Another matter, “With this [bezot] Aaron shall come,” Rabbi Berekhya says in the name of Rabbi Levi: With this [bezot] the verse informs him that he will live four hundred and ten years.23The numerical value of bezot: beit – 2, zayin – 7, alef – 1, tav – 400 = 410. Did it enter your mind that Aaron lived four hundred and ten years? Rather, the first Temple, because they served there with integrity, eighteen High Priests served in it; he, his son, and his grandson.24The high priesthood was passed from father to son, and each one served for a lengthy period of time.
In the second Temple, because they would acquire [the high priesthood] with money, and some say they would kill each other with sorcery, eighty priests served; some say eighty-one, some say eighty-two,, some say eighty-four,; and among them, Shimon HaTzadik [served] for forty years.25The second Temple stood for four hundred and twenty years. Given this fact, and the fact that Shimon HaTzadik served for forty years, the average term of the other High Priests was quite short.
When they reverted to acquiring it [the high priesthood] with money, their lives were truncated. There was an incident involving one who sent in the hand of his son two measures of silver, filled with silver, and their leveling instruments were silver.26Measures were used with leveling instruments that assured that the produce inside filled the measure perfectly. And one stood and sent in the hand of his son two measures of gold, filled with gold, and their leveling instruments were gold.
They said: ‘The donkey overcame the candelabrum.’27This is a reference to an incident where a litigant bribed a judge with a silver candelabrum. The other litigant bribed him with a golden donkey. When he ruled against her, the first litigant said: ‘Judgment before you is like a silver candelabrum,’ an allusion to her bribe. He responded: ‘The donkey overcame the candelabrum’ (see Shabbat 116a).
This is mentioned as a prototypical case of corruption. Rabbi Aḥa read in their regard: “The fear of the Lord will add days” (Proverbs 10:27) – these are those who served in the First Temple; “but the years of the wicked will be shortened” (Proverbs 10:27) – these are those who served in the second Temple.