Zadok himself was the first high priest in Solomon's Temple (10th century BCE). His descendants were high priests in that temple until its destruction in 587 BCE. Ezekiel's prophecy came several decades after that destruction, and describes the Zadokite family's loyalty to God while the rest of the nation rebelled against God.
The sons of Zadok are mentioned four times in the Hebrew Bible, as part of the Third Temple prophecy in the final chapters of the Book of Ezekiel,[1] and are a theme in Jewish and Christian interpretation of these chapters.
Hebrew Bible[edit]
Ezekiel 44:5–15 describes the "rebellion" of the Israelite people and of the Levites. The sins involved in this rebellion include idol worship[2] and the offering of sacrifices by uncircumcised foreigners.[3] As punishment, the "Levites" (including non-Zadokite priests, who are not called priests because they have lost their priestly role[4]) will be demoted from the sacrificial service and will only perform common tasks.[5]
In contrast (the prophecy continues), the "Levite priests, sons of Zadok" remained loyal to God when the remainder of the people strayed, and therefore they will be entitled to perform the future sacrificial service.[6] The passage then continues with a series of laws the sons of Zadok must keep.[7]
Rabbinical commentary[edit]
Choice of Zadok[edit]
According to the Bible, Aaron received a perpetual priestly covenant by which his descendants, and only his descendants, would be priests.[8]
According to some commentaries, the priesthood was further restricted to descendants of Aaron's son Eleazar after Eleazar inherited Aaron's priestly robes (Numbers 20:24–28), and further restricted to descendants of Eleazar's son Pinchas after Pinchas performed his act of zealotry.[9]
Nevertheless, later on the high priesthood was held by Eli, a descendant of Itamar (Eleazar's brother). Torah commentators attribute this to Pinchas' later sins (not instructing the masses in the leadup to the Battle of Gibeah, and not relieving Jephthah of his vow).[10] But upon the sin of Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, a "man of God" prophesied the extinction of their priesthood:
Second Temple sects[edit]
Qumran[edit]
Various documents of the texts found at Qumran mention the teachers of the community as "kohanim Sons of Zadok",[55] leading some scholars to assume that the community at Qumran included priests who refused to participate in the Hellenization of the priesthood then taking place in Jerusalem.[56]