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Re: question



I haven't been closely following the sage cum priest discussion but let 
tme just throw in my two cents for what they're worth.
Let's not forget that Ezekiel and JEremiah were at the same time priests 
and prophets. SInce it was the sages who inherited the role of the 
prophets (mikkan wa'elak hat ozneka ushma' divrey hakamim describes the 
status of sages after silliq hannevu'ah) then a combination of sage and 
priest would be the later version of priest cum prophet.

As for minhat erev in Daniel, I have always concsidered it to refer to 
the time when the evening sacrifice would have been offered in 
Jerusalem.  NOnetheless, it could have refered to a parallel service 
performed in the Diaspora.  There were temples in the diaspora as the 
Elephantine papyri so eloquently attest.  As for the babylonian diaspora 
I should refer you to Moshe Greenberg's article on Ezekiel 20 and the 
spiritual diaspora. The exiles did ask Ezekiel for permission to build a 
t emple in Exile.  Evne though permission was not granted then, perhaps 
after the passing or retirement of Ben-Buzi a different policy was adapted.

Also, there is evidence from Malachi that incense and probably vegetable 
offerings were offered throughout the world.  Moshe Weinfeld once dealt 
with this topic.  I don't recall in which volume of the Israeli SOciety 
of Biblical Studies Festschriften his article appeared, but i cite it in 
my response about incense in the BAT 2 volume.  I believe that Goodenough 
also has some information about vegetable offerings and incense in teh 
diaspora.  FInally, I once heard the recitation of pittum haqetoret at 
the end of morning services, and not during the qorbanot of birkot 
hashashaher, as a reflex of the practice to offer incense in synagogues.  
Anyway, check all these things out before deciding definitely that the 
Daniel reference had to be to the jEursalem temple.
Victor Avigdor Hurowitz
Dept. of Bible and ANE
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Beer Sheva, ISRAEL