# kohen gadol (כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל)

pronounced: ko-HEN ga-DOL


**The high priest — the one man who entered the Holy of Holies, once a year, on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16)**

## In Scripture

> “‘He who is the high priest among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not let the hair of his head hang loose, nor tear his clothes;
> — Leviticus 21:10 (The Torah's own definition of the office: the anointed brother, consecrated to the garments.)

> The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
> — Numbers 35:25 (The manslayer goes free when the high priest dies — a death that ends an exile.)


## How to read this entry

The definition comes from the IsraelForYou lexicon. Scripture quotations and their translation are named below; later tradition or modern usage is identified when it appears.


https://israelforyou.com/hebrew/kohen-gadol/