A Rope for the High Priest?

It is sometimes taught that whenever the high priest of Israel entered the Holy of Holies, he would have a rope tied to him (to his ankle or to his waist) so that if he died in the Holy of Holies, his body could be pulled out from the outside.

Of course, this practice is not found anywhere in the Bible, so “Jewish tradition” is often cited as evidence instead. In reality, this practice is not mentioned anywhere in Jewish traditional sources, or attested in any historical source. There is no evidence at all that this practice ever existed.

The earliest mention of this practice is found in the Zohar:

In three rows they stood around him, his brothers, the priests, and the Levites, and all the rest of the people, and they put their hands over him in prayer, and a chain of gold was put on his leg. ... Rabbi Isaac said: A chain was tied to the leg of the priest when he entered, so that if he dies, they could take him out. (Zohar 3:67, 102)

It should be noted that the Zohar is a work of Jewish mysticism which was written during the thirteenth century CE—more than a thousand years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Hence, there is no good reason to think that the Zohar is an accurate representation of historic Jewish tradition, let alone a reliable reflection of historical reality.

The Bible itself indicates that this practice is a myth. The biblical law provides instructions about what the high priest must and must not do when he enters the Holy of Holies. If the high priest did not follow any instruction, then he would die. These instructions include what the high priest must wear—and a rope is not included (Leviticus 16:4)! So, if the high priest really had a rope tied to him when he entered the Holy of Holies, he would have surely died anyway!