Introduction

Abstract

Abstract How did the high priesthood go from being an important, but subordinate, office in the kingdom of Judah to being the principal source of authority in the Hasmonean period? Answering this question has been hampered by deficient theoretical reflections on the nature and exercise of power, and by a failure to consider the full range of relevant texts from the Persian and early Hellenistic periods. After highlighting these problems, this chapter draws on Foucault and Gramsci to provide a better theoretical basis for thinking about power and makes the case for analysing the tabernacle account and related texts in the Pentateuch.