The Ordination of the High Priest and the Consecration Days in the Temple Scroll

In the Temple Scroll, adjacent to the commandment to observe the annual Consecration Days in the first month, there is a description of the high priest’s ritual, which includes sacrificial offerings. Many scholars have debated the nature of this ritual and the connection between it and the Consecration Days. In this article I will argue that, based on Eezek 45, the Scroll’s author establishes a Temple purification rite on the first of the first month, in which the altar of burnt offering is to be purified, whenever a new high priest is appointed.