Book excerpt: This milestone study is a thorough examination of the various cultic and social phenomena connected with the temple--activities connected with the temple's inner sphere and belonging to the priestly circle. The book also seeks to demonstrate the antiquity and the historical timing of the literary crystallization of the priestly material found in the Pentateuch. Contents: Prologue, The Israelite Temples, Temples and Open Sacred Places, The Priesthood and the Tribe of Levi, The Aaronites and the Rest of the Levitical Tribe, The Distribution of the Levitical Tribe, The Centralizations of the Cult, The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle, Grades of Sanctity in the Tabernacle, Temple and Tabernacle, The Ritual Complex Performed Inside the Temple, Incense of the Court and of the Temple Interior, The Symbols of the Inner Sanctum, The Non-Priestly Image of the Tent of Mo'ed, The Emptying of the Inner Sanctum, Pilgrim-Feasts and Family Festivals, and The Passover Sacrifice.