The

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

term ''segan'' (סגן) or ''segan hakohanim'' () is a title used in the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

to refer to the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

serving as the deputy to the

High Priest of Israel In Judaism, the High Priest of Israel (, lit. ‘great priest’; Aramaic: ''Kahana Rabba'') was the head of the Israelite priesthood. He played a unique role in the worship conducted in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem, ...

Hebrew Bible

The form ''segan'' is Aramaic (סְגַן), appearing 5 times in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th-century BC setting. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and Prophecy, prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish Babylonian captivity, exile in Babylon ...

to refer to officers of the Babylonian government. The Hebrew form ''sagan'' (סָגָן) occurs a further 17 times in

Nehemiah Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...

and elsewhere, again to refer to officials of the Babylonian rulers.

Talmud

According to the Talmud the deputy was appointed to the position of the ''segan ha-kohanim'' with the responsibility of overseeing the actions of the work of the Temple's priests' staff, as well as a stand-in position, ready to take the role of

High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

in case he will be found unfit to serve the holy work on the temple, and thus, the Segan was only second to the High Priest, as Rabbi

Hanina Segan ha-Kohanim Hanina ananyahSegan ha-Kohanim (, lit. ''"R. Hanina (Hananiah) heSegan (Deputy) Ha-Kohanim (High priest)"'') was of the first Generation of the Jewish Tanna sages. He was the father of Rabbi Simeon ben ha-Segan. He commented on what he had ...

(40 – 80 CE) attests: Many times the title commonly appears on the classical texts as ''ha-Segan'' ("the Deputy"), instead of the full title of ''Segan ha-Kohanim, for example on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

, in an

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

that deals with the work of the High Priest on

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

: One can also note the importance given to the matter in the ritual ceremony of visiting mourners, in which the High Priest takes part in: Two prominent Segans are noted in the

and in

Josephus Flavius Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

' work:

, and Eleazar ben Hanania (son of Hananiah b. Hezekiah b. Garon who served as High Priest).

References

{{reflist Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible Priesthood (Judaism) Aramaic words and phrases

Hebrew Bible

Talmud

See also

References