Jeremiah 35:19

to stand before me It is by no means necessary to understand the expression here as implying priestly functions (cp. Jeremiah 15:19), although the hint that the Rechabites were employed in some capacity in connexion with the Temple is supported by (i) the LXX heading of Psalms 71; (ii) the account of the martyrdom of James the Just (Eusebius, Eccles. Hist. II. 23) where "priests of the sons of Rechab" are spoken of. Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish traveller of the 12th century, mentions a body of Jews who were called Rechabites, and whose customs corresponded with those detailed in Jeremiah. Dr Wolff (Journal, 1829) describes a body of Rechabites near Mecca who claimed to be sons of Jonadab. But it is by no means clear that the title in these three cases meant anything more than a certain amount of asceticism.