Like the other members of the order, the High-priest wore on his head a tiara, but attached to this by a blue ribbon was a gold plate, on which was engraved _Holiness to the Lord_ (Ex. xxviii. 36–39; xxxix. 30).
Some of the functions of the High-priest were peculiar. (i) To him alone it appertained to enter the Holy of Holies on one day in the year, the day of Atonement, to sprinkle the blood of the sin-offering on the mercy-seat, and burn incense within the veil (Lev. xvi.). On this occasion he did not wear his full pontifical dress, but was arrayed entirely in fine white linen (Lev. xvi. 4, 32), a custom which afterwards seems to have undergone some change. (ii) To him alone it belonged to consult the Divine Oracle (Num. xxvii. 21), and preside over the Court of Judgment (Deut. xvii. 9). (iii) Even greater purity and blamelessness was required of him than of the other priests; he could marry none but a virgin in the first freshness of her youth (Lev. xxi. 13), and as illegitimacy was an absolute bar to the office, the importance attached to genealogies was great, and in these the name of the mother as well as father was registered.
The office lasted for life, but does not seem to have had any peculiar emoluments attached to it over and above those enjoyed by the Priests.
_THE SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS._ EX. XXIX. XXX. LEV. I.–VI. NUM. XV.
THE rite of sacrifice so universal in the ancient world came down to the Israelites from the earliest times, from the days of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the generations that lived before the Flood, and was regulated by Moses with the utmost precision.
One rule applied to all sacrifices. They could only be offered on the _Great Brazen Altar of the Tabernacle_. To offer them on high places, or spots selected by the caprice of the worshipper was expressly forbidden (Lev. xvii. 4; Deut. xii. 13, 14), though this rule appears to have been subsequently relaxed in the case of the prophets (1 Sam. xiii. 8–14; xvi. 1–5; 1 Kings xviii. 21–40).
Perhaps the simplest classification of sacrifices is that which arranges them under the heads of (I) THOSE OFFERED WITHOUT, and (II) THOSE OFFERED WITH BLOOD.
I. _Unbloody sacrifices_ will include (a) _First-fruits and Tithes_, (b) _Meat- and Drink-offerings_, (c) _Incense_.