As far as concerns the high priest proper, he occupied the position of chief political author- ity among the Jews, as head of the Sanhedrin. Josephus declares (Ant. xx. 10) that there were 28 high priests from tlie time of Herod to the destruction of Jerusalem. Of these, the Gospels mention the tentli, Annas, apjiointed l)y Quirinius (A.D. 6), and the fourteenth. .[o-c|.li. s\iniamed Caiaphas, who was in office at i In I mn' nf i he cruci- fixion of Jesus and presidcil nn ihr Sanliedrin at His trial. Previous to I In- i lial tlicic was a preliminary trial or licariiiu. \\ liether with or without legal riglit, luimr \iiiia-, father-in-law of Caiaphas. The Gospil nanaim. of these events, .so far from being coiilu^ed m improljable, is con- firmed as entirely consistent and probable by the records of Jewish practice of those days. Annas was a man of long continued influence among his people. No fewer than six of the high priests of the Herodian period are kno:wn to have been of his family. Other high priests lafter the end of their term of service are stated to have held hi^h posi- tions at home and abroad, and it is possible that some of the Gospel references to high or chief priests are to this grou]) of (>x-high priests togetlier with the officiating priest.
The high priest was alsso at the head of the sacerdotal system, as the title, of course, implies. But although historically this was his chief claim to authority, his religious influence in the time of Christ was far le.ss than his political jjower. The religion of the Jew was a matter quite distinct from the rites and cere^monies of the temple, though he might obser^■e these with care. The
very success of the high priests centuries before, in uniting the two offices of religious and secular ruler, had operated to foster the development of a religion of a different sort. It was now a religion of the scribes.
The high priest conducted the sacrifices only on special occasions. He was required to officiate on the yearly Day of Atonement ; and on other festival days, such as New Moons and Sabbaths, he officiated at his pleasure. These distinctively priestly duties do not come into consideration in the Gospel narratives. The Epistle to the Hebrews, on the other hand, makes much mention of the office in order by that means to portray more clearly the work of Jesus in behalf of men ; but one will be disappointed who goes to this Epistle to discover what were the high priestly functions at the time of Christ, or even to discover the theory of sacrifice and priesthood current in those days. The author does not describe the ceremonial as he and his readers knew it from daily observa- tion or participation. He does not allude to it because it was something vital in the religious experience of the Jew. He describes it as he knew it out of the Jewish Scriptures, and he re- flects upon it as dispassionately as a jihilosopher or a theologian. The OT priesthood and sacrifice did not really make atonement for sin ; to the author they typified that atonement. In the real atonement Christ had a part similar to that played by the high priest in the sensuous, temporary, typical atonement of the earlier dispensation. He made reconciliation for the sins of the people (2") ; He was faithful, the recipient of a greater glory than IMoses {3^-^) ; sought not the office, but was chdsen a^ was Aaron (5'') ; He was of the order of .Mclrlii/i'.lck (5'" 6™); was competent to sympa- thize «ith men (•2'8 4'"). He possessed an un- eliaii^iiiL; |uii-.thood, sacrificing once for all (7), and tlie sacrifice was Himself. He has passeil through the lieavens, through the veil (4"), and serves in a perfect tabernacle. As the work wrought by Him for men surpassed that of the high priest, so the terminology of the older dis- pensation is insufficient, and breaks down under the burden of the description. Jesus is not onlj; the Mediator of the new covenant, the High Priest, but He is also the sacrifice itself. The author will not say that the death on the cross fitted into the OT sacrificial system, any more than he brings Jesus into that system as priest. It was in the new onler (if tliiiiijs, in the spiritual atonement, which was the leal one, with spiritual agencies and results, that Hi- perfect humanity. His per- fect obedience and .sinlessness, found place. The temple is in the heavens whither He has gone to consummate the service of which His earthly career was an incident. See, further, art. Priest.
LiTERAiFEB.— Sohurer, GJVi §§ 23, 24; Beyschlag, XT Theol. ii. 315-331 ; Westcott, Ep. to Hebrews ; BrigCT, Messiah of Ihe Apostles, 242-283; JWn^goz, I'hM. de TEjMre mix ilibreux, 102 ff., 19-ff. OWEN H. GATES.
HIGHWAY.— In the parable (Mt 22«) where the invited guests all made excuse, the king sent his servants out (ttI tos Sief (iSoi'S twv bSCiv, ' into the highways' (AV), to gather as many as they could find, and bid them to the feast. The Gr. phrase means literally ' the partings of the highways ' (so RV), exitiis viarum (V ulg:. ). This is the only occur- rence of iii^oaoL in the NT, .-md it is impossible to determine with eertainty "lial is meant by the expression. It may sinnify either the roails lead- ing out of the town into the country, or the cross- ings of such, or the streets leading into the open spaces or square in front of the town. The idea is clear — where men both good and bad, Jew and Gentile, are most likely to be found. God's pur-