Scholars of religion and of the Hebrew Bible explore unanswered questions about the diversity, function, origin, influence, and legacy of priests and Levites as depicted in the Hebrew Bible. Looking in turn at the social, scriptural, and exegetical contexts, they consider such topics as the priesthoods of ancient Israel's regional sanctuaries, the historical relationship of tabernacle and temple in light of architecture and iconography, the cultic status of the Levites in the Temple Scroll, and from Levite to Maskil in the Persian and Hellenistic eras. The Society of Biblical Literature publishes the paperbound edition; Brill publishes the hardbound. Annotation 2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
