who receive the office of the priesthood The word used for "priesthood" is defined by Aristotle to mean "care concerning the gods."

to take tithes of the people according to the law Indirectly, through the agency of the Levites. Delitzsch argues that after the Exile the Priests collected the tithes themselves. It cannot however be proved that the Priests themselves tithed the people. This was done by the Levites, who gave the tithe of theirtithes to the priests, Numbers 18:22-26; Nehemiah 10:38. There is however no real difficulty about the expression, for the Priests mighttithe the people, as Jewish tradition saysthat they did in the days of Ezra; and (2) Qui facit per alium facit per se. There is therefore no need to alter "the people" (laon) into Levi (Leuin). The Priests stood alone in receivingtithes and giving none.

come out of the loins A Hebrew expression, Genesis 35:11.

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