May 05, 2006

Can Mashiach be a Kohain? - Clarification needed on Shmuel II

Chabad.org translates Shmuel II 8:17-18 as follows:

17. And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Ebiathar were [the] priests; and Seraiah was scribe.

18. And Benayahu the son of Yehoyada [was over] the archers and the slingers; and David's sons were chief officers.

But in Hebrew the lines actually read:

וְצָדוֹק בֶּן-אֲחִיטוּב וַאֲחִימֶלֶךְ בֶּן-אֶבְיָתָר כֹּהֲנִים וּשְׂרָיָה סוֹפֵר
וּבְנָיָהוּ בֶּן-יְהוֹיָדָע וְהַכְּרֵתִי וְהַפְּלֵתִי וּבְנֵי דָוִד כֹּהֲנִים הָיוּ

Isn't the Hebrew clear that the last line states that indeed David's sons were Kohanim (Priests) just as line 17 states about Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Ebiathar?

Can anyone explain this?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Hebrew characters do not show in my browser.
But when I asked my husband about this, he said that, al pi haTorah, Cohanim are from Shevet Levi, and Dovid is from Shevet Yehuda. Dovid's sons could not be Cohanim.

Whatever else it says does not mean that apples equal oranges.