It’s easy to read most of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and assume every Jew had a migraine from trying to memorize every single jot and tittle in the Old Law.
Because of that, it’s important to remember that keeping track of these regulations was the job of the priests, not the everyday Israelite that is just trying to make a living.
But make no mistake, keeping these people on track was a full-time job. Failure to do it—whether because of apathy, laziness, immorality, disobedience, or outright stubbornness—meant making slow but regular deposits into Israel’s future decline.
Just think about how Numbers 28 outlines the feast days, for example. While we typically assume there were a few holy days every year that required sacrifices (seven, to be exact), this chapter shows that not only were there a lot more “days” to keep track of, but that the sacrifices piled up.
Numbers 28:3-8 shows the sacrifices that must be offered by the priests every single day. Those consisted of a lamb in the morning, a lamb in the evening, along with fine flour, beaten oil, a grain offering, and a drink offering. Again, these sacrifices were not offered by the average Jew, but by the priests. This was part of their job.
Then, Numbers 28:9-10 outlines the sabbath day offering. This involved two more lambs, fine flour mixed with oil, and another drink offering. This is in addition to the regular daily offerings (Numbers 28:10), making four lambs in total, along with double the oil, grain, and drink offerings every single sabbath.
But what if, by some weird happenstance of the calendar, the New Moon offering also happened on the Sabbath? You know, the one that’s talked about in Numbers 28:11-15?
I’m glad you asked! If that were to happen, the priests would have to kill eleven male lambs, two bulls, one ram, nearly two ephahs of flour, and a touch more than four hins of wine.
Whew, I’m tired just thinking about all that.
We’re not quite done yet, though; there’s one more wrinkle to consider. In the event that the New Year also falls on the Sabbath, you would have the daily offerings, sabbath offerings, new moon offerings, and the new year offerings (Numbers 29:1-6).
By the way, in case you’re wondering why the first day of the seventh month is known as the New Year (Numbers 29:1), it’s because this references the agricultural calendar, which is based on the harvest. For reference, Exodus 34:22 talks about the Feast of Tabernacles occurring “at the turn of the year,” which Leviticus 23:39 places in the seventh month. That makes the first day of the seventh month a “new year.”
So, how many sacrifices would be made that day? By my count, that’s eighteen lambs, two rams, three young bulls, more than three ephahs of flour, and neary six hins of wine. You would need a lot of priests to process that many animals and goods.
But hey, at least it wouldn’t be your job, right?