Behold, the days
come that I will cut off thine arm and the arm of thy father's house,
...and I will raise up for myself a faithful priest who shall do
according to what is in my heart and in my mind; and I will build
him a sure house, and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever"
(1Samuel ii. 27-36).
Here it is the house of Eli, and of Eli's father, that is the priestly
family duly chosen in Egypt; _contrary_ to hereditary title, and
contrary to a promise of perpetual continuance, is it deposed at
the higher claims of justice. The faithful priest who is to fill
the vacant place is Zadok. This is expressly said in 1Kings 2:27;
and no other than he ever had a "sure house" and walked uninterruptedly
as its head and ruler before the kings of Judah. This Zadok,
accordingly, belongs neither to Eli's house nor to that of Eli's father;
his priesthood does not go back as far as the time of the founding
of the theocracy, and is not in any proper sense "legitimate;"
rather has he obtained it by the infringement of what might be called
a constitutional privilege, to which there were no other heirs
besides Eli and his family.
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