# Zadok

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{{Short description|Biblical character}}
{{Other uses}}{{Infobox religious biography
| religion           = [Abrahamic religions](/source/Abrahamic_religions)
| image              = Cornelis de Vos - The Anointing of Solomon (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Detail of Zadok in ''The Anointing of Solomon'' (c. 1630) by [Cornelis de Vos](/source/Cornelis_de_Vos)
| native_name_lang   = he
| native_name        = {{Native name|he|צָדוֹק}}
}}
{{Kehuna and Kohanim}}
'''Zadok''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|eɪ|d|ɒ|k}}), also spelled '''Ṣadok''', '''Ṣadoc''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.drbo.org/chapter/11001.htm|title = Douay-Rheims Bible, 3 Kings (1 Kings) Chapter 1}}</ref> '''Zadoq''', '''Tzadok''' or '''Tsadoq''' ({{langx|he|צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן|Ṣādōq ha-Kōhēn}}; lit. 'righteous, justified'), was a [Kohen](/source/Kohen) (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant of [Eleazar](/source/Eleazar) the son of [Aaron](/source/Aaron).<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Chronicles|6:4–8|HE}}</ref> He was the [High Priest of Israel](/source/High_Priest_of_Israel) during the reigns of [David](/source/David) and [Solomon](/source/Solomon) as kings of Israel.<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Samuel|8:16–18|HE}}</ref> He aided King David during the revolt of his son [Absalom](/source/Absalom), was subsequently instrumental in bringing Solomon to the throne, and officiated at Solomon's coronation. After Solomon's building of the [First Temple](/source/Solomon's_Temple) in Jerusalem, Zadok was the first High Priest to serve there.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Kings|2:35|HE}}</ref>

The prophet [Ezekiel](/source/Ezekiel) extols the [sons of Zadok](/source/sons_of_Zadok) as staunch opponents of [paganism](/source/Avodah_Zarah) during the era of pagan worship, and indicates their birthright to unique duties and privileges in the future temple.<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|44:15, 43:19|HE}}</ref>

== Hebrew Bible ==
The [Tanakh](/source/Tanakh) (Hebrew Bible) states that Zadok was a patrilineal descendant of [Eleazar](/source/Eleazar) the son of [Aaron](/source/Aaron) the [high priest](/source/Kohen_Gadol).<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|24:3|HE}}</ref> The lineage of Zadok is presented in the genealogy of [Ezra](/source/Ezra) (his descendant) as being of ninth generation of direct patrilineal descent from [Phinehas](/source/Phinehas) the son of Eleazar.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezra|7:1-4|HE}}; see also {{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|6:4–8|HE}} where he is placed eighth in descent from Phinehas.</ref>

A certain Zadok had been one of those who joined David at [Hebron](/source/Hebron) and helped him win the crown of all [Israel](/source/Israel), his house then including twenty-two captains.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|12:29|HE}}</ref> [Josephus](/source/Josephus) identifies this Zadok with the high priest of the same name.<ref>Antiquities of the Jews 7:2, § 2</ref>

During the [rebellion of Absalom](/source/Absalom), Zadok the priest is mentioned, as he and the [Levite](/source/Levite)s wished to accompany the fleeing David and bring along the [Ark of the Covenant](/source/Ark_of_the_Covenant), but the king instructed Zadok to remain at [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem), where he and Abiathar could do him better service,<ref>2 Samuel 15:24–29; comp. v. 35</ref> so that it actually happened that [Ahimaaz](/source/Ahimaaz), the son of Zadok, along with [Jonathan](/source/Jonathan_(son_of_Abiathar)), the son of [Abiathar](/source/Abiathar), brought the fleeing king a life saving message.<ref>ib. 17:21</ref> In all these passages Zadok is mentioned in precedence to Abiathar.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|15:35|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|17:15|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|19:11|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|2|Samuel|20:25|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|1|Kings|4:4|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|15:11|HE}}</ref> Zadok was also chief officer over the Aaronites.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|27:16–17|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|15:11|HE}}</ref> The term high priest is not used in the Hebrew scriptures from the time of Joshua until the reign of Joash.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|20:6|HE}}; {{Bibleverse|2|Kings|12:10|HE}}</ref>

Both Zadok and Abiathar functioned in tandem as priests at the time of David's hasty exit from Jerusalem. When David first set up his cabinet, Zadok and [Abiathar](/source/Abiathar), the son of [Ahimelech](/source/Ahimelech), were named as priests.<ref>See 1 Samuel 22:20; 23:6; 30:7, where Abiathar is consistently the son of Ahimelech. And so it is in 2 Samuel 8:17 with Syriac and Ethiopic. The MT and all other versions however have the corrupted text "Ahimelech son of Abiathar" (and so in 1 Chronicles 18:16; 24:6. In the former though it is "Abimelech" in the place of "Ahimelech"). See 2 Samuel AB, P. Kyle McCarter, 1984, p. 253</ref> On the suppression of the [Absalom](/source/Absalom) rebellion, King David sent Zadok and Abiathar to the elders of Judah, urging them to hasten to bring the monarch back.<ref>{{Bibleverse|2 Samuel|19:12|HE}}</ref> Subsequently, when [Adonijah](/source/Adonijah) endeavored to secure the throne, Abiathar sided with him, leading King Solomon (David's son) to expel him from Jerusalem and reinforce the sole chief-priesthood of Zadok, who, along with [Nathan the Prophet](/source/Nathan_the_Prophet), supported King Solomon's accession to throne.<ref>[1 Kings](/source/Books_of_Kings) 2:27, 35; 1 Chr. 29:22</ref> In gratitude, Solomon appointed him sole high priest.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Kings|2:35|HE}}</ref> Zadok also officiated at the [anointing](/source/anointing) ceremony of Solomon as king.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Kings|1:39|HE}}</ref>

In {{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|16:39|HE}} Zadok is named as the leader of the priests who served "before the [tabernacle of the Lord](/source/Tabernacle) at the [high place](/source/high_place) that was at [Gibeon](/source/Gibeon_(ancient_city))", although he is later recorded as working alongside Ahimelech devising a schedule of priestly service to support David's preparations for the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|24:3|HE}}</ref>

Zadok's sons were [Ahimaaz](/source/Ahimaaz) and [Azariah](/source/Azariah). His descendants who held the high priesthood up to the destruction of [the First Temple](/source/Solomon's_Temple) and, following the building of the [Second Temple](/source/Second_Temple), resumed the high priesthood, as per [Joshua the High Priest](/source/Joshua_the_High_Priest) (along with [Ezra](/source/Ezra)) being of [Zadokite](/source/Zadokite) lineage.

==The Zadokite dynasty==
{{Main|Sons of Zadok}}

=== In rabbinic literature ===

According to the Bible, [Aaron](/source/Aaron) received a perpetual [priestly covenant](/source/priestly_covenant) by which his descendants, and only his descendants, would be priests.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|29:9|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|Numbers|18:19|HE}}, {{Bibleverse|1 Chronicles|23:13|HE}}</ref>

According to some commentaries, the priesthood was further restricted to descendants of Aaron's son [Eleazar](/source/Eleazar) after Eleazar inherited Aaron's priestly robes ({{Bibleverse|Numbers|20:24-28|HE}}),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ashley |first=Timothy R. |title=The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Numbers |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. |year=1993 |isbn=9780802825230 |location=Grand Rapids, MI |pages=396 |language=en}}</ref> and further restricted to descendants of Eleazar's son [Pinchas](/source/Pinchas) after Pinchas performed his act of zealotry.<ref>[Yosef Karo](/source/Yosef_Karo), ''Maggid Meisharim'', p. 55b; [Rashi](/source/Rashi) to [Zevachim](/source/Zevachim) 101b interpreting the "covenant of eternal priesthood" ({{Bibleverse|Numbers|25:13|HE}})</ref>

Nevertheless, later on the high priesthood was held by [Eli](/source/Eli_(biblical_figure)), a descendant of Itamar (Eleazar's brother). Torah commentators attribute this to Pinchas' later sins.<ref>[Yalkut Shimoni](/source/Yalkut_Shimoni), 19,19; [Genesis Rabbah](/source/Genesis_Rabbah) 60:3</ref> But upon the sin of Eli's sons, [Hophni and Phinehas](/source/Hophni_and_Phinehas), a "man of God" prophesied the extinction of their priesthood: {{Blockquote|And I will erect myself a reliable priest (who acts) with my heart, and with my soul he will do, and I will build him a reliable household, and he will go before my Anointed all of days.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Samuel|2:35|HE}}</ref>}}

This prophecy was fulfilled when Zadok, who was descended from Eleazar and Pinchas, was appointed as high priest.<ref>See "Torath HaKohanim", [Mnachem Risikoff](/source/Mnachem_Risikoff), Minor Chap. 200</ref><ref>[Robert Alter](/source/Robert_Alter), ''The David Story'' (New York: W. W. Norton, 2000), 15.</ref>

===History of Zadokites===
Historical data show that the high-priesthood remained in the progeny of the Zadokites from the time of Zadok up until the rise of the [Hasmoneans](/source/Hasmoneans), in about 167 BCE.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0021_0_21361.html|title=Zadok|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref> The descendants of Zadok increased in rank and influence, so that his son Azariah was one of the princes of Solomon ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|4:2}}) and [Ahimaaz](/source/Ahimaaz), who married a daughter of Solomon, was probably another of Zadok's sons ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|4:15}}). Either Zadok himself or his grandson was the ruler of the Aaronite priests ({{bibleverse|1 Chronicles|27:17}}), and [Jerusha](/source/Jerusha), the mother of [Jotham](/source/Jotham), is apparently termed the daughter of Zadok to emphasize her noble lineage, since her father may have been a descendant of the first Zadok ({{bibleverse|2 Kings|15:33}}; {{bibleverse|2 Chronicles|27:1}}).

The house of Zadok occupied the high priesthood through much of the [Second Temple period](/source/Second_Temple_period), from Jehoshua ben Jehozadak after the Exile, down to [Simon II](/source/Simon_II_(High_Priest)) (Simon the Just, much praised in [Ben Sira](/source/Ben_Sira) 50), his eldest son [Onias III](/source/Onias_III), and his usurping second son Jason, who introduced the programme of [Hellenisation](/source/Hellenisation) that eventually led to the [Maccabean Revolt](/source/Maccabean_Revolt).

Josephus records that [Onias IV](/source/Onias_IV) went to [Leontopolis](/source/Leontopolis_(Heliopolis)) in the [Egyptian nome](/source/Egyptian_nome) of [Heliopolis](/source/Heliopolis_(Ancient_Egypt)) with a significant following, and for lending military support to the [Ptolemaic](/source/Ptolemaic_dynasty) [Pharaoh](/source/Pharaoh) was given land to build [a rival temple](/source/List_of_Jewish_temples) to the [one in Jerusalem](/source/Temple_in_Jerusalem) (although [Josephus](/source/Josephus) also ascribes this to Onias III, while dating the project so as to suggest Onias II). It has been suggested that Onias or members of his Zadokite house may have also founded the community at [Qumran](/source/Qumran).

==Other theories about Zadok==
[[File:Cornelis de Vos - The Anointing of Solomon.jpg|thumb|right|250px|''The Anointing of Solomon'' by [Cornelis de Vos](/source/Cornelis_de_Vos). According to [1 Kings](/source/Books_of_Kings) 1:39, Zadok [anointed](/source/Anointing) [Solomon](/source/Solomon) as king.]]Some have speculated that as Zadok does not appear in the text of Samuel until after the conquest of [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem), he was actually a [Jebusite](/source/Jebusite) priest co-opted into the [Israelite](/source/Israelite) [state religion](/source/state_religion). Harvard Divinity School Professor [Frank Moore Cross](/source/Frank_Moore_Cross) refers to this theory as the "Jebusite Hypothesis", criticising it extensively, although he terms it the dominant view among contemporary scholars.<ref>See Frank Moore Cross, ''Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel''. Scholars supporting the Jebusite Hypothesis include [H. H. Rowley](/source/H._H._Rowley), [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3259856 "Zadok and Nehushtan"], Journal of Biblical Literature 58:113–141 (1939); [H. H. Rowley](/source/H._H._Rowley), "Melchizedek and Zadok", ''Festschrift [Alfred Bertholet](/source/Alfred_Bertholet)'', pp. 461–472 (1950); Rainer Albertz, ''A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period'' 1:295 (1994); and G. H. Jones, ''The Nathan Narratives'' 20–25, 40–42, 131–135.</ref>

Elsewhere in the Bible, the [Jebusites](/source/Jebusites) are described in a manner that suggests that they worshipped the same God ([El Elyon](/source/El_Elyon)) as the Israelites, in the case of [Melchizedek](/source/Melchizedek). Further support for this theory comes from the fact that other Jebusites or residents of pre-[Israelite](/source/Israelite) Jerusalem bore names invoking the principle or god [Zedek](/source/Zedek) (''Tzedek'') (see, for example, the names Melchizedek and [Adonizedek](/source/Adonizedek)). Under this theory the Aaronic lineage ascribed to [Zadok](/source/Zadok_(High_Priest)) is a later, anachronistic interpolation.<ref>[H. H. Rowley](/source/H._H._Rowley), [https://www.jstor.org/pss/3259856  "Zadok and Nehushtan"], Journal of Biblical Literature 58:113–141 (1939), states that the Bible provides two different genealogies for Zadok (2 Sam 8:17 and 1 Chron 24:3; see also 1 Chron 5:30–34, 6:35-38), "but of these one is almost certainly due to textual corruption, and the other to the pious fabrication of a later age". Rowley follows this statement with an analysis too long to summarize here.</ref>

==Other Zadoks==
{{Main|Sadducees}}
[Abraham Geiger](/source/Abraham_Geiger) was of the opinion that the [Sadducee](/source/Sadducee) ("Tzadoki" in [Mishna](/source/Mishna)ic pronunciation) sect of Judaism drew their name from Zadok, with the leaders of the sect proposed as the sons of Zadok.<ref>Geiger, ''Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibel'', pp. 20 etc.</ref> However, [Rabbinic](/source/Rabbinic_Judaism) sources describe the Sadducee and [Boethusian](/source/Boethusian) groups have originated at the same time, with their founders, ''Zadok'' and ''Boethus'', both being students of [Antigonus of Sokho](/source/Antigonus_of_Sokho) (roughly 3rd century BCE).<ref>[Avoth deRabbi Nathan](/source/Avoth_deRabbi_Nathan) 5:2; [Maimonides](/source/Maimonides), commentary to [Pirkei Avot](/source/Pirkei_Avot) 1:3</ref>

A [Rabbi Zadok](/source/Rabbi_Zadok), one of the [tannaim](/source/tannaim), is mentioned as saved in [Talmud](/source/Talmud) in connection with the destruction of the [Second Temple](/source/Second_Temple).<ref>Talmud Bavli Gittin 56b</ref>

==Patrilineal ancestry==
As per 1 Chronicles chapter 6:
{{Patrilineal descent of the High Priests of Israel|hideafter=18}}

==See also==
*''[Zadok the Priest](/source/Zadok_the_Priest)'' (coronation anthem by [George Frideric Handel](/source/George_Frideric_Handel))
*[List of High Priests of Israel](/source/List_of_High_Priests_of_Israel)
*[Zadig](/source/Zadig)

==References==
{{Reflist|32em}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-rel|isra}}
{{S-bef|before=[Abiathar](/source/Abiathar)}}
{{S-ttl|title=[High Priest of Israel](/source/List_of_High_Priests_of_Israel)}}
{{S-aft|after=[Ahimaaz](/source/Ahimaaz)}}
{{s-end}}

{{High Priests of Judaism}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:High priests of Israel
Category:People from the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)
Category:Jebusites
Category:Books of Kings people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Zadok](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadok) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadok?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.