Hebrew word · H3550

כְּהֻנָּה

kehunah

priesthood

"Priesthood" in the sense of the office, its duties and its privileges. It comes from kohen ("priest"), the man who serves at the altar and sanctuary. He offers sacrifices, teaches the difference between holy and common, clean and unclean (Lev 10:10–11), and gives oracles and blessings.

Appears 14 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

priesthood

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 29:9

Range of meaning

"Priesthood" in the sense of the office, its duties and its privileges. It comes from kohen ("priest"), the man who serves at the altar and sanctuary. He offers sacrifices, teaches the difference between holy and common, clean and unclean (Lev 10:10–11), and gives oracles and blessings.

Against the English

KJV's "the priest's office" is accurate. Modern "priesthood" can suggest a spiritual class or (in Protestant use) the "priesthood of all believers". Here it means a hereditary office in one family with defined rights.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 18:1–7 calls the priesthood a "gift" (mattanah) to Aaron's family and links it to the income they receive from offerings (Num 18:8–20). Num 25:13 speaks of a "covenant of perpetual priesthood" (kehunnat ʿolam) for Phinehas. Similar inherited priestly offices with income rights were standard in temples of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

From the study of Joshua 18:7

Range of meaning

Priesthood: the office, rights and duties of a kōhēn (priest). Elsewhere it can also cover the income that went with the office (see Num 18:1–7, where the priesthood is called a 'gift').

Against the English

'Priesthood' is accurate, but English readers may think of an ordained clergy or a spiritual status. Here the word describes a hereditary office that also served as a livelihood: tithes, parts of sacrifices, firstfruits and town pasturelands took the place of fields.

Used elsewhere in the period

Only about 14 times in the Hebrew Bible, mostly in Exodus and Numbers (Exod 29:9; 40:15; Num 16:10; 18:1, 7; 25:13), almost always of the Aaronide line. Joshua 13:14 and 13:33 express the same idea differently: 'the fire-offerings of YHWH' and 'YHWH the God of Israel' are Levi's inheritance.

From the study of Nehemiah 7:64

Range of meaning

Priesthood: the office of priest, held by inheritance, together with its duties and rights. That includes service at the altar and the priests' share of the offerings and tithes. Numbers 18:7 calls it a 'gift of service', Exodus 29:9 a 'perpetual statute', and Nehemiah 13:29 speaks of 'the covenant of the priesthood'.

Against the English

All versions say 'priesthood'. NLT's 'serving as priests' puts the weight on function. Neither choice is misleading.

Used elsewhere in the period

Numbers 3:10 and 18:7 limit the priesthood to Aaron's descendants and warn that an outsider who comes near shall die. Numbers 16–17 (Korah) dramatises the danger of claiming priestly rights without the right lineage. Joshua 18:7 calls the priesthood the Levites' 'inheritance' in place of land.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 29:9 כְּהֻנָּ֖ה priesthood

    Wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons and tie headbands on them. The priesthood shall be theirs by a permanent statute. In this way you are to ordain Aaron and his sons.

    Here: The office and function of serving as priest (kohen). This includes its duties and its rights, such as access to the altar and shares of the offerings.

  2. Exodus 40:15 לִכְהֻנַּ֥ת <into> a priesthood of

    Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.”

Numbers · 6

  1. Numbers 3:10 כְּהֻנָּתָ֑ם priesthood their

    So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”

    Here: The priestly office with its rights and duties: altar service, handling the holy objects, and going inside the curtain. 'Their' marks it as belonging to this family alone.

  2. Numbers 16:10 כְּהֻנָּֽה׃ priesthood

    He has brought you near, you and all your fellow Levites, but you are seeking the priesthood as well.

  3. Numbers 18:1 כְּהֻנַּתְכֶֽם׃ priesthood your

    So the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house must bear the iniquity involving the sanctuary. And you and your sons alone must bear the iniquity involving your priesthood.

    Here: The office and its exclusive duties (altar service, the area inside the curtain; see v. 7). "The guilt of your priesthood" means violations of those exclusive duties, whether by priests who serve improperly or by Levites who overstep.

  4. Numbers 18:7 כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֜ם כְּהֻנַּתְכֶ֔ם priesthood your

    But only you and your sons shall attend to your priesthood for everything concerning the altar and what is inside the veil, and you are to perform that service. I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift, but any outsider who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

    Here: The priestly office and everything that belongs to it, held by the family. The same word was used in 16:10 when Moses rebuked Korah's Levites: 'Are you seeking the priesthood too?'

  5. Numbers 25:13 כְּהֻנַּ֣ת priesthood of

    It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”

    Here: The priestly office: the right and duty to serve at the altar, handle the holy things, and live on the priestly portions. Here it is the content of the covenant, the thing granted.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 18:7 כְהֻנַּ֥ת [is] [the] priesthood of

    The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.”

    Here: The office and duty of the priest (kōhēn): handling sacrifices, guarding holy things, teaching, and the income that came with these. Here it is treated as a possession the tribe holds in place of land.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 2:36 הַכְּהֻנּ֖וֹת the priesthoods

    And everyone left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a morsel of bread, pleading, “Please appoint me to some priestly office so that I can eat a piece of bread.”’”

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 2:62 הַכְּהֻנָּֽה׃ the priesthood

    These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.

Nehemiah · 3

  1. Nehemiah 7:64 הַכְּהֻנָּֽה׃ the priesthood

    These men searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.

    Here: 'The priesthood' as a hereditary office with its rights: serving at the altar and eating the priests' share of the offerings (v. 65). They lost the office and its living, not their place among the people.

  2. Nehemiah 13:29 הַכְּהֻנָּ֔ה הַכְּהֻנָּ֖ה the priesthood

    Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.