Zadok
VIEW:17 DATA:01-04-2020
ZADOK.1. Founder of an important branch of the priesthood in Jerusalem. The reading of MT [Note: Massoretic Text.] in 2Sa_8:17 (= 1Ch_18:16) being doubtful, there is no definite information concerning his family except in the genealogical lists in 1Ch_6:4-15; 1Ch_6:50-53; 1Ch_24:3, in which his descent is traced from Eleazar the elder son of Aaron; but these details are of doubtful reliability. He is first mentioned in 2Sa_8:17, where perhaps he should be associated with Abiathar in the correct text, as he is in 2Sa_15:24 ff. He was appointed priest by Solomon in place of Abiathar (1Ki_2:26 f., 1Ki_2:35), because of his own loyalty (1Ki_1:8) and the disloyalty of Abiathar (1Ki_1:7). From this it is evident that his position hitherto had been inferior to that of Abiathar, although his name regularly has the precedence in Samuel. From the time of Solomon the descendants of Zadok constituted the most prominent family among the priests, the high priests being taken from them till the time of the Maccabees. To Ezekiel the Zadokites are the only legitimate priests (Eze_40:46; Eze_43:19; Eze_44:16; Eze_48:11). 2. A warrior of Davids, of the house of Aaron (1Ch_12:28), identified by Josephus (Ant. VII. ii. 2) with 1, against all probability. 3. Maternal grandfather of Jotham (2Ki_15:33, 2Ch_27:1). 4. Son of Baanah (see Ezr_2:2, Neh_7:7), a helper of Nehemiah in re-building the wall (Neh_3:4). 5. Son of Immer, repairer of a portion of the wall (Neh_3:29). 6. The scribe, probably a priest, appointed a treasurer by Nehemiah (Neh_13:13); perhaps to be identified with 5. 7. One of the chiefs of the people who sealed the covenant (Neh_10:21). 8. A high priest later than 1 (1Ch_6:12 [cf. Ezr_7:2, Neh_11:11]a passage of doubtful historicity). 9. An ancestor of Joseph the husband of Mary (Mat_1:14 [AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] Sadoc]).
George R. Berry.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
1. Son of Ahitub, of the house of Eleazar, son of Aaron (1Ch_24:3). Joined David at Hebron after Saul's death, with 22 captains of his father's house. At Absalom's revolt Zadok and the Levites bearing the ark accompanied David in leaving Jerusalem, but at his request returned with the ark and along with Hushai and Abiathar became David's medium of knowing events passing in the city, through Jonathan and Ahimaaz. At Absasalom's death David desired Zadok and Abiathar to persuade the elders of Judah to invite him to return (2 Samuel 15; 2 Samuel 17; 2 Samuel 19). Zadok remained faithful in Adonijah's rebellion when Abiathar joined it. Zadok, with Nathan the prophet, anointed Solomon at Gihon by David's command (a second anointing took place subsequently: 1Ch_29:22). So Solomon put Zadok instead of Abiathar, fulfilling the curse on Eli (1 Samuel 2; 3; 1Ki_2:27; 1Ki_2:35; 1Ki_4:4; 1Ch_29:22). (See ABIATHAR.)
David made him ruler over the Aaronites (1Ch_27:17); their number in 1Ch_12:27-28, is said to be 3,700 under Jehoiada. Zadok did not survive to the dedication of Solomon's temple, but Azariah his son or grandson (1Ch_6:8-9) was then high priest (1Ch_6:10; 1Ki_4:2). His descendants continued in the high priesthood (compare 2Ch_31:10, "Azariah of the house of Zadok chief priest") until the time of Antiochus Eupator. The double high priesthood of Zadok and Abiathar answers to that of the chief priest and second priest (2Ki_25:18; Luk_3:2 "Annas and Caiaphas being high priest);" compare 2Ch_31:10, "Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok." Zadok ministered mainly before the tabernacle at Gibeon (1Ch_16:39). Abiathar bad charge of the ark in Jerusalem; so formerly Eleazar and Ithamar, Hophni and Phinehas, were joint chief priests. Even while the line of Ithamar in the person of Eli was foremost, Eleazar's house held its ground on a kind of parity, Ahitub, Zadok's father, being called "ruler of the house of God" (1Ch_9:11; Neh_11:11).
2. A second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub, son of Amariah; in king Amaziah's time. ((See HIGH PRIEST.) Many links are omitted in these lists (1Ch_6:12; 1Ch_9:11; Ezr_7:1-5); the repetition of the same names in a family is natural.
3. Father of Jerushah, king Uzziah's wife (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1).
4. Son of Baana, repaired the wall (Neh_3:4), signed the covenant (Neh_10:21); a chief of the people, of the tribe of Judah (for Baana was a Netophathite of Judah, 2Sa_23:29). Intermarriages of Judah with the tribe of Levi were frequent, Whence Zadok appears in Judah (Mat_1:14).
5. Son of Immer, a priest; repaired over against his own house (Neh_3:29); of the 16th course (1Ch_24:14).
6. Neh_11:11; 1Ch_9:11. Son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub; some omission or error of copyists is suspected from comparing the list, Ezr_7:1-5; 1Ch_6:3-14, where a Meraioth is grandfather or great grandfather of Zadok. The name is equivalent to the "Justus" of Act_1:28; Act_18:7; Col_4:11.
7. Set over the treasuries by Nehemiah (Neh_13:13) to distribute to brethren; "the scribe."
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Za'dok. (just). Son of Ahitub and one of the two chief priests, in the time of David, Abiathar being the other. Zadok was of the house of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, 1Ch_24:3, and eleventh in descent from Aaron. 1Ch_12:28. He joined David at Hebron, after Saul's death, 1Ch_12:28, and thenceforth, his fidelity to David was inviolable. When Absalom revolted and David fled from Jerusalem, Zadok and all the Levites bearing the Ark accompanied him. When Absalom was dead, Zadok and Abiathar were the persons who persuaded the elders of Judah to invite David to return. 2Sa_19:11.
When Adonijah, in David's old age, set up for king, and had persuaded Joab, and Abiathar, the priest, to join his party, Zadok was unmoved, and was employed by David, to anoint Solomon to be king in his room. 1Ki_1:34. For this fidelity, he was rewarded by Solomon who "thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord," and "put in Zadok the priest" in his room. 1Ki_2:27; 1Ki_2:35. From this time, however, we hear little of him. Zadok and Abiathar were of nearly equal dignity. 2Sa_15:35-36; 2Sa_19:11. The duties of the office were divided, Zadok ministered before the tabernacle at Gibeon, 1Ch_16:39, Abiathar had the care of the Ark at Jerusalem.
2. According to the genealogy of the high priests in 1Ch_6:12, there was a second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub, son of Amariah, about the time of King Ahaziah. It is probable that no such person as this second Zadok ever existed, but that the insertion of the two names is a copyist's error.
3. Father of Jerushah, the wife of King Uzziah and mother of King Jotham. 2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1.
4. Son of Baana, a person who repaired a portion of the wall in Nehemiah's time. Neh_3:4; Neh_3:29.
5. Son of Immer, a person who repaired a portion of the wall in Nehemiah's time. Neh_3:4; Neh_3:29.
6. In 1Ch_9:11 and Neh_11:11, mention is made, in a genealogy, of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub; but it can hardly be doubtful that Meraioth is inserted by the error of a copyist, and that Zadok, the son of Ahitub, is meant.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
son of Ahitub, high priest of the Jews, of the race of Eleazar. At the death of Ahimelech, or Abiathar, he came to the pontificate, A.M. 2944. For some time there were two high priests in Israel, 2Sa_8:17; 2Sa_15:24, &c; 2Sa_19:11-12; 1Ki_1:8, &c. After the death of David, 1Ki_2:35, Solomon excluded Abiathar from the high priesthood, because he espoused the party of Adonijah, and made Zadok high priest alone.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Zadok and Abiathar were the two Levitical priests who became members of Davids royal court (2Sa_8:17). At the time of Absaloms rebellion, they helped David by remaining in Jerusalem to become spies on Davids behalf (2Sa_15:24-37; 2Sa_19:11). Later, however, in the palace conflict over Davids successor, Zadok supported Solomon, and Abiathar supported Adonijah. As a result Solomon promoted Zadok to chief priest and sent Abiathar into exile (1Ki_1:5-8; 1Ki_1:43-45; 1Ki_2:26; 1Ki_2:35).
Since Zadok belonged to the line of chief priests that went back through Phinehas and Eleazar to Aaron (Ezr_7:2-5), his appointment to the high priesthood was in keeping with the plan and promise of God (Num_25:10-13). His descendants followed him as chief priests till the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC (2Ch_31:10). Because they remained faithful to God throughout that period, they were designated the chief priests in the religious system that Ezekiel looked for in the rebuilt nation (Eze_40:46; Eze_44:15).
History shows that after the reconstruction of Israel, descendants of Zadok continued to be the chief priests for several centuries. The Sadducees, who formed the priestly party that later became powerful in Israel, possibly took their name from Zadok (see SADDUCEES).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
zā?dok (צדוק, cādowḳ, once צדק, cādhōḳ (1Ki_1:26), similar to צדּיק, caddı̄ḳ, and צדּוּק, caddūḳ, post-Biblical, meaning justus, ?righteous?; Septuagint Σαδώκ, Sadṓk): Cheyne in Encyclopedia Biblica suggests that Zadok was a modification of a Gentilic name, that of the Zidkites the Negeb, who probably derived their appellation from the root צדק, cdḳ, a secondary title of the god they worshipped. At the same time Cheyne admits that cultivated Israelites may have interpreted Zadok as meaning ?just,? ?righteous? - a much more credible supposition.
(1) Zadok the son of Ahitub (2Sa_8:17) - not of Ahitub the ancestor of Ahimelech (1Sa_14:3) and of Abiathar, his son (1Sa_22:20).
(2) Zadok father of Jerusha, mother of Jotham, and wife of Uzziah king of Judah (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1).
(3) Zadok the son of Ahitub and father of Shallum (1Ch_6:12) or Meshullam (Neh_11:11), and the ancestor of Ezra (Ezr_7:1, Ezr_7:2).
(4) Zadok the son of Baana, a wall-builder in the time of Nehemiah (Neh_3:4), and probably one of the signatories to the covenant made by the princes, priests and Levites of Israel (Neh_10:21) - in both places his name occurring immediately after that of Meshezabel.
(5) Zodak the son of Immer, and, like the preceding, a repairer of the wall (Neh_3:29).
(6) Zodak a scribe in the time of Nehemiah (Neh_13:13). Whether this was the same as either of the two preceding cannot be determined.
The first of these filled a larger place in Old Testament history than either of the others; and to him accordingly the following paragraphs refer. They set forth the accounts given of him first in Samuel and Kings and next in Chronicles; after which they state and criticize the critical theory concerning him.
1. In Samuel and Kings:
(1) In these older sources Zodak first appears in David's reign, after Israel and Judah were united under him, as joint occupant with Ahimelech of the high priest's office and his name taking precedence of that of his colleague Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar (2Sa_8:17).
(2) On David's flight from Jerusalem, occasioned by Absalom's rebellion, Zadok and Abiathar (now the joint high priest), accompanied by the whole body of the Levites, followed the king across the Kidron, bearing the Ark of the Covenant, which, however, they were directed to carry back to the city, taking with them their two sons, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, to act as spies upon the conduct of the rebels and send information to the king (2Sa_15:24-36; 2Sa_17:15, 2Sa_17:17-21).
(3) On the death of Absalom, Zodak and Abiathar were employed by David as intermediaries between himself and the elders of Judah to consult about his return to the city, which through their assistance was successfully brought about (2Sa_19:11).
(4) When, toward the end of David's life, Adonijah the son of Haggith, and therefore the crown prince, put forward his claim to the throne of all Israel, taking counsel with Joab and Abiathar, Zodak along with Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, espoused the cause of Solomon, Bathsheba's son, and acting on David's instructions anointed him as king in Gihon (1Ki_1:8, 1Ki_1:26, 1Ki_1:32-45).
(5) Accordingly, when Solomon found himself established on the throne, he put Zodak in the room of Abiathar, i.e. made him sole high priest, while retaining Abiathar in the priestly office, though deposed from a position of coordinate authority with Zodak (1Ki_2:26, 1Ki_2:27, 1Ki_2:35; 1Ki_4:4).
2. In Chronicles:
(1) As in the earlier sources so in these, Zodak's father was Ahitub and his son Ahimaaz - the information being added that they were all descendants from Aaron through Eleazar (1Ch_6:50-53).
(2) Among the warriors who came to Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul to David was ?Zodak, a young man mighty of valor,? who was followed by 22 captains of his father house (1Ch_12:26-28).
(3) Along with Abiathar and the Levites, Zodak was directed by David to bring up the Ark from the house of Obed-edom to the tent pitched for it on Mt. Zion, when Zodak was appointed to officiate at Gibeon, while Abiathar, it is presumed, ministered in Jerusalem (1Ch_15:11; 1Ch_16:39).
(4) Toward the end of David's reign Zodak and Abimelech the son of Abiathar acted as priests, Zodak as before having precedence (1Ch_18:16).
(5) To them was committed by the aged king the task of arranging the priests and Levites according to their several duties, it being intimated by the narrator that Zodak was of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech (in 1Ch_18:16, named Abiathar; see above) of the sons of Ithamar (1Ch_24:3). In 1Ch_24:6 Ahimelech is called the son of Abiathar, while in 1Ch_18:16, Abiathar's son is Abimelech - which suggests that the letters b and h were interchangeable in the name of Abiathar's sons.
(6) When Solomon was anointed king, Zodak was anointed (sole) priest (1Ch_29:22).
Obviously a large measure of agreement exists between the two narratives. Yet some points demand explanation.
3. Harmony of the Accounts:
(1) The seeming discrepancy between the statements in the earlier sources, that Zodak's colleague in the high priest's office is first named Ahimelech (2Sa_8:17) and afterward Abiathar (2Sa_15:24), should occasion little perplexity. Either Ahimelech and Abiathar were one and the same person - not an unlikely supposition (see above); or, what is more probable, Abiathar was Ahimelech's son and had succeeded to his father's office.
(2) Zodak's appearance as a young soldier among the captains who brought David to Jerusalem (assuming that Zodak the soldier was Zodak the priest, which is not absolutely certain) need create no difficulty, if Zodak was not then of age to succeed his father in the priestly office. The earlier sources do not make Zodak an acting priest till after David's accession to the throne of all Israel.
(3) Neither should it prove an insoluble problem to explain how, soon after David's accession to the throne of Judah and Israel, Zodak should be found engaged along with Abiathar in bringing up the Ark to Mt. Zion, as by this time Zodak had obviously entered on the high-priestly office, either in succession to or as colleague of his father.
(4) That Zodak was left to officiate at Gibeon where the tabernacle was, while Abiathar was selected to exercise office in the capital, in no way conflicts with the earlier account and seems reasonable as a distribution of official duties. Why Zodak was sent to Gibeon, where the tabernacle was, and not kept at Jerusalem whither the Ark had been brought, he being always named before Abiathar and probably looked upon as the principal high priest, may have had its reason either in the fact that the king regarded Gibeon as the central sanctuary for national worship, the tabernacle being there (Solomon obviously did; see 2Ch_1:3), and therefore as the proper place for the principal high priest; or in the fact that Zodak was younger than Abiathar and therefore less fitted than his older colleague to be at court, as an adviser to the king.
(5) That toward the end of David's reign, not Abiathar, but his son Ahimelech (or Abimelech), should be introduced as joint high priest with Zodak will not be surprising, if Abiathar was by this time an old man, as his father was at the beginning of David's reign. That grandfather and grandson should have the same name is as likely to have been common then as it is today.
(6) That Zodak should have been appointed sole high priest on Solomon's accession (1Ch_29:22) is not inconsistent with the statement (1Ki_4:4) that under Solomon Zodak and Abiathar were priests. Abiathar might still be recognized as a priest or even as a high priest, though no longer acting as such. The act of deposition may have affected his son Ahimelech as well, and if both father and son were degraded, perhaps this was only to the extent of excluding them from the chief dignity of high priest.
4. The Higher Critical Theory:
The higher criticism holds: (1) that the Zadok of David's reign was not really an Aaronite descended from Eleazar through Ahitub, who was not Zadok's father but Ahimelech's (Gray in EB, article ?Ahitub?), but an adventurer, a soldier of fortune who had climbed up into the priest's office, though by what means is not known (Wellhausen, GJ, 145); (2) that up till Zadok's appearance the priesthood had been in Ithamar's line, though, according to the insertion by a later writer in the text of 1 Sam 2 (see 1Sa_2:27 ff), in Eli's day it was predicted that it should pass from Eli's house and be given to another; (3) that when Abiathar or Ahimelech or both were deposed and Zadok instituted sole high priest by Solomon, this fictitious prophecy was fulfilled - though in reality there was neither prophecy nor fulfillment; (4) that during the exile Ezekiel in his sketch of the vision-temple represented the Zadokites as the only legitimate priests, while the others of the line of A were degraded to be Levites; (5) that in order to establish the legitimacy of Zadok the writer of the Priestly Code (P) invented his Aaronic descent through Eleazar and inserted the fictitious prophecy in 1 Samuel.
5. Criticism of This Theory:
(1) This theory proceeds upon the assumption, not that the Chronicler was a post-exilic writer (which is admitted), but that he deliberately and purposely idealized and to that extent falsified the past history of his people by ascribing to them a faithful adherence to the Levitical institutions of the Priestly Code, which, according to this theory, were not then in existence - in other words by representing the religious institutions and observances of his own age as having existed in the nation from the beginning. Were this theory established by well-accredited facts, it would doubtless require to be accepted; but the chief, if not the only, support it has is derived from a previous reconstruction of the sacred text in accordance with theory it is called on to uphold.
(2) That the father of Zadok was not Ahitub, a priest of the line of Eleazar, is arrived at by declaring the text in 2Sa_8:17 to have been intentionally corrupted, presumably by a late redactor, the original form of the verse having been, according to criticism (Wellhausen, TBS, 176 f): ?Abiathar the son of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, and Zadok were priests.? But if this was the original form of the words it is not easy to explain why they should have been so completely turned round as to say the opposite, namely, that Ahimelech was the son of Abiathar, and that Ahitub was the father of Zadok., when in reality he was the father of Ahimelech. If, as Cornill admits (Einl, 116), the Chronicler worked ?with good, old historical material,? it is not credible that he made it say the opposite of what it meant.
(3) If Zadok was not originally a priest, but only a military adventurer, why should David have made him a priest at all? Wellhausen says (GI, 20) that when David came to the throne he ?attached importance to having as priests the heirs of the old family who had served the Ark at Shiloh.? But if so, he had Abiathar of the line of Ithamar at hand, and did not need to go to the army for a priest. If, however, it be urged that in making Zadok a priest he gave him an inferior rank to Abiathar, and sent him to Gibeon where the tabernacle was, why should both sources so persistently place Zadok before Abiathar?
(4) If Zadok was originally a soldier not connected with the priesthood, and only became a priest after David came to Jerusalem, why should the earlier source have omitted to record this, when no reason existed, so far as one can discover, why it should have been left out? And why should the priestly disposed Chronicler have incorporated this in his narrative when all his inclinations should have moved him to omit it, more especially when he was intending to invent (according to the critical theory) for the young warrior an Aaronite descent?
(5) That the prediction of the fall of Eli's house (1Sa_2:27-36) was inserted by a late writer to justify its supersession by the line of Zadok has no foundation except the presupposition that prediction is impossible, which fair-minded criticism cannot admit. The occurrence of the word ?anointed? it is contended, presupposes the monarchy. This, however, it only predicts; and at the most, as Driver sees (Introduction, 164), cannot prove the fictitious character of the prophecy, but merely that it has been ?recast by the narrator and colored by the associations with which he himself is familiar?; and even this is entirely hypothetical.
(6) Ezekiel's reference to Zadok's descendants as the only legitimate priests in the vision-temple does not prove that Zadok himself was a soldier who climbed up into the priesthood. Even if the critical interpretation of the vision-temple were correct, it in no way affects the personality of Zadok, and certainly does not disprove his original connection with the priesthood or his descent from Eleazar.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Za?dok (just). There are several men of this name mentioned in the Old Testament.
Zadok, 1
In the reign of David, Zadok (the son of Ahitub and father of Ahimaaz) (1Ch_6:8) and Ahimelech were the priests (2Sa_8:17). Zadok and the Levites were with David, when, after the middle of the eleventh century B.C., he fled from Absalom; but the king ordered Zadok to carry back the ark of God into the city (2Sa_15:24-25; 2Sa_15:27; 2Sa_15:29; 2Sa_15:35-36; 2Sa_18:19; 2Sa_18:22; 2Sa_18:27). The king also, considering Zadok a seer, commanded him to return to the city, stating that he would wait in the plain of the wilderness until he should receive such information from him and his son Ahimaaz, and also from the son of Abiathar, as might induce him to remove farther away. On hearing that Ahithophel had joined Absalom, David requested Hushai, his friend, to feign himself to be also one of the conspirators, and to inform Zadok and Abiathar of the counsels adopted by Absalom and his rebellious confederates. The request of David was complied with, and the plans of the rebels made known to David by the instrumentality of Zadok and the others.
After Absalom was vanquished, David sent to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, saying, 'Speak unto the elders of Judah, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house?' etc. (2Sa_19:11; 2Sa_20:25). When Adonijah attempted to succeed to the throne, Abiathar countenanced him, but Zadok was not called to the feast at which the conspirators assembled. King David sent for Zadok and Nathan the prophet to anoint Solomon king (1Ki_1:32-45).
Zadok, 2
In 1Ch_6:12, and Neh_11:11, another Zadok is mentioned, the father of whom was also called Ahitub, and who begat Shallum. This Zadok descended from Zadok the priest in the days of David and Solomon, and was the ancestor of Ezra the scribe (Ezr_7:2). We learn from Eze_40:46; Eze_43:19; Eze_44:15; Eze_48:11, that the sons of Zadok were a pre-eminent sacerdotal family.
Zadok, 3
Zadok was also the name of the father-in-law of Uzziah and the grandfather of King Jotham, who reigned about the middle of the eighth century before Christ (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1).
Zadok, 4
Two priests of the name of Zadok are mentioned in Neh_3:4-29, as having assisted in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem about B.C. 445.
The Zadok mentioned in Neh_10:21 as having sealed the covenant, and Zadok the scribe named in Neh_13:13, are probably the same who helped to build the wall.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
(Heb. Tsadok', צָדוֹק, righteous; Sept. Ζαδώκ v.r. Σαδδούκ, Σαδώκ, etc.; Josephus Σάδωκος, Ant. 7:2, 2, etc.), the name of several Hebrews, and one that also appears occasionally in the post-Biblical history. The associate of Judah the Gaulonite, the well known leader of the agitation against the census of Quirinus, was a certain Pharisee named Zadok (Josephus, Ant. 18:1,1), and the sect of the Sadducees (q.v.) is reputed to have derived both its name and origin from a person of the same name, a disciple of Antigonus of Soho. (See Lightfoot, Hebr and Talm. Exerc. on Mat_3:8; Renan, Vie de Jesus, p. 216.) A Sadoc (Σαδώκ) finally occurs in our Savior's genealogy (Mat_1:14). It is, moreover, worth noticing that the New-Test. name Justus (Act_1:23; Act_18:7; Col_4:11) is the literal translation of Zadok. Zedekiah, Jehozadak, may likewise be compared.
1. Son-of Ahitub, and one of the two chief priests in the time of David, Abiathar (q.v.) being the other. B.C. 1023. Zadok was of the house of Eleazar the son of Aaron (1Ch_24:3). The first mention of him is in 1Ch_12:28 where we are told that he joined David at Hebron, after Saul's death, with twenty-two captains of his father's house, and apparently with nine hundred men (4600-3700, 1Ch_12:26-27). Up to this- time, it may be concluded, he had adhered to the house of Saul. But henceforth his fidelity to David was inviolable. When Absalom revolted, and David fled from Jerusalem, Zadok and all the Levites bearing the ark accompanied him, and it was only at the king's express command that they returned to Jerusalem and became the medium of communication between the king and Hushai the Archite (2Sa_15:17). When Absalom was dead; Zadok and Abiathar were the persons who persuaded the elders of Judah to invite David to return (19, 11). When Adonijah, in David's old age set up for king, and had persuaded Joab and Abiathar the priest to join his party, Zadok was unmoved, and was employed by David to anoint Solomon to be king in his room (1 Kings 1). For this fidelity he was rewarded by Solomon, who thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord, and put in Zadok the priest in his room (1Ki_2:27; 1Ki_2:35). From this time, however, we hear little of him. It is said in general terms, in the enumeration of Solomon's officers of state, that Zadok was the priest (1Ki_4:4; 1Ch_29:22), but no single act of his is mentioned. Even in the detailed account of the building and dedication of Solomon's Temple his name does not occur, though Josephus says that Zadok the high-priest was the first high-priest of the Temple which Solomon built (Ant. 10:8, 6). In 2Sa_15:27 Zadok is named a seer; but we have no further or more particular information as to the revelations, which were granted to him. SEE PRIEST.
We have no means of knowing how the high-priesthood passed out of the line of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, who was the elder son of Aaron, into the line of Eli, who was descended from Ithamar, Aaron's younger son; but we do known the doom pronounced by Jehovah, that the unworthy house of Eli should be dispossessed. No doubt much confusion had ensued upon the death of Eli's two sons, and the capture of the ark by the Philistines; of this we have abundant evidence: (1) in the unsettled position of the tabernacle, till we find David honoring it at Gibeon; (2) in the want of interest in the ark, till he brought it up to Mount Zion; and (3) in the absence of any fixed center of worship, so that Samuel sacrificed in different places, according to the irregular manner of that period of transition in which he presided. Saul apparently attempted to extirpate the high-priestly house of Eli, on account of what he reckoned the treason of Abimelech (1Sa_13:17-23), so that only' his son Abiathar escaped; and the following chapter narrates how-this young man came to David, carrying with him the high-priest's ephod, and how Jehovah acknowledged him as the true high-priest, inquiring of God, on behalf of that fugitive, who was the true king of Israel. The only conjecture we feel disposed to make is that king Saul may at this time have declared that Abiathar was an outlaw, who had forfeited the high-priesthood, and may have declared that the office reverted to the house of Eleazar, to which Zadok belonged; there might be a stroke of policy in his thus restoring the constitution of the priesthood according to the law of Moses, analogous to his slaughter of the Gibeonites, in his zeal to the children of Israel arid Judah (2Sa_21:2).
If so, it is easy to see how the two rival royal houses had their rival priestly houses too; and how, at the end of the civil war, David's policy of gradual and amicable reconstruction would lead him to acknowledge both high priests, especially after Zadok's hearty adhesion to David's interest. Perhaps, in memory of his early military service, Zadok had a place among the princes of the tribes assigned him by David, as ruler over the Aaronites (1Ch_27:17). In later times we usually find two priests, the ihigh-priest anti the second priest (2Ki_25:18), and there does not seem to have been any great difference in their dignity. So, too, Luk_3:2. Zadok and Abiathar were of nearly equal dignity (2Sa_15:35-36; 2Sa_19:11). Hophni and Philiehas, again, and Eleazar and Ithamar, are coupled together, and seem to have been holders of the office, as it were, in commission. The duties of the office, too, were, in the case of Zadok and Abiathar, divided. Zadoik ministered before the tabernacle at Gibeon (1Ch_16:39); Abiathar had the care of the ark at Jerusalem; not, however, exclusively, as appears from 1Ch_15:11; 2Sa_15:24-25; 2Sa_15:29. Hence, perhaps, it may be concluded that from the first there was a tendency to consider the office of the priesthood as somewhat of the nature of a corporate office, although some of its functions were necessarily confined to the chief member of that corporation; and if so, it is very easy to perceive how superior abilities, on the one hand, and infancy or incapacity, on the other, might operate to raise or depress the members of this corporation respectively. Zadok seems to have been succeeded in the priesthood by his son Azariah (1Ki_4:2), strictly speaking his son's son, if we observe 1Ch_6:8-9, and 2Sa_15:27. That it continued without derangement in his family may be inferred by the genealogies, and from the incidental reference to Azariah the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, in Hezekiah's time (2Ch_31:10). The language in Eze_40:46; Eze_43:19; Eze_44:15; Eze_48:11 bears high testimony to the faithfulness of the priests, the sons of Zadok; so mulch so that the prophet takes no notice of any priests besides them. SEE HIGH-PRIEST.
2. Father of Jerusha, who was the wife of king Uzziah and mother of king Jotham (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1). B.C. 755.
3. According to the genealogy of the high priests in 1Ch_6:12, there was a second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub, son of Amariah; and he is there given as the father of Shallum. B.C. cir. 700. He seems also to be referred to in 9:11; Neh_11:11. Some critics are disposed to regard this name as an interpolation by a copyist's error; but the person in question seems to be the high-priest called Hosaiah in the Seder Olam, and Odeas (᾿Ωδέας) by Josephus (Ant. 10:8, 6). SEE HIGH-PRIEST.
4. Son of Baana, who repaired a portion of the wall in the time of Nehemiah (Neh_3:4). B.C. 446. He is probably the same as is in the list of those that sealed the covenant in Neh_10:21, as in both cases his name follows that of Meshezabeel. But if so, we know that he was not a priest, as his name would at first sight lead one to suppose, but one of the chief of the people, or laity. With this agrees his patronymic Baana, which indicates that he was of the tribe of Judah; for Baanah, one of David's mighty, men, was a Netophathite (2Sa_23:29), i.e. of Netophah, a city of Judah. The men of Tekoah, another city of Judah, worked next to Zadok. Meshullam of tie house of Meshezabeel, who preceded him in both lists (Neh_3:4; Neh_10:20-21) was also of the tribe of Judah (11, 24). Intermarriages of the priestly house with the tribe of Judah were more frequent than with any other tribe.
5. Son of Immer, a priest who repaired a portion of the wall over against his own house (Neh_3:29). B.C. 446. He belonged to the 16th course (1Ch_24:14), which was one of those that returned from Babylon (Ezr_2:37).
6. A scribe, one of the three principal treasurers appointed by Nehemiah (Neh_13:13). B.C. 410. He was perhaps identical with No. 4 or 5 above.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
George R. Berry.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
1. Son of Ahitub, of the house of Eleazar, son of Aaron (1Ch_24:3). Joined David at Hebron after Saul's death, with 22 captains of his father's house. At Absalom's revolt Zadok and the Levites bearing the ark accompanied David in leaving Jerusalem, but at his request returned with the ark and along with Hushai and Abiathar became David's medium of knowing events passing in the city, through Jonathan and Ahimaaz. At Absasalom's death David desired Zadok and Abiathar to persuade the elders of Judah to invite him to return (2 Samuel 15; 2 Samuel 17; 2 Samuel 19). Zadok remained faithful in Adonijah's rebellion when Abiathar joined it. Zadok, with Nathan the prophet, anointed Solomon at Gihon by David's command (a second anointing took place subsequently: 1Ch_29:22). So Solomon put Zadok instead of Abiathar, fulfilling the curse on Eli (1 Samuel 2; 3; 1Ki_2:27; 1Ki_2:35; 1Ki_4:4; 1Ch_29:22). (See ABIATHAR.)
David made him ruler over the Aaronites (1Ch_27:17); their number in 1Ch_12:27-28, is said to be 3,700 under Jehoiada. Zadok did not survive to the dedication of Solomon's temple, but Azariah his son or grandson (1Ch_6:8-9) was then high priest (1Ch_6:10; 1Ki_4:2). His descendants continued in the high priesthood (compare 2Ch_31:10, "Azariah of the house of Zadok chief priest") until the time of Antiochus Eupator. The double high priesthood of Zadok and Abiathar answers to that of the chief priest and second priest (2Ki_25:18; Luk_3:2 "Annas and Caiaphas being high priest);" compare 2Ch_31:10, "Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok." Zadok ministered mainly before the tabernacle at Gibeon (1Ch_16:39). Abiathar bad charge of the ark in Jerusalem; so formerly Eleazar and Ithamar, Hophni and Phinehas, were joint chief priests. Even while the line of Ithamar in the person of Eli was foremost, Eleazar's house held its ground on a kind of parity, Ahitub, Zadok's father, being called "ruler of the house of God" (1Ch_9:11; Neh_11:11).
2. A second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub, son of Amariah; in king Amaziah's time. ((See HIGH PRIEST.) Many links are omitted in these lists (1Ch_6:12; 1Ch_9:11; Ezr_7:1-5); the repetition of the same names in a family is natural.
3. Father of Jerushah, king Uzziah's wife (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1).
4. Son of Baana, repaired the wall (Neh_3:4), signed the covenant (Neh_10:21); a chief of the people, of the tribe of Judah (for Baana was a Netophathite of Judah, 2Sa_23:29). Intermarriages of Judah with the tribe of Levi were frequent, Whence Zadok appears in Judah (Mat_1:14).
5. Son of Immer, a priest; repaired over against his own house (Neh_3:29); of the 16th course (1Ch_24:14).
6. Neh_11:11; 1Ch_9:11. Son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub; some omission or error of copyists is suspected from comparing the list, Ezr_7:1-5; 1Ch_6:3-14, where a Meraioth is grandfather or great grandfather of Zadok. The name is equivalent to the "Justus" of Act_1:28; Act_18:7; Col_4:11.
7. Set over the treasuries by Nehemiah (Neh_13:13) to distribute to brethren; "the scribe."
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Za'dok. (just). Son of Ahitub and one of the two chief priests, in the time of David, Abiathar being the other. Zadok was of the house of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, 1Ch_24:3, and eleventh in descent from Aaron. 1Ch_12:28. He joined David at Hebron, after Saul's death, 1Ch_12:28, and thenceforth, his fidelity to David was inviolable. When Absalom revolted and David fled from Jerusalem, Zadok and all the Levites bearing the Ark accompanied him. When Absalom was dead, Zadok and Abiathar were the persons who persuaded the elders of Judah to invite David to return. 2Sa_19:11.
When Adonijah, in David's old age, set up for king, and had persuaded Joab, and Abiathar, the priest, to join his party, Zadok was unmoved, and was employed by David, to anoint Solomon to be king in his room. 1Ki_1:34. For this fidelity, he was rewarded by Solomon who "thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord," and "put in Zadok the priest" in his room. 1Ki_2:27; 1Ki_2:35. From this time, however, we hear little of him. Zadok and Abiathar were of nearly equal dignity. 2Sa_15:35-36; 2Sa_19:11. The duties of the office were divided, Zadok ministered before the tabernacle at Gibeon, 1Ch_16:39, Abiathar had the care of the Ark at Jerusalem.
2. According to the genealogy of the high priests in 1Ch_6:12, there was a second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub, son of Amariah, about the time of King Ahaziah. It is probable that no such person as this second Zadok ever existed, but that the insertion of the two names is a copyist's error.
3. Father of Jerushah, the wife of King Uzziah and mother of King Jotham. 2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1.
4. Son of Baana, a person who repaired a portion of the wall in Nehemiah's time. Neh_3:4; Neh_3:29.
5. Son of Immer, a person who repaired a portion of the wall in Nehemiah's time. Neh_3:4; Neh_3:29.
6. In 1Ch_9:11 and Neh_11:11, mention is made, in a genealogy, of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub; but it can hardly be doubtful that Meraioth is inserted by the error of a copyist, and that Zadok, the son of Ahitub, is meant.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
son of Ahitub, high priest of the Jews, of the race of Eleazar. At the death of Ahimelech, or Abiathar, he came to the pontificate, A.M. 2944. For some time there were two high priests in Israel, 2Sa_8:17; 2Sa_15:24, &c; 2Sa_19:11-12; 1Ki_1:8, &c. After the death of David, 1Ki_2:35, Solomon excluded Abiathar from the high priesthood, because he espoused the party of Adonijah, and made Zadok high priest alone.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
Zadok and Abiathar were the two Levitical priests who became members of Davids royal court (2Sa_8:17). At the time of Absaloms rebellion, they helped David by remaining in Jerusalem to become spies on Davids behalf (2Sa_15:24-37; 2Sa_19:11). Later, however, in the palace conflict over Davids successor, Zadok supported Solomon, and Abiathar supported Adonijah. As a result Solomon promoted Zadok to chief priest and sent Abiathar into exile (1Ki_1:5-8; 1Ki_1:43-45; 1Ki_2:26; 1Ki_2:35).
Since Zadok belonged to the line of chief priests that went back through Phinehas and Eleazar to Aaron (Ezr_7:2-5), his appointment to the high priesthood was in keeping with the plan and promise of God (Num_25:10-13). His descendants followed him as chief priests till the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC (2Ch_31:10). Because they remained faithful to God throughout that period, they were designated the chief priests in the religious system that Ezekiel looked for in the rebuilt nation (Eze_40:46; Eze_44:15).
History shows that after the reconstruction of Israel, descendants of Zadok continued to be the chief priests for several centuries. The Sadducees, who formed the priestly party that later became powerful in Israel, possibly took their name from Zadok (see SADDUCEES).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
zā?dok (צדוק, cādowḳ, once צדק, cādhōḳ (1Ki_1:26), similar to צדּיק, caddı̄ḳ, and צדּוּק, caddūḳ, post-Biblical, meaning justus, ?righteous?; Septuagint Σαδώκ, Sadṓk): Cheyne in Encyclopedia Biblica suggests that Zadok was a modification of a Gentilic name, that of the Zidkites the Negeb, who probably derived their appellation from the root צדק, cdḳ, a secondary title of the god they worshipped. At the same time Cheyne admits that cultivated Israelites may have interpreted Zadok as meaning ?just,? ?righteous? - a much more credible supposition.
(1) Zadok the son of Ahitub (2Sa_8:17) - not of Ahitub the ancestor of Ahimelech (1Sa_14:3) and of Abiathar, his son (1Sa_22:20).
(2) Zadok father of Jerusha, mother of Jotham, and wife of Uzziah king of Judah (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1).
(3) Zadok the son of Ahitub and father of Shallum (1Ch_6:12) or Meshullam (Neh_11:11), and the ancestor of Ezra (Ezr_7:1, Ezr_7:2).
(4) Zadok the son of Baana, a wall-builder in the time of Nehemiah (Neh_3:4), and probably one of the signatories to the covenant made by the princes, priests and Levites of Israel (Neh_10:21) - in both places his name occurring immediately after that of Meshezabel.
(5) Zodak the son of Immer, and, like the preceding, a repairer of the wall (Neh_3:29).
(6) Zodak a scribe in the time of Nehemiah (Neh_13:13). Whether this was the same as either of the two preceding cannot be determined.
The first of these filled a larger place in Old Testament history than either of the others; and to him accordingly the following paragraphs refer. They set forth the accounts given of him first in Samuel and Kings and next in Chronicles; after which they state and criticize the critical theory concerning him.
1. In Samuel and Kings:
(1) In these older sources Zodak first appears in David's reign, after Israel and Judah were united under him, as joint occupant with Ahimelech of the high priest's office and his name taking precedence of that of his colleague Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar (2Sa_8:17).
(2) On David's flight from Jerusalem, occasioned by Absalom's rebellion, Zadok and Abiathar (now the joint high priest), accompanied by the whole body of the Levites, followed the king across the Kidron, bearing the Ark of the Covenant, which, however, they were directed to carry back to the city, taking with them their two sons, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, to act as spies upon the conduct of the rebels and send information to the king (2Sa_15:24-36; 2Sa_17:15, 2Sa_17:17-21).
(3) On the death of Absalom, Zodak and Abiathar were employed by David as intermediaries between himself and the elders of Judah to consult about his return to the city, which through their assistance was successfully brought about (2Sa_19:11).
(4) When, toward the end of David's life, Adonijah the son of Haggith, and therefore the crown prince, put forward his claim to the throne of all Israel, taking counsel with Joab and Abiathar, Zodak along with Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, espoused the cause of Solomon, Bathsheba's son, and acting on David's instructions anointed him as king in Gihon (1Ki_1:8, 1Ki_1:26, 1Ki_1:32-45).
(5) Accordingly, when Solomon found himself established on the throne, he put Zodak in the room of Abiathar, i.e. made him sole high priest, while retaining Abiathar in the priestly office, though deposed from a position of coordinate authority with Zodak (1Ki_2:26, 1Ki_2:27, 1Ki_2:35; 1Ki_4:4).
2. In Chronicles:
(1) As in the earlier sources so in these, Zodak's father was Ahitub and his son Ahimaaz - the information being added that they were all descendants from Aaron through Eleazar (1Ch_6:50-53).
(2) Among the warriors who came to Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul to David was ?Zodak, a young man mighty of valor,? who was followed by 22 captains of his father house (1Ch_12:26-28).
(3) Along with Abiathar and the Levites, Zodak was directed by David to bring up the Ark from the house of Obed-edom to the tent pitched for it on Mt. Zion, when Zodak was appointed to officiate at Gibeon, while Abiathar, it is presumed, ministered in Jerusalem (1Ch_15:11; 1Ch_16:39).
(4) Toward the end of David's reign Zodak and Abimelech the son of Abiathar acted as priests, Zodak as before having precedence (1Ch_18:16).
(5) To them was committed by the aged king the task of arranging the priests and Levites according to their several duties, it being intimated by the narrator that Zodak was of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech (in 1Ch_18:16, named Abiathar; see above) of the sons of Ithamar (1Ch_24:3). In 1Ch_24:6 Ahimelech is called the son of Abiathar, while in 1Ch_18:16, Abiathar's son is Abimelech - which suggests that the letters b and h were interchangeable in the name of Abiathar's sons.
(6) When Solomon was anointed king, Zodak was anointed (sole) priest (1Ch_29:22).
Obviously a large measure of agreement exists between the two narratives. Yet some points demand explanation.
3. Harmony of the Accounts:
(1) The seeming discrepancy between the statements in the earlier sources, that Zodak's colleague in the high priest's office is first named Ahimelech (2Sa_8:17) and afterward Abiathar (2Sa_15:24), should occasion little perplexity. Either Ahimelech and Abiathar were one and the same person - not an unlikely supposition (see above); or, what is more probable, Abiathar was Ahimelech's son and had succeeded to his father's office.
(2) Zodak's appearance as a young soldier among the captains who brought David to Jerusalem (assuming that Zodak the soldier was Zodak the priest, which is not absolutely certain) need create no difficulty, if Zodak was not then of age to succeed his father in the priestly office. The earlier sources do not make Zodak an acting priest till after David's accession to the throne of all Israel.
(3) Neither should it prove an insoluble problem to explain how, soon after David's accession to the throne of Judah and Israel, Zodak should be found engaged along with Abiathar in bringing up the Ark to Mt. Zion, as by this time Zodak had obviously entered on the high-priestly office, either in succession to or as colleague of his father.
(4) That Zodak was left to officiate at Gibeon where the tabernacle was, while Abiathar was selected to exercise office in the capital, in no way conflicts with the earlier account and seems reasonable as a distribution of official duties. Why Zodak was sent to Gibeon, where the tabernacle was, and not kept at Jerusalem whither the Ark had been brought, he being always named before Abiathar and probably looked upon as the principal high priest, may have had its reason either in the fact that the king regarded Gibeon as the central sanctuary for national worship, the tabernacle being there (Solomon obviously did; see 2Ch_1:3), and therefore as the proper place for the principal high priest; or in the fact that Zodak was younger than Abiathar and therefore less fitted than his older colleague to be at court, as an adviser to the king.
(5) That toward the end of David's reign, not Abiathar, but his son Ahimelech (or Abimelech), should be introduced as joint high priest with Zodak will not be surprising, if Abiathar was by this time an old man, as his father was at the beginning of David's reign. That grandfather and grandson should have the same name is as likely to have been common then as it is today.
(6) That Zodak should have been appointed sole high priest on Solomon's accession (1Ch_29:22) is not inconsistent with the statement (1Ki_4:4) that under Solomon Zodak and Abiathar were priests. Abiathar might still be recognized as a priest or even as a high priest, though no longer acting as such. The act of deposition may have affected his son Ahimelech as well, and if both father and son were degraded, perhaps this was only to the extent of excluding them from the chief dignity of high priest.
4. The Higher Critical Theory:
The higher criticism holds: (1) that the Zadok of David's reign was not really an Aaronite descended from Eleazar through Ahitub, who was not Zadok's father but Ahimelech's (Gray in EB, article ?Ahitub?), but an adventurer, a soldier of fortune who had climbed up into the priest's office, though by what means is not known (Wellhausen, GJ, 145); (2) that up till Zadok's appearance the priesthood had been in Ithamar's line, though, according to the insertion by a later writer in the text of 1 Sam 2 (see 1Sa_2:27 ff), in Eli's day it was predicted that it should pass from Eli's house and be given to another; (3) that when Abiathar or Ahimelech or both were deposed and Zadok instituted sole high priest by Solomon, this fictitious prophecy was fulfilled - though in reality there was neither prophecy nor fulfillment; (4) that during the exile Ezekiel in his sketch of the vision-temple represented the Zadokites as the only legitimate priests, while the others of the line of A were degraded to be Levites; (5) that in order to establish the legitimacy of Zadok the writer of the Priestly Code (P) invented his Aaronic descent through Eleazar and inserted the fictitious prophecy in 1 Samuel.
5. Criticism of This Theory:
(1) This theory proceeds upon the assumption, not that the Chronicler was a post-exilic writer (which is admitted), but that he deliberately and purposely idealized and to that extent falsified the past history of his people by ascribing to them a faithful adherence to the Levitical institutions of the Priestly Code, which, according to this theory, were not then in existence - in other words by representing the religious institutions and observances of his own age as having existed in the nation from the beginning. Were this theory established by well-accredited facts, it would doubtless require to be accepted; but the chief, if not the only, support it has is derived from a previous reconstruction of the sacred text in accordance with theory it is called on to uphold.
(2) That the father of Zadok was not Ahitub, a priest of the line of Eleazar, is arrived at by declaring the text in 2Sa_8:17 to have been intentionally corrupted, presumably by a late redactor, the original form of the verse having been, according to criticism (Wellhausen, TBS, 176 f): ?Abiathar the son of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, and Zadok were priests.? But if this was the original form of the words it is not easy to explain why they should have been so completely turned round as to say the opposite, namely, that Ahimelech was the son of Abiathar, and that Ahitub was the father of Zadok., when in reality he was the father of Ahimelech. If, as Cornill admits (Einl, 116), the Chronicler worked ?with good, old historical material,? it is not credible that he made it say the opposite of what it meant.
(3) If Zadok was not originally a priest, but only a military adventurer, why should David have made him a priest at all? Wellhausen says (GI, 20) that when David came to the throne he ?attached importance to having as priests the heirs of the old family who had served the Ark at Shiloh.? But if so, he had Abiathar of the line of Ithamar at hand, and did not need to go to the army for a priest. If, however, it be urged that in making Zadok a priest he gave him an inferior rank to Abiathar, and sent him to Gibeon where the tabernacle was, why should both sources so persistently place Zadok before Abiathar?
(4) If Zadok was originally a soldier not connected with the priesthood, and only became a priest after David came to Jerusalem, why should the earlier source have omitted to record this, when no reason existed, so far as one can discover, why it should have been left out? And why should the priestly disposed Chronicler have incorporated this in his narrative when all his inclinations should have moved him to omit it, more especially when he was intending to invent (according to the critical theory) for the young warrior an Aaronite descent?
(5) That the prediction of the fall of Eli's house (1Sa_2:27-36) was inserted by a late writer to justify its supersession by the line of Zadok has no foundation except the presupposition that prediction is impossible, which fair-minded criticism cannot admit. The occurrence of the word ?anointed? it is contended, presupposes the monarchy. This, however, it only predicts; and at the most, as Driver sees (Introduction, 164), cannot prove the fictitious character of the prophecy, but merely that it has been ?recast by the narrator and colored by the associations with which he himself is familiar?; and even this is entirely hypothetical.
(6) Ezekiel's reference to Zadok's descendants as the only legitimate priests in the vision-temple does not prove that Zadok himself was a soldier who climbed up into the priesthood. Even if the critical interpretation of the vision-temple were correct, it in no way affects the personality of Zadok, and certainly does not disprove his original connection with the priesthood or his descent from Eleazar.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Za?dok (just). There are several men of this name mentioned in the Old Testament.
Zadok, 1
In the reign of David, Zadok (the son of Ahitub and father of Ahimaaz) (1Ch_6:8) and Ahimelech were the priests (2Sa_8:17). Zadok and the Levites were with David, when, after the middle of the eleventh century B.C., he fled from Absalom; but the king ordered Zadok to carry back the ark of God into the city (2Sa_15:24-25; 2Sa_15:27; 2Sa_15:29; 2Sa_15:35-36; 2Sa_18:19; 2Sa_18:22; 2Sa_18:27). The king also, considering Zadok a seer, commanded him to return to the city, stating that he would wait in the plain of the wilderness until he should receive such information from him and his son Ahimaaz, and also from the son of Abiathar, as might induce him to remove farther away. On hearing that Ahithophel had joined Absalom, David requested Hushai, his friend, to feign himself to be also one of the conspirators, and to inform Zadok and Abiathar of the counsels adopted by Absalom and his rebellious confederates. The request of David was complied with, and the plans of the rebels made known to David by the instrumentality of Zadok and the others.
After Absalom was vanquished, David sent to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, saying, 'Speak unto the elders of Judah, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house?' etc. (2Sa_19:11; 2Sa_20:25). When Adonijah attempted to succeed to the throne, Abiathar countenanced him, but Zadok was not called to the feast at which the conspirators assembled. King David sent for Zadok and Nathan the prophet to anoint Solomon king (1Ki_1:32-45).
Zadok, 2
In 1Ch_6:12, and Neh_11:11, another Zadok is mentioned, the father of whom was also called Ahitub, and who begat Shallum. This Zadok descended from Zadok the priest in the days of David and Solomon, and was the ancestor of Ezra the scribe (Ezr_7:2). We learn from Eze_40:46; Eze_43:19; Eze_44:15; Eze_48:11, that the sons of Zadok were a pre-eminent sacerdotal family.
Zadok, 3
Zadok was also the name of the father-in-law of Uzziah and the grandfather of King Jotham, who reigned about the middle of the eighth century before Christ (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1).
Zadok, 4
Two priests of the name of Zadok are mentioned in Neh_3:4-29, as having assisted in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem about B.C. 445.
The Zadok mentioned in Neh_10:21 as having sealed the covenant, and Zadok the scribe named in Neh_13:13, are probably the same who helped to build the wall.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
(Heb. Tsadok', צָדוֹק, righteous; Sept. Ζαδώκ v.r. Σαδδούκ, Σαδώκ, etc.; Josephus Σάδωκος, Ant. 7:2, 2, etc.), the name of several Hebrews, and one that also appears occasionally in the post-Biblical history. The associate of Judah the Gaulonite, the well known leader of the agitation against the census of Quirinus, was a certain Pharisee named Zadok (Josephus, Ant. 18:1,1), and the sect of the Sadducees (q.v.) is reputed to have derived both its name and origin from a person of the same name, a disciple of Antigonus of Soho. (See Lightfoot, Hebr and Talm. Exerc. on Mat_3:8; Renan, Vie de Jesus, p. 216.) A Sadoc (Σαδώκ) finally occurs in our Savior's genealogy (Mat_1:14). It is, moreover, worth noticing that the New-Test. name Justus (Act_1:23; Act_18:7; Col_4:11) is the literal translation of Zadok. Zedekiah, Jehozadak, may likewise be compared.
1. Son-of Ahitub, and one of the two chief priests in the time of David, Abiathar (q.v.) being the other. B.C. 1023. Zadok was of the house of Eleazar the son of Aaron (1Ch_24:3). The first mention of him is in 1Ch_12:28 where we are told that he joined David at Hebron, after Saul's death, with twenty-two captains of his father's house, and apparently with nine hundred men (4600-3700, 1Ch_12:26-27). Up to this- time, it may be concluded, he had adhered to the house of Saul. But henceforth his fidelity to David was inviolable. When Absalom revolted, and David fled from Jerusalem, Zadok and all the Levites bearing the ark accompanied him, and it was only at the king's express command that they returned to Jerusalem and became the medium of communication between the king and Hushai the Archite (2Sa_15:17). When Absalom was dead; Zadok and Abiathar were the persons who persuaded the elders of Judah to invite David to return (19, 11). When Adonijah, in David's old age set up for king, and had persuaded Joab and Abiathar the priest to join his party, Zadok was unmoved, and was employed by David to anoint Solomon to be king in his room (1 Kings 1). For this fidelity he was rewarded by Solomon, who thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord, and put in Zadok the priest in his room (1Ki_2:27; 1Ki_2:35). From this time, however, we hear little of him. It is said in general terms, in the enumeration of Solomon's officers of state, that Zadok was the priest (1Ki_4:4; 1Ch_29:22), but no single act of his is mentioned. Even in the detailed account of the building and dedication of Solomon's Temple his name does not occur, though Josephus says that Zadok the high-priest was the first high-priest of the Temple which Solomon built (Ant. 10:8, 6). In 2Sa_15:27 Zadok is named a seer; but we have no further or more particular information as to the revelations, which were granted to him. SEE PRIEST.
We have no means of knowing how the high-priesthood passed out of the line of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, who was the elder son of Aaron, into the line of Eli, who was descended from Ithamar, Aaron's younger son; but we do known the doom pronounced by Jehovah, that the unworthy house of Eli should be dispossessed. No doubt much confusion had ensued upon the death of Eli's two sons, and the capture of the ark by the Philistines; of this we have abundant evidence: (1) in the unsettled position of the tabernacle, till we find David honoring it at Gibeon; (2) in the want of interest in the ark, till he brought it up to Mount Zion; and (3) in the absence of any fixed center of worship, so that Samuel sacrificed in different places, according to the irregular manner of that period of transition in which he presided. Saul apparently attempted to extirpate the high-priestly house of Eli, on account of what he reckoned the treason of Abimelech (1Sa_13:17-23), so that only' his son Abiathar escaped; and the following chapter narrates how-this young man came to David, carrying with him the high-priest's ephod, and how Jehovah acknowledged him as the true high-priest, inquiring of God, on behalf of that fugitive, who was the true king of Israel. The only conjecture we feel disposed to make is that king Saul may at this time have declared that Abiathar was an outlaw, who had forfeited the high-priesthood, and may have declared that the office reverted to the house of Eleazar, to which Zadok belonged; there might be a stroke of policy in his thus restoring the constitution of the priesthood according to the law of Moses, analogous to his slaughter of the Gibeonites, in his zeal to the children of Israel arid Judah (2Sa_21:2).
If so, it is easy to see how the two rival royal houses had their rival priestly houses too; and how, at the end of the civil war, David's policy of gradual and amicable reconstruction would lead him to acknowledge both high priests, especially after Zadok's hearty adhesion to David's interest. Perhaps, in memory of his early military service, Zadok had a place among the princes of the tribes assigned him by David, as ruler over the Aaronites (1Ch_27:17). In later times we usually find two priests, the ihigh-priest anti the second priest (2Ki_25:18), and there does not seem to have been any great difference in their dignity. So, too, Luk_3:2. Zadok and Abiathar were of nearly equal dignity (2Sa_15:35-36; 2Sa_19:11). Hophni and Philiehas, again, and Eleazar and Ithamar, are coupled together, and seem to have been holders of the office, as it were, in commission. The duties of the office, too, were, in the case of Zadok and Abiathar, divided. Zadoik ministered before the tabernacle at Gibeon (1Ch_16:39); Abiathar had the care of the ark at Jerusalem; not, however, exclusively, as appears from 1Ch_15:11; 2Sa_15:24-25; 2Sa_15:29. Hence, perhaps, it may be concluded that from the first there was a tendency to consider the office of the priesthood as somewhat of the nature of a corporate office, although some of its functions were necessarily confined to the chief member of that corporation; and if so, it is very easy to perceive how superior abilities, on the one hand, and infancy or incapacity, on the other, might operate to raise or depress the members of this corporation respectively. Zadok seems to have been succeeded in the priesthood by his son Azariah (1Ki_4:2), strictly speaking his son's son, if we observe 1Ch_6:8-9, and 2Sa_15:27. That it continued without derangement in his family may be inferred by the genealogies, and from the incidental reference to Azariah the chief priest, of the house of Zadok, in Hezekiah's time (2Ch_31:10). The language in Eze_40:46; Eze_43:19; Eze_44:15; Eze_48:11 bears high testimony to the faithfulness of the priests, the sons of Zadok; so mulch so that the prophet takes no notice of any priests besides them. SEE HIGH-PRIEST.
2. Father of Jerusha, who was the wife of king Uzziah and mother of king Jotham (2Ki_15:33; 2Ch_27:1). B.C. 755.
3. According to the genealogy of the high priests in 1Ch_6:12, there was a second Zadok, son of a second Ahitub, son of Amariah; and he is there given as the father of Shallum. B.C. cir. 700. He seems also to be referred to in 9:11; Neh_11:11. Some critics are disposed to regard this name as an interpolation by a copyist's error; but the person in question seems to be the high-priest called Hosaiah in the Seder Olam, and Odeas (᾿Ωδέας) by Josephus (Ant. 10:8, 6). SEE HIGH-PRIEST.
4. Son of Baana, who repaired a portion of the wall in the time of Nehemiah (Neh_3:4). B.C. 446. He is probably the same as is in the list of those that sealed the covenant in Neh_10:21, as in both cases his name follows that of Meshezabeel. But if so, we know that he was not a priest, as his name would at first sight lead one to suppose, but one of the chief of the people, or laity. With this agrees his patronymic Baana, which indicates that he was of the tribe of Judah; for Baanah, one of David's mighty, men, was a Netophathite (2Sa_23:29), i.e. of Netophah, a city of Judah. The men of Tekoah, another city of Judah, worked next to Zadok. Meshullam of tie house of Meshezabeel, who preceded him in both lists (Neh_3:4; Neh_10:20-21) was also of the tribe of Judah (11, 24). Intermarriages of the priestly house with the tribe of Judah were more frequent than with any other tribe.
5. Son of Immer, a priest who repaired a portion of the wall over against his own house (Neh_3:29). B.C. 446. He belonged to the 16th course (1Ch_24:14), which was one of those that returned from Babylon (Ezr_2:37).
6. A scribe, one of the three principal treasurers appointed by Nehemiah (Neh_13:13). B.C. 410. He was perhaps identical with No. 4 or 5 above.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
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