How did the Jerusalem high priests go from being cultic servants in the sixth century BCE to assuming political supremacy at some point during the third or second century emThe Making of the Tabernacle and the Construction of Priestly Hegemonyem examines how the conditions were created for the priesthood's rise to power by examining the most important ideological texts for the high priests the description of the wilderness tabernacle and the instructions for the ordination ritual found in the Biblical books of Exodus and Leviticus. Although neglected by many modern readers, who often find them technical and repetitive, the tabernacle accounts excited considerable interest amongst early scribes and readers, as is evidenced by the survival of them in no fewer than four versions. pUntangling this intricate compositional history helps shed light on how these chapters in the Pentateuch shaped-and were shaped by-the perception of the priesthood's powers and competencies during the Persian an