Priesthood & Temple Office
A god's house needed a staff — high priestess, purifier, lamenter, diviner — each an office mediating heaven and earth.
Also: priesthood · priest · en priestess · high priestess · Enheduana · gala · temple office · purification priest
The god's temple was a household staffed by many kinds of priests and officials, each with a defined office. High priests and priestesses (the en) presided; purification priests kept the cult pure; lamentation singers (gala) performed the liturgies; diviners and exorcists read signs and warded off evil. Some offices were among the most prestigious in the land — the en-priestess of the moon-god at Ur was often a king's daughter, the most famous being Enheduana, a Sargonic princess credited with great hymns. The priesthood mediated the whole transaction between gods and people: feeding, praising, purifying, and consulting the divine.
In short
The specialized temple personnel — the en and high priestesses, the purification and lamentation priests, the diviners and exorcists — who served the god's household and mediated between the divine and human worlds.
Where it’s found
Temple personnel across the hymnic and ritual corpus; the en-priestess tradition (Enheduana, traditionally credited with Inana B and the Temple Hymns; ETCSL 4.07.2, 4.80.1, in corpus)
How the idea developed across Sumer, Babylon & Assyria
Temple office is highly differentiated and varies by period and city; the en-priestess of Nanna at Ur (held by royal daughters, e.g. Enheduana under Sargon) is a famous high office. The lamentation-priest (gala), purification-priest, exorcist (āšipu), and diviner (bārû) each carry distinct learned traditions.
Enheduana is historically attested as a Sargonic en-priestess and named in colophons; the full attribution of the hymns to her is traditional and debated — present as ascribed.