. . . one should note the reference to
David's sons as "priests" (כֹּהֲנִ֥ים) in the list of his principal
officials (2 Sam. 8:18). Though the chronicler described them merely as
"chief ones" (רִאשֹׁנִ֖ים 1Chron. 18:17, NIV). the intent no doubt
was to suggest their important function without specifying its nature. Despite
various efforts to explain כֹּהֲנִ֥ים as something other than priests, it
seems best to view these sons as priests in the same sense in which Dadi was,
namely, a spiritual descendant of Melchizedek.
The strongest suggestion of Davidic
royal priesthood occurs in 2 Samuel 6 (cf. 1 Chron. 15), which recounts the
procession of the ark into Jerusalem from Kiriath-jearim, where it had been
housed for a century or more. The entire enterprise was at the initiative of
David and though the regular Aaronic order of priests and Levites was involved,
David himself was in charge, leading the entourage and, clothed in priestly
attire, offering sacrifice and issuing priestly benedictions. To maintain that
David merely supervised the occasion and did not actually participate as priest
goes against the clear intention of the text.
A similar exercise of priestly
prerogative is evident at the inauguration of the reign of Solomon who went to
Gibeon, the site of the Mosaic tabernacle, to offer sacrifice (1 Kings 3:1-9;
cf. 2 Chron. 1:1-6). Though he obviously did not slay and present the enormous
numbers of animals unaided, the narrative is clear in its insistence that he,
the king, functioned as a priest. The same thing is implied on the occasion of
the transport of the ark into the temple (1 Kings 8:5) and the subsequent
dedication of that holy building (w. 55, 62, 63). On both occasions Solomon
presided over the cultic festivities and personally participated in them.
The priestly role of the kings of
Israel and Judah is not well documented following Solomon's early years, but
that it continued and was tacitly recognized as appropriate may be seen in one
example at least, that of Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:16-23). This king of Judah, the
historian recounts, "was unfaithful ("acted treacherously" וַיִּמְעַ֖ל)
to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the
altar of incense" (v. 16, NIV). While it might appear at first glance that
Uzziah's sin was that of arrogating priestly privilege, that is not the case at
all for the rebuke of the Aaronic priest Azariah centered on Uzziah's having
overstepped the bounds of priestly ministry to which he was limited and to have
infringed on that of the Levitical priests. Azariah said, "It is not right
for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the
descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense" (v. 18,
NIV). The infraction was not that of a king functioning cultically, but of a
king undertaking a cultic ministry limited to another order of priests. This is
specified in Numbers 16:40: "No one except a descendant of Aaron should
come to burn incense before the Lord" (NIV). Despite the punishment of
Uzziah for his indiscretion, there is not a hint of chastisement for his having
assumed a priestly role in general. In fact in stating that the burning of
incense was limited to "the priests, the descendants of Aaron," the
high priest presupposed other kinds of priests, namely, the royal priesthood
itself. (Eugene H. Merrill, "Royal
Priesthood: An Old Testament Motif," Bibliotheca Sacra 159
[January-March 1993]: 60-61)