Note: If this should be written in a new Thread, let's do it. Plz see that the OP on Levi has material from 1 Chronicles 24 as well as:
Background:
1 Chronicles 24:
[1] The divisions of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abi'hu, Elea'zar, and Ith'amar.
[2] But Nadab and Abi'hu died before their father, and had no children, so Elea'zar and Ith'amar became the priests.
[3] With the help of Zadok of the sons of Elea'zar, and Ahim'elech of the sons of Ith'amar, David organized them according to the appointed duties in their service.
[4] Since more chief men were found among the sons of Elea'zar than among the sons of Ith'amar, they organized them under sixteen heads of fathers' houses of the sons of Elea'zar, and eight of the sons of Ith'amar.
[5] They organized them by lot, all alike, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both the sons of Elea'zar and the sons of Ith'amar.
[6] And the scribe Shemai'ah the son of Nethan'el, a Levite, recorded them in the presence of the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahim'elech the son of Abi'athar, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the priests and of the Levites; one father's house being chosen for Elea'zar and one chosen for Ith'amar.
[7] The first lot fell to Jehoi'arib, the second to Jedai'ah,
[8] the third to Harim, the fourth to Se-o'rim,
[9] the fifth to Malchi'jah, the sixth to Mij'amin,
[10] the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abi'jah,
[11] the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecani'ah,
[12] the eleventh to Eli'ashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
[13] the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jesheb'e-ab,
[14] the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
[15] the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Hap'pizzez,
[16] the nineteenth to Pethahi'ah, the twentieth to Jehez'kel,
[17] the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,
[18] the twenty-third to Delai'ah, the twenty-fourth to Ma-azi'ah.
[19] These had as their appointed duty in their service to come into the house of the LORD according to the procedure established for them by Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.
1. This is the establishment of the Mishmarot Priesthood. Note please the first Group, Jehoiarib. Jehoiarib has been given the Hasmonean Dynasty (
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jehoiarib , in passing) and has the leading role in the Political Organization of Judea - until the Pharisees foment an Opposition to them (Eisenman and Wise,
Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, Josephus,
Antiquities..., 13, 10, 5). Jehoiarib has been assigned the Settlement at Meiron (Leibner,
Settlements in Galilee...) on a high rocky mountain in Galilee (Neusner, personal E-Mail). The sixteenth Mishmarot Group - and last of the House of Eleazar! - is Immer, which is given the Settlement Jabnit, right next door to Meiron. Immer believes that the Hasmoneans are descended from them (Elizur, Leibner, supported by personal E-Mail from Elizur).
2. Acts 13: 25 (RSV):
[25] And as John was finishing his course, he said, `What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'
Therefore, John (Assuming continuity of the character named "John"
at this point) is a Priest, a Mishmarot Priest unless "Course" means he was completing a Course in Psychiatry or something. The Plain Meaning is that he was a Priest of the Mishmarot Priesthood.
*NOTE*: The last half of the verse: "...after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie."
Let us collect from Mark and John relevant verses from this last last half of verse 25:
Mark 1: 7 (RSV):
[7] And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
The Course names have been listed and in the NT, Luke 1 carries a Birth Narrative with Abijah but in Jewish LIt there is Jehoiarib, Bilgah and Immer. No other Stories accrue, AFAIK.
John 1: 15, 25 - 27
[15] (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'")
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[25] They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
[26] John answered them, "I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know,
[27] even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."
This is great! What is special about Bilgah?
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3298-bilgah Here is a Play on Words! After John comes this "Jesus" character. What explanation can be given to "He who comes after me"? Does it necessarily mean, "After I am gone comes this guy?" No. John may be of a Mishmarot Group which has Temple duty before the Mishmarot Group of which this "Jesus" character was a member.
Further, Bilgah has committed an Offense against the Priesthood. The Priests even considered eliminating Bilgah but decided against it.
A. Immer comes after Bilgah. Bilgah has less stature because of the Offense Bilgah has committed.
B. Therefore, John/Bilgah is not worthy to untie the thong of Jesus' sandal.
C. So "Jesus" follows/comes after Bilgah but is ranked ahead of Bilgah in stature. That means that "Jesus" would be a part of Immer but the Priesthood is to be "Done Away With". This will soon point to seeing the Jesus Character as a "Created" Entity.
I believe there is a "Joke" tying the Temple Service and its animal (cattle) sacrifices with the "thong of the sandal" part but Jokes may be a personal thing here.
3.
Maff is difficult.
Not so difficult that it cannot be mastered, in this case. We must ask," What does Mishmarot have to do with the NT and the answer is everything. It has been asserted that many of the New Testament Stories came from the descriptions (Mostly in Josephus) of the Temple Atrocity of 4 BCE. How do we get from Bilgah and Immer to the Temple in 4 BCE and "Jesus"?
A.It is possible to show by a rather mechanical Mathematical derivation that Bilgah and Immer were on Duty for the Passover Atrocity of 4 BCE.
There are 24 Mishmarot Groups which rotate into Jerusalem on each Sabbath. 7 x 24 = 168 days before the Cycle repeats. If Jehoiarib rotates into Jerusalem on a Sabbath, Jehoiarib will rotate into Jerusalem for the next rotation in 168 days.
Which is all well and good unless we have a Fixed Date for a Group to have been in Jerusalem. Otherwise, how do we know which Group is on duty for any given week? Eisenman and Wise assert that the Qumran Group tracked rival Calendars with alignments with the weekly Mishmarot Rotation. Do we have this "Fixed Date"?
Yes. Josephus tells us that Jehoiarib was on duty for the 10th of Ab, 70, when the Temple fell. It wasn't the first time Jehoiarib was on Duty for the Fall of the Temple either,
if the Priestly survivors are to be believed.
B. Here is what we need for this "Mechanical" rendering of the dates: We need an "Objective Counter" for the days. There are Julian Day Calendars which can be accessed for this task.
Convert the date of the Fall of the Temple into a Julian Day Number. Remember, what matters is the repetition of the 7 day Cycle and the 168 Day Cycle. The calendar is the simple measure of these days. [Edit Note: The Julian Day Calendar is a purely Solar Calendar for the intent of the Qumran Group (Eisenman and Wise). They were to impose this calendar onto Judea when they "took over". There's a lot of History here...]
Find the "first day after the New Moon" for the calculation of Passover, 4 BCE. Use the Naval Observatory data for this task. Convert to a Julian Day number. Find the Sabbath that marks the beginning/end of the week that contains the Day of Preparation and the following days for the Week of the Feast (See Mark for a huge Blunder here - Mark 14:12).
Count back in groups of 168 until you get to that week of the Passover, 4 BCE, say, Tuesday/Wednesday on. Who was on Duty?
Bilgah and Immer.
***
My back is killing me after a LONG day at the keyboard. Thanx to Ben and Lane.
Next up: Tying the Mishmarot History we've found to the Stories in early Mark. Entering through the narrow door by turning as a child. Telling the Disciples to be quiet and having the stones shout.
CW