Sage, priest, and poet: typologies of religious leadership in the ancient synagogue

Typologies of leadership have formed the basis for sociologies of religion since the beginning of the discipline. Classics in the sociology of religion, such as those of Max Weber and Joachim Wach, are structured around ideal types (gattungen) of religious leadership.1 Prominent in these are the figures of prophets, priests, and other bureaucratic and charismatic leaders.2