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Zadok

Zadok was a prominent high priest who served during the reigns of King David and King Solomon.

The name Zadok means “just; justified”

MaleHigh PriestTribe of LeviUnited Monarchy eraOld Testament5 books50 verses

Summary

A high priest from the tribe of Levi living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2 Samuel 8:17; only referred to as Zadok (צָדוֹק); a son of Ahitub; father of Ahimaaz.

Profile

Zadok was a key figure in the history of Israel's priesthood. He first appears in the story of 2 Samuel (2 Samuel 8:17). Some scholars think he might not have been born into a priestly family. However, the Bible states he was a descendant of Aaron (1 Chronicles 6:1–15, 50–53). Zadok's family line traces back to Eleazar, Aaron's son (1 Chronicles 6:4–8; 24:3; Ezra 7:2–5). Zadok served with Abiathar, a descendant of Eli. Both were priests of Israel under King David (2 Samuel 8:17; 20:25).

When Absalom rebelled against King David, both Zadok and Abiathar proved their loyalty by bringing the Ark to him, ready to join him in exile (2 Samuel 15:24–29). However, David sent them back to Jerusalem to act as his spies.

Later, David's son Adonijah tried to take David's throne with Joab and Abiathar's help. Zadok wisely chose not to support him (1 Kings 1:5–10). Abiathar was banished (1 Kings 2:26–27), fulfilling the prophecy that Eli's family would lose the priesthood (1 Samuel 2:27–36). In this prophecy, God said, "I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. And I will build for him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed one for all time" (1 Samuel 2:35).

Zadok fulfilled the prophecy and became the only high priest under Solomon (1 Kings 2:35). Zadok’s descendants served as Israel’s priests during the monarchy and beyond. Azariah, the chief priest during Hezekiah’s reign, was from Zadok’s line (2 Chronicles 31:10). During the exile to Babylon, Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple mentions Zadok’s priestly line (Ezekiel 40:46; 43:19; 44:15; 48:11). In the early 100s BC, when the Jews were under Seleucid rule, the high priesthood became a political position and was taken from Zadok’s descendants. Because of Ezekiel’s prophecies, Jewish groups, like those who created the Dead Sea Scrolls, continued to hope for the return of Zadok’s line to the high priesthood. The New Testament states that Jesus Christ now holds the office of the high priest (Hebrews 9:11; 10:12–25).

Passages for Further Study

2 Samuel 8:17; 15:23–37; 1 Kings 1:5–53; 2:35; 1 Chronicles 6:1–15, 50–53; Ezra 7:2; Ezekiel 40:46; 43:19; 44:15; 48:11

Glossary entries

Zadok

Family members

Father

Ahitub

Children

Ahimaaz

Alternative names

Mentions

Includes 10 verses that refer to Zadok without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

  1. 2 Samuel 8:17
    Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;
  2. 2 Samuel 15:24
    Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until all the people had passed out of the city.
  3. 2 Samuel 15:25
    Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.
  4. 2 Samuel 15:27
    The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan.
  5. 2 Samuel 15:28Referred to, not named
    See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”
  6. 2 Samuel 15:29
    So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.
  7. 2 Samuel 15:35
    Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace.
  8. 2 Samuel 15:36
    Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.”
  9. 2 Samuel 17:15
    So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have advised.
  10. 2 Samuel 17:16Referred to, not named
    Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”
  11. 2 Samuel 18:19
    Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”
  12. 2 Samuel 18:22
    Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” “My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since you will not receive a reward?”
  13. 2 Samuel 18:27
    The watchman said, “The first man appears to me to be running like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “This is a good man,” said the king. “He comes with good news.”
  14. 2 Samuel 19:11
    Then King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace, since the talk of all Israel has reached the king at his quarters?
  15. 2 Samuel 19:13Referred to, not named
    And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from now on you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
  16. 2 Samuel 20:25
    Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
  17. 1 Kings 1:8
    But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.
  18. 1 Kings 1:26
    But me your servant he has not invited, nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon.
  19. 1 Kings 1:32
    Then King David said, “Call in for me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king.
  20. 1 Kings 1:33Referred to, not named
    “Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.
  21. 1 Kings 1:34
    There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
  22. 1 Kings 1:35Referred to, not named
    Then you shall go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. For I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.”
  23. 1 Kings 1:38
    Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.
  24. 1 Kings 1:39
    Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”
  25. 1 Kings 1:44
    And with Solomon, the king has sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they have set him on the king’s mule.
  26. 1 Kings 1:45
    Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there with rejoicing that rings out in the city. That is the noise you hear.
  27. 1 Kings 2:35
    And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.
  28. 1 Kings 4:2
    …and these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
  29. 1 Kings 4:4
    Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
  30. 1 Chronicles 6:8
    Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,
  31. 1 Chronicles 6:53
    Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.
  32. 1 Chronicles 12:28
    …and Zadok, a mighty young man of valor, with 22 commanders from his own family.
  33. 1 Chronicles 15:11
    David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
  34. 1 Chronicles 15:12Referred to, not named
    And he said to them, “You are the heads of the Levitical families. You and your relatives must consecrate yourselves so that you may bring the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.
  35. 1 Chronicles 15:13Referred to, not named
    It was because you Levites were not with us the first time that the LORD our God burst forth in anger against us. For we did not consult Him about the proper order.”
  36. 1 Chronicles 16:39
    And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
  37. 1 Chronicles 16:40Referred to, not named
    …to regularly present burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt offerings, morning and evening, according to all that was written in the Law of the LORD, which He had commanded Israel to keep.
  38. 1 Chronicles 16:41Referred to, not named
    With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD, for “His loving devotion endures forever.”
  39. 1 Chronicles 16:42Referred to, not named
    Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for the songs of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.
  40. 1 Chronicles 18:16
    Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe;
  41. 1 Chronicles 24:3
    With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service.
  42. 1 Chronicles 24:6
    The scribe, Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officers: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar, and the heads of families of the priests and the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar, and then one from Ithamar.
  43. 1 Chronicles 24:31
    As their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, they also cast lots in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family heads and their younger brothers alike.
  44. 1 Chronicles 27:17
    …over Levi was Hashabiah son of Kemuel; over Aaron was Zadok;
  45. 1 Chronicles 29:22
    That day they ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD. Then, for a second time, they designated David’s son Solomon as king, anointing him before the LORD as ruler, and Zadok as the priest.
  46. 2 Chronicles 31:10
    …and Azariah, the chief priest of the household of Zadok, answered him, “Since the people began to bring their contributions into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and there is plenty left over, because the LORD has blessed His people; this great abundance is what is left over.”
  47. Ezekiel 40:46
    …and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, the only Levites who may approach the LORD to minister before Him.”
  48. Ezekiel 43:19
    You are to give a young bull from the herd as a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are of the family of Zadok, who approach Me to minister before Me, declares the Lord GOD.
  49. Ezekiel 44:15
    But the Levitical priests, who are descended from Zadok and who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, are to approach Me to minister before Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood, declares the Lord GOD.
  50. Ezekiel 48:11
    It will be for the consecrated priests, the descendants of Zadok, who kept My charge and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray.