high priest. The two of them had even been singled out to join Moses and Aaron on Mount Sinai (Exod. 24:1–2, 9). God specifically selected them to be major leaders of the Israelite priesthood (Exod. 28:1), and just prior to our story they had been installed in the priestly office with the duty of offering sacrifices in the tabernacle (9:1–24). These were two of the men authorized and commissioned to safeguard the worship of Yahweh, to lead the congregation in praise, to distinguish between the sacred