... What I am suggesting is that, given what we know of the third century BCE, members of the Judean priesthood likely had to negotiate their role in Jewish society and the broader Hellenistic world by establishing popular support in Palestine and beyond, and by successfully navigating the imperial administration. The scribes responsible for the Aramaic Levi Document, and the Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls more broadly, may have felt a need to advocate for the legitimacy of priestly authority in a time when the priesthood was a powerful yet precarious institution.Note also the author's 2023 book on this subject. Cross-file under Aramaic Watch.
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