Statement

Without Davidic kings, the priests, especially the top families, became Judea's elite, religious and political alike. Hence the efforts of Herod and the Romans to control the high priesthood: they meddled in appointments and even kept the high priest's vestments in their own hands. The priesthood as a whole, however, kept its prestige: Josephus displays his priestly origin as proof of nobility, and the labels 'priest' and 'priestess' (the second applied to wives and daughters) still conferred status centuries after 70.

References

1. p. 106

   supports · main text · ch. 4

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text