplish the task. As far as the duties carried out by the Levites vs. the priests vs. the High Priest, I have not studied that in depth.

 

[Thomas L Cossette]

I have read Torah cover to cover many times, I always took it for granted I guess, that all the duties of the Levites were priestly duties of one sort or another. I always assumed only the high priest made the sacrifices in the Holy of Holies. I also assumed other Kohaths made sacrifices in the holy place just the sheer number of sin offering done would make it impossible for only the high Priest to do it all, at least that is what I thought. I will read it again and get my ducks (goats) in a row.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

t the High Priest gives the offering on behalf of the ordinary priests.

I find it fascinating how The high priest (Heb. hakkohen, "the priest," hakkohen haggadol, "the great Priest") had the highest position in the Israelite hierarchy - anointed and wearing special garments/a crown, and a breastplate which contained the urim and the thummim and entering the holy of holies in person on Yom Kippur to make atonement for the sins of his own house as well as the sins of the nation.

Leviticus 16

The Day of Atonement

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.[a] 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

11 “Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13 and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. 14 And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.
​

• Lesson 2 Intro To Leviticus pt 2 - Torah Class

The image many seem to have is that the high priest himself was sinless - but before the he could enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement, he had to offer a sacrifice for his own sins. ..taking the blood of the atonement sacrifice into the Holy of Holies and sprinkling it on the mercy seat. ....and once entering the Holy of holies, his time there was limited and he could only be there while he was offering the sacrifice. And had to pass through much to survive.

Thankfully, Yeshua is superior in His performance because He has no sins of His Own, but He made atonement for our sins ( 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Pet. 2:24 ) - He did not offer the blood of a goat; He offered His Own sinless blood ( Heb. 13:12) and He does not have to repeat His sacrifice ( Heb. 10:11-12). He passed through three heavens ( 2 Cor. 12:2) to enter in to the presence of Almighty God - and while the High Priest was not allowed to sit down at all due to his human flaws, Yeshua did what no earthly priest had ever done: He sat down at the right hand of God because His work was forever completed (Heb. 10:12 )...

.

 

[Lulav]

I have read Torah cover to cover many times, I always took it for granted I guess, that all the duties of the Levites were priestly duties of one sort or another. I always assumed only the high priest made the sacrifices in the Holy of Holies. I also assumed other Kohaths made sacrifices in the holy place just the sheer number of sin offering done would make it impossible for only the high Priest to do it all, at least that is what I thought. I will read it again and get my ducks (goats) in a row.

I always took it for granted I guess, that all the duties of the Levites were priestly duties of one sort or another.

This is true, and certain families were given certain duties.

I always assumed only the high priest made the sacrifices in the Holy of Holies.

This is also true, only once a year though and the sacrifice wasn't made there but the blood was taken from the goat into the HoH and sprinkled there.

The sacrifices are made in the inner courtyard where the 'sea' for washing is as well as the altar.

The Holy place which is outside the Holiest Place is where the table of shewbread, the altar of incense and the Menorah reside.