Son of the High Priest

Just before Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, a fragment of a stone cover of a sarcophagus has been found with the fragmentary Hebrew inscription: “Son of the High Priest”. It could not have been timed better, for in another 3 days, on October 9th, it will be Yom Kippur, the only day in the year that the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. You can read about it on the Israel Antiquities Authority website, from where you can download images of the inscription and the excavation site.
The High Priest used to wear ornate garments, but not on Yom Kippur when he entered the Holy of Holies, for then he only wore linen garments. Here is a picture showing the High Priest in his official garments from our book “The Ritual of the Temple in the Time of Christ”.

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