The Ram of Ordination and Qualifying the Priests to Eat Sacrifices

Abstract

The priests qualified for their priestly function in three main ways: being robed in the priestly vestments; being anointed; and undergoing the ceremony of the days of ordination. This article is intended to clarify the contribution of each of the three components of the procedure, but especially that of the ram of ordination. A semantic and literary analysis demonstrates that donning the vestments qualifies the priests to minister in the tabernacle; anointing them makes them ‘holy’; and the ram ceremony qualifies them to eat the sacrifices that are offered on the altar.