Tuesday, January 13, 2009

That Rope around the High Priest’s Ankle

It’s a myth. Sorry to ruin such a good story for you.

The notion that the high priest would tie a rope around his ankle before entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) so that his body could be pulled out should he Tabernacle high priest, tb022804700be struck down is not found in any ancient source, including the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, the Apocrypha, the Mishnah, the Babylonian Talmud, or the Jerusalem Talmud.

The earliest reference that I know of is in a 13th century A.D. Jewish work, the Zohar:

A knot of rope of gold hangs from his leg, from fear perhaps he would die in the holy of holies, and they would need to pull him out with this rope.

The Zohar says a lot of other things that are not trustworthy. In fact, wearing such a rope would probably be a violation of Leviticus 16:3-4, which gives clear directions on what the high priest is to wear on Yom Kippur:

But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. (ESV)

John Gill cites this story in his Exposition of New Testament, published in 1746-48. Concerning Hebrews 9:7, he cites “Zohar in Lev. fol. 43. 3. & Imre Binah in ib”:

The Jews say, that a cord or thong was bound to the feet of the high-priest when he went into the holy of holies, that if he died there, the rest might be able to draw him out; for it was not lawful for another priest to go in, no, not an high-priest, none besides him on the day of atonement.

There are many websites and other sources that perpetuate this legend (including the NIV Study Bible on Exodus 28:35).

Another webpage that discusses this myth is located at ChristianAnswers.net.

UPDATE (8/27/09): Rabbi Dr. Ari Z. Zivotofsky has written a lengthy article refuting the claim in the Zohar.

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posted by Todd Bolen at 9:22 AM

11 Comments:

  • You Don't Mess with the Zohar

    coming to theaters near you

    By Anonymous A.D., at Tue Jan 13, 09:40:00 AM  

  • If there is no basis to the custom, what's the rationale in bringing it up (creating it) nearly 13 centuries after the Second Temple had already been destroyed?

    By Blogger Ze'ev, at Tue Jan 13, 01:16:00 PM  

  • John Gill was a hyper-Calvinist.

    By Blogger EW Zeller, at Tue Jan 13, 01:22:00 PM  

  • wow, that is weird...i always thought it was in there...this reminds me of what CW always told us to just stop reading what others told us was there and just read what it says...wow!

    i am kinda sad, but no reason i guess

    By Blogger DellaRose, at Tue Jan 13, 04:32:00 PM  

  • Ze'ev - I haven't spent much time reading medieval Jewish (or Christian) works, but based on other studies, it's easy to see how traditions evolve or are created. This one certainly seems logical. One only has to ask the question, what would happen if the high priest died when he was in a place no one else could go. Someone theorized that if a rope was tied on his ankle, that would solve the problem. Over time, a theory became a reality.

    By Blogger Todd Bolen, at Tue Jan 13, 06:34:00 PM  

  • Todd, perhaps that could be the explanation, however in the face of the fact that there seems to be explicit guidelines as to exactly what the High priest can wear, and nothing else - how something would get added to the list.

    It's as if the Biblical commandments were put aside to come up with a "cute" idea to answer some hypothetical question...

    By Blogger Ze'ev, at Tue Jan 13, 11:23:00 PM  

  • >It's as if the Biblical commandments were put aside to come up with a "cute" idea to answer some hypothetical question...
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    That said, look at all the crazy stuff that gets invented in the Middle Ages about Christianity.

    You could ask "Why would anyone make up St. George killing a dragon if he didn't?"

    It appears that lots of stuff gets made up for all sorts of reasons all the time, expecially in religion.

    I agree with the criticism. If the 13th C AD is the first mention of this, I would tend to assume it not true until an earlier source is found.

    BTW, this sounds like the kind of fact that Josephus would have loved to recount if it was true (if fact, even if it wasn't).

    By Anonymous Al Sandalow, at Tue Jan 13, 11:32:00 PM  

  • Ze'ev, who knows what was in the heads of the authors of the Zohar?! That book is, essentially, nuts.

    By Blogger Kevin P. Edgecomb, at Wed Jan 14, 12:48:00 AM  

  • I see that the Aramaic of the Zohar does not match the English. This portion is an interpolation of the Kabbalah Center:

    FROM FEAR PERHAPS HE WOULD DIE IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES, AND THEY WOULD NEED TO PULL HIM OUT WITH THIS ROPE.

    I am trying to find out if these words are based on an authoritative commentary, or are just a totally imaginative idea to try to explain the original text, which only says:

    a knot of gold hangs from his leg...

    By Blogger JesusOverIsrael, at Mon Feb 09, 05:19:00 PM  

  • I have always understood Ex 28:33-35 to mean that God promises that the high priest will not die whilst carrying out this most holy task.

    By Anonymous Roland Ramsdale, at Thu Apr 09, 08:37:00 AM  

  • If the high priest did die in the holy of holies, everyone knew who the next high priest was, and presumably he could enter the holy of holies and retrieve the body.

    By Blogger Edward, at Sun Aug 02, 07:18:00 AM  

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