p. 20
CHAPTER V
MISHNA: (a) The following were the heads of offices a1 in the Sanctuary: Johanan, son of Pinchas, keeper of the seals a2; A'hia, (superintendent) of drink-offerings; Mathia, son of Samuel, (superintendent) of the casting of lots a3; Petha'hia, (superintendent) of bird-offerings. a4 Petha'hia is Mordecai, but why do they call him Petha'hia? Because he used to expound and interpret scriptures, and was master of seventy languages. Ben A'hia was (superintendent) of the cures of priests suffering with abdominal diseases. a5 Ne'huniah was master of the well. a6
p. 21
Gebini was herald. a7 Ben Gabhar was turnkey of the gates. a8 Ben Bebai was master of the temple-guard. a9 Ben Arzah was master of the kettledrums (which were beaten as a signal for the Levites to commence their chant). Higros, son of Levi, was (leader) of the singing. The family of Garmo (superintended) the making of the showbreads. a10 The family of Abtinos (superintended) the preparing of the incense. a11 Elazar (superintended) the making of the curtains. a12 Pinchas superintended the vestments. a13
p. 22
(b) No less than three treasurers and seven chamberlains must be appointed, b1 and no less than two officers were put in charge of public moneys. Exceptions were made in the cases of Ben A'hia, superintendent of the cures of the sick, and Elazar, superintendent of the preparation of curtains, because they were unanimously elected by the community.
(c) There were four seals in the Sanctuary, inscribed with the words Egel (calf), Sachar (ram), Gdi (kid), and 'Houte (sinner, meaning here one covered with sores). Ben Azai says, that there were five (seals), and the inscriptions were in Aramaic, meaning: calf, ram, kid, poor sinner (one afflicted with sores), and rich sinner (one afflicted with sores). The one inscribed with "calf" was used for drink-offerings brought with offerings of the herds, large or small, male or female; the one inscribed with "kid" was used for drink-offerings brought with offerings of the flocks, large or small, male or female, with the exception of rams; the one inscribed with "ram" served for drink-offerings brought only with rams; the seal inscribed with "sinner" served for drink-offerings brought with the three cattle-offerings of those afflicted with sores. c1
p. 23
(d) One who desired to bring drink-offerings, for instance, went to Johanan, who was keeper of the seals, paid his money, and received a seal; he then went to A'hia, who had charge of the drink-offerings, gave him the seal, and received the drink-offering. In the evening the two officers came together, when A'hia turned over the seal and received instead the money. If there was too much money, it belonged to the Sanctuary; if too little, Johanan had to supply the deficit: for the sanctuary had that prerogative.
(e) One who lost his seal had to wait until evening. If there was a surplus sufficient to cover the seal, e1 he was given the drink-offering for that amount; otherwise, he did not receive it. The date of the day was on the seal to prevent fraud.
(f) There were two chambers in the sanctuary. One was
p. 24
called chamber of the silent, the other chamber of utensils. In the former, devout men secretly gave charitable gifts, and the poor of good family received there secretly their sustenance. In the other chamber, every one who desired to offer a utensil voluntarily, laid it down. Every thirty days the treasurers opened the chamber, and every utensil found to be fit for the maintenance of the Temple was preserved, while the others were sold and the proceeds went to the treasury for the maintenance of the Temple. f1
Footnotes
20:a1
CHAPTER V.
MISHNA a. The list of officers enumerated by the Mishna were not all officers at the same time, but served at different periods, and the Mishna merely names the most important and pious among them.
20:a2 See Mishna d, same chapter.
20:a3 Lots were cast for the determination of the turn of the priests for each particular service. The superintendent would keep a record of such as were eligible for duty, and then cast lots for the priest who was to serve.