Funny because the Torah(Pentateuch-First five books of the Bible) speaks of Aaron being appointed through a ritual along side with the other levites that were to serve the Tabernacle. If any it contradicts your position. Also the "Hebrews" speak of "semikhah" . In Judaism there is a ritual of ordination(semikhah) also.
Yes, there is the initial ordination of Aaron and the other Levites initially. After this, it is traced through their lines, as I said. Whether or not there is a particular "ordination" rite for those descendants that would be performed at a particular time, I'm unsure. Regardless, they become priests by virtue of their lineage. No contradiction.
Funny, because the book of Hebrews is in Greek. It may have initially been in Hebrew or Aramiac, but to my knowledge there are no extant manuscripts.
"Kohen (or Kohain; Hebrew: כֹּהֵן, "priest", pl. כֹּהֲנִים Kohanim) is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohanim are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron."
The modern Kohenim may or may not be directly from Aaron. I don't know nor care, as that current tradition is post-Christian. It isn't pertinent.
"In a broader sense, since Aaron was a descendant of the Tribe of Levi, priests are sometimes included in the term Levites, by direct patrilineal descent. However, not all Levites are priests.
When the Temple existed, most sacrifices and offerings could only be conducted by priests. Non-priest Levites (i.e. all those who descended from Levi, the son of Jacob, but not from Aaron) performed a variety of other Temple roles, including ritual slaughter of animals, song service by use of voice and musical instruments, and various tasks in assisting the priests in performing their service."
You just "contradicted" yourself in this above by mentioning that others were ordained to serve alongside Aaron. Make up my mind, please.
The question is, were the Aaronic priests ordained on the time of John the Baptist? Was John the Baptist an ordained priest? Was the Aaronic priesthood up to ordination? Exod 30:30 say annoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them.
Actually, the High Priest was no longer Aaronic at the time of Christ. King David appointed a man named Zadoch as High Priest in the Temple, and those descendants of Zadoch (the "Sadducees") were the priestly caste in the time of Christ.
Was any authority passed from St John the Baptist to Jesus? I heard it say that St John the Baptist transferred his priesthood to Jesus, or something like that.. How come was Jesus able to preach in the synagogue, and was seen as a Rabbi? According to modern Judaism Rabbi's were to be ordained through the laying of hands. Was St John the Baptist a Rabbi himself? Did he appointed Jesus as a Rabbi?
What is the priesthood of Mechilzedek?
P.S I read the whole Bible including the book of Hebrews multiple times. As a pointer for Benjamin the Red.
Then you've heard wrong, from someone who lacks and Orthodox understanding. The book of Hebrews, which you say you've read, makes a clear argument that the Levitical priesthood was inadequate, and that Christ's priesthood is superior, by being the "priesthood of Melchizidek." For more on that, read (or "re-read") Abraham's encounter with Melchizidek and the arguments put forth in the book of Hebrews about Christ's priesthood.
Rabbis need not be from a priestly caste. That's actually what makes them rabbis most of the time, being learned Jewish men that aren't priests. Rabbis come from any tribe, and still do today in modern Judaism. The Pharisees were a particular class of rabbis, but not priests. Those were the Sadducees. As "rabbi" simply means teacher, I'd imagine that such an "ordination" of a rabbi, as occurs today, had not yet formed, and any who presumed to teach and gathered a following became considered a rabbi, at least by their followers. I imagine this is similar to the Orthodox use of the term "Elder" (e.g., "Geronda", "Startez") today.
