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The Jewish Encyclopedia makes this surprising factual claim:

In ancient Israel one was not required to be specially consecrated in order to perform the sacrificial functions; any one might approach the altar and offer sacrifices. Thus Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh (Judges vi. 26 et seq.), and the Danite Manoah (ib. xiii. 16, 19) sacrificed in person at the express command of God and the angel of God respectively...

One might think these were exceptional cases, while ordinary priests operated at the Tabernacle. However, when I looked up the word "priest" in the Book of Judges, I found that although the term is used about a dozen times, none of these refers to an authorized priest at the Tabernacle. In fact all of the instances refer to a renegade priesthood, first under the wealthy Ephraimite Michah (Judges 17) and then under the tribe of Dan (Judges 18).

Other than this I find no references to priests as such in the Book of Judges. Later, Samuel acted as priest, judge and prophet. Do we know of any specific Aaronic priests in the Book of Judges itself? I see that Judges 21:19 mentions the Tabernacle being located at Shiloh, north of Bethel, but no such priests are named. Critical scholars sometimes give the opinion that the priesthood of Aaron and his descendants is anachronistic. This hypothesis is strengthened by absence of Aaronic priests in the Book of Judges.

I would appreciate additional information about the priestly office in the time of the judges.

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  • I think that is the point - most people were so rebellious that they ignored the form priesthood which caused anarchy.
    – Dottard
    Commented Oct 28 at 21:26

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Perhaps we can find a little light on the subject by looking outside Judges.

Firstly, Eli and his sons, priests at Shiloh, are not in the book of Judges, but they belong to the same historical period (i.e. before the kings).

Secondly, we should recognise the importance of the incident at Shittim (Numbers ch25), in which Phinehas (son of Eleazar, son of Aaron) took decisive action. This is sufficient to make God declare "Behold, I shall give to him my covenant of peace; and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood." The same episode is also quoted in the Psalms; "Then Phinehas stood up... and that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation for ever" (Psalm 106 vv30-31).

According to a parenthesis in Judges ch20 vv27-28, the same Phinehas was at the time of the story ministering before the ark of the covenant, when the people met at Bethel. And one of the sons of Eli at Shiloh was apparently named after him.

These various clues suggest that during the time of Judges there was at the very least a line of priests serving the ark, perhaps regarding themselves as belonging to the house of Phinehas.

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  • +1 Good hints! On the other hand, I'm intrigued by @Vincent Wong's info about the apparent non-centrality of the shrine at Shiloh at this time. In other words how important was the ark in Israelite worship? I'm also reminded that in Samaritan tradition Eli was an schismatic priest who created a fake ark... the real one being at Mt. Gerizim.
    – Dan Fefferman
    Commented Oct 29 at 13:55
  • @Dan Fefferman Perhaps, as a "national shrine", Shiloh saw most life at the annual festivals which are implied in some of the texts. "The yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh"- Judges ch21 v19. "He went up year by year to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh", 1 Samuel ch1 v3. Then it would be central to the nation without being an element of daily life.
    – Stephen Disraeli
    Commented Oct 29 at 15:11
  • I don't see a "nation" in the book of Judges. The author bemoans this fact when he repeatedly complains that "there was no king in Israel" yet. When a judge emerged, he/she is described as a tribal leader more than a national figure. The judge who comes closest to being a national leaders IMO was Deborah, and she was headquartered 'between Ramah and Bethel in the mountain region of Ephraim." Nothing happens at Shiloh until late in the book.
    – Dan Fefferman
    Commented Oct 30 at 14:53
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It is likely that Shiloh, where the Lord's tabernacle was located, was rarely visited by the Israelites during the time of Judges. Following the massacre in Gibeah, the Benjamin tribe was nearly extinct. In Judges 21:16-24, the elders of Israel suggested that the surviving Benjamite go to Shiloh, where, during the annual festival of the Lord, young women would come out dancing. The elders described Shiloh as if it were a little-known place. If it had been popular, just mentioned its name would have been enough.

Judges 21:19 (NIV)

But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

The descendants of Aaron lived until the time of Nehemiah. Nehemiah 12:47 states:

So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron. (NIV)

As long as the descendants of Aaron lived, their priesthood continued. It is sorrowful that most Israelites turned to worshipping idols, like the tribe of Dan described in Judges 18. The author of Judges concludes this period in Judges 21:25

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. (NIV)

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  • +1 Thanks for the info about Shiloh in Judges 21. One gets the feeling that there was little distinction between Aaronic and levitical priests during this period... and almost anyone could act as a priest since there was not royal authority to prevent it.
    – Dan Fefferman
    Commented Oct 29 at 13:49
  • @DanFefferman- the story of Micah shows that a Levite had preferential status as a priest over others. Micah initially took his sons as priests but later found a Levite to serve instead. Thanks for your question, it helps to address a peculiar feeling I had when reading the story of Hannah in 1 Sam 1. Despite it being a festival day, there's a sense of desolation, as Eli observed Hannah's subtle emotions. This add to my belief that many Israelites did not fulfill their obligations and made their sacrifices in Shiloh during the annual festivals, as stipulated in Exodus 23:14-17.
    – Vincent Wong
    Commented Oct 29 at 19:25

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