The Slaughter of the Lambs on the Sabbath, Nisan 14

A legitimate question of many Christians is: When was the Passover lamb slaughtered if the 14th of Nisan fell on a Sabbath (Saturday)? This question has preoccupied not only Christianity but also the Jews, and once again there were several views. The self-righteous Sadducees did not slaughter the lamb on a Sabbath. And even Friday was a problem for them because slaughtering on Friday afternoon affects the Sabbath rest. If the 14th of Nisan fell on a Friday, they would slaughter as early as the 13th of Nisan. This practice was rejected by the Pharisees because it could not be justified biblically. In fact, it was customary in Israel to slaughter the Passover lamb on Nisan 14 even on a Sabbath. The Essenes celebrated the Passover without a lamb and also did not participate in the temple service in Jerusalem. They also had their own calendar and always celebrated the Passover on the same day, a Tuesday evening. Thus, there were 3 Jewish groups that celebrated the Passover meal on 3 different days. 

The Bible makes it extremely clear that the slaughtering of the Passover lambs had to be done on the 14th of Nisan, anyone who brings this forward a day or two is not justified in doing so in the Bible, but is a human ideas to replace the Word of God with religious traditions. Therefore, in the Mishnah and in numerous Jewish and Christian literature, the important biblical passage from the Torah is quoted again and again:

Num  9:1-5: „And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the 14th day of this month [not on the 12th or 13th day, the Bible knows no exceptions], at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the 14th day of the month, at twilight lit.: between the two evenings], in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did.“ 

Important: The 14th of Nisan can fall on any day of the week according to God's calendar. God knew this very well when He gave this commandment and God never allowed any restriction or exception. There is only one appointed time in the Bible, all other times are made up by people (sects). The law for the high annual Sabbath on the 15th of Nisan (including the slaughter of the lamb only 3 hours earlier on the 14th of Nisan) is above the Sabbath rest on an ordinary small weekly Sabbath. A 24-hour or even 48-hour break between the two events never existed and contradicts God's exodus plan.

Once again, there were always only 3 hours between the slaughter of the lambs from 3 p.m. on the 14th of Nisan and the beginning of the High Sabbath (15th of Nisan) from sunset at about 6 p.m.. Everything had to be done in a hurry in order to celebrate the symbolism of the sudden exodus from Egypt every year. 

In 2022, we have such a rare event that the 14th of Nisan falls on a small weekly Sabbath (Saturday). In addition, the first annual High Sabbath on Nisan 15 falls on the same day as the Catholic Easter Sunday. It is also the time of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Thus, the three major religions celebrate at the same time. From the 15th to the 21st of Nisan, the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts (source TorahCalendar).   

Most Christians have no interest in the Old Testament. But this great section also belongs to the Word of God and who does not have the basis of the OT, can also not possibly understand the NT, because some calendar details, customs and idioms can not be known to him and will therefore seem illogical. Already in the OT it was commanded by God that not only on all working days but also on all Sabbath days sheep must be offered as a daily sacrifice. What does it mean in our context? It means that heavy work for some of God's people (especially for the priests and their co-workers) had to be performed also on every Sabbath without breaking the Sabbath:

Num 28:1-10: [Daily Offerings]: „The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ 3 And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering. 4 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; 5 also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil. 6 It is a regular burnt offering, which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the Lord. 7 Its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In the Holy Place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the Lord. 8 The other lamb you shall offer at twilight. Like the grain offering of the morning, and like its drink offering, you shall offer it as a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.“

[Sabbath Offerings]

„9 On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: 10 this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.“

Some Christians have spread the false doctrine that it would be a sin to slaughter a lamb on a Sabbath and if the 14th of Nisan fell on a Sabbath, then the slaughter should have been moved to the 12th or 13th of Nisan. If these Christians had also studied the OT, which was the foundation of Jesus and the newly founded Christian Church, then they would have known that God never allowed a postponement and on the contrary, He even commanded to sacrifice not only one but even two sheep on every Sabbath, that is, even more than on the weekdays. So why would it be a sin to slaughter the Passover lamb on a Sabbath as well?

Today's books and encyclopedias do not consider this subject at all or only superficially. But in earlier generations, this topic was treated in detail. Here is an example from Johann Lund's book from 1738 (pp. 1068-1070, see below for source), translated:

„Concerning the sacrifices that had to be offered as special Sabbath sacrifices apart from the daily sacrifice, GOD speaks of this through Moses to the children of Israel in Numeri 28:9-10. On the Sabbath day (you shall offer) two year old lambs without blemish and two tenths of fine flour for the grain offering mixed with oil and its drink offering. This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, above the daily burnt offering with its drink offering... Then God commands on the Sabbath two special lambs, which shall be of one year old and without blemish.... to be sacrificed. This Sabbath sacrifice had to be repeated on all Sabbaths. If a great feast [High Sabbath] fell on the Sabbath, which also had special sacrifices, the special Sabbath sacrifice was not to be omitted because of the feast sacrifices, but the daily sacrifice was offered first, then the special Sabbath sacrifices, then only the feast sacrifices [of the High Sabbath], see Leviticus 23:38. Bosrer asks in this regard (Lev 23:38) whether two Sabbath lambs each were offered in the morning and two in the evening (i.e., four in all), or only one in the morning and one in the evening (i.e., only two throughout the day), and he thinks that four lambs were offered, two in the morning and two in the evening, citing the testimony of Josephus (lib. 3 Antiq. Cap.10 ) and Philon (lib. de Victimis). But neither Josephus nor Philo know anything of this. Josephus writes: The law commands a one-year-old lamb to be sacrificed every day morning and evening, and on the seventh [day, i.e Sabbath] two to be slaughtered and sacrificed in like manner. From this it cannot be otherwise concluded that on the Sabbath two Sabbath lambs were sacrificed... But as the daily sacrifices were burnt offerings (and did not have to be offered other than as a burnt offering), so also the special Sabbath sacrifices did not have to be other than burnt offerings; so therefore the Sabbath sacrifices were offered in the same way as the daily sacrifices (namely, as burnt offerings). Nor does Philo write otherwise, namely, that two lambs were slain daily, and that in the morning and toward evening; on the seventh day [the Sabbath] this number was doubled, which is true. For two lambs were sacrificed daily, and on each Sabbath as many again (and twice), namely four, as two belonging to the daily sacrifice and the two special Sabbath lambs. Scripture knows nothing of four Sabbath lambs, but only of two; Hebrews also knows only of two, and Hillel...when asked about the Easter lamb [on Nisan 14] was asked whether it was permissible to slaughter it on the Sabbath, he replied to the Jews that more than 200 lambs were already slaughtered annually on the Sabbath (i.e., four on each Sabbath), he does not mean the special Sabbath lambs alone, but the daily burnt offerings and the Sabbath lambs at the same time, that four lambs were slaughtered on the Sabbath, namely, the two as daily morning and evening sacrifices and the two Sabbath sacrifices.“

The Mishnah (Hebrew for "repetition") is the first major writing of the oral Torah and therefore one of the most important collections of Judaism. It is the first canonical work of the oral tradition of Judaism and is therefore also called the "Code of Law." The Talmud is nothing other than the interpretation of the Mishnah.

At the first Passover in Egypt, lambs were slaughtered by each family near their own home. When the Temple was built, the slaughtering was not done privately, but in the Temple courtyard, but the roasting and the meal were done in the homes (Ex 12:8-9). There was no room for all the people in the outer court, so at least three groups were brought in one after another. There the lambs were slaughtered, but the bones were not to be broken (Ex 12:46; Num 9:12), for it was a symbol toward the Messiah, whose bones were also not to be broken. The following are clear quotations from the Mishnah:

„VI2a: Slaughtering is [indeed] forbidden as "work" on the Sabbath (cf. Shab VII2 no. 26). Likewise, skinning is forbidden there (no. 27). However, the Passover lamb, even if the 14th of Nisan falls on a Sabbath, must always be slaughtered on the 14th, for it is said in Num 9:2: the Passover is to be prepared "at its appointed time." Rabbi Eliezer correctly senses the inconsistency of rabbinic logic: allowing the slaughter of the passover on the Sabbath but forbidding the pinching off of a wart and the like.... V12: ... It is also said that it must be done on the 14th of Nisan at the appointed time - whether the 14th of Nisan falls on a Sabbath or not - as is commanded for slaughtering..."  (Georg Beer: Die Mischna, Pesachim (Ostern). Text, Übers. u. Erklärung nebst e. textkrit. Anhang von Georg Beer, 1912, ab Seite 151). 

According to the Mishnah, the lamb could and had to be slaughtered on the 14th of Nisan, "both on the working day and on the Sabbath," but the pinching off of the wart was forbidden because only a perfectly healthy lamb could be used as a sacrificial animal, since it was a spiritual symbol for Jesus. 

The 14th of Nisan very often falls on a Wednesday (about every third year, e.g. 2020); as it did in the year Jesus was crucified. When the 14th of Nisan fell on a Friday, the practice of starting the slaughter of the lambs before 3 p.m. became more and more common, in order to keep the Sabbath rest. If the 14th of Nisan fell on a Sabbath, which is very rare, some Jewish circles did not know how to handle it. For this we read an interesting report by Rabbi Hillel (about 30 B.C.) with the solution to the problem:

„The rabbis say: this ruling (occurring in the Mishnah) was unknown to the sons of Batera. "For once the 14th of Nisan fell on a Saturday, so they had forgotten and did not know whether the Passover sacrifice breaks the Sabbath or not. They said: is there no one who knows whether the Pesach breaks the Sabbath or not? They answered: there is a man who came up from Babylon, named Hillel the Babylonian, and served the two great ones of the time, Shemaiah and Abtalion, who knows whether the Pesach breaks the Sabbath or not. They sent for him, and said to him: do you know whether the Pesach breaks the Sabbath or not? He replied to them: Do we have only one Pesach a year that breaks the Sabbath, yet we have more than 200 Pesach sacrifices (i.e. the same sacrifices at Pesach) that break the Sabbath. They ask: where did you get this? He answered: it is called: "at the appointed time shall be sacrificed" at the Pesach (Num 9:2), and is called: "at the fixed time" at the Tamid (Num 28,2); as this also by the Sabbath does not step out of the fixed, so also the Pesach" (Orientalia, in: Fritzsche: Der Orient Leipzig: Berichte, Studien und Kritiken für jüdische Geschichte und Literatur, Band 2, 1841; S. 176 und 206). 

Postponing the slaughter of the Passover lamb would be impossible for several reasons. One day later, that is, on the 15th of Nisan (the feast day), the slaughter could not be postponed under any circumstances, because on the High Sabbath such work was strictly forbidden. 

The lambs could not have been slaughtered the day before, that is, on Friday, the 13th of Nisan, either, because even then the Sabbath rest after sunset would have been disturbed. Moreover, after eating the Passover lamb, the Israelites would have to wait a whole day (Sabbath) until the High Sabbath finally appeared. This would completely destroy the symbolism of the Passover, because the Passover is about remembering the Exodus from Egypt. And on the 14th of Nisan, the lamb had to be slaughtered and eaten in a hurry starting at 3 PM, because on the SAME night the Exodus occurred, not after a leisurely 24 hours afterwards. Eating the Passover lamb a day before also ruins the symbolism of the bitter herbs, because they were to be eaten for better digestion because of the rush. But with a meal already 24 hours before the actual feast (15th Nisan), there is more than enough time for digestion and rest and haste is not required. 

The Sadducees also avoided slaughtering on a Friday. But two days before that, on Thursday, 12th of Nisan, the lamb should not have been slaughtered, because here there would be no problem with the Sabbath rest on Friday/Saturday, but to wait a whole two days and do nothing is against the symbolism of the Passover set by God. The Angel of Death came that very night (14/15th Nisan) and killed the firstborn of Egypt, while sparing the people of God whose doorposts were smeared with the blood of the Lamb just before (not a day or two before). 

Moreover, the symbolism of the separation of the lamb is important, because the lamb had to be separated on the 10th of Nisan (see the chapter on the Palm Sabbath) and had to live among the people for exactly 4 days and not only 2 or 3 days. 

The historical sources and especially the Bible itself show that the Pharisees had the correct regulations. They always slaughtered the lamb on the 14th of Nisan according to the Bible, even if it fell on a Sabbath or on a Friday. Thus, they never had a problem with an unnecessary waiting period until the beginning of the feast on the 15th of Nisan, and slaughter and exodus thus always occurred spiritually on a full moon night. The symbolism and law of keeping the Passover lamb from the 10th to the 14th of Nisan (not 12th or 13th of Nisan) and celebrating the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus) "at the appointed time" at the beginning of the High Sabbath on the 15th of Nisan were far above the prohibition of work on a small weekly Sabbath.

To arbitrarily postpone the slaughter of the lambs by one or two days of the week would be a greater sin than to circumvent the commandment to rest on a minor weekly Sabbath for only a few hours (Slaughter only after 3 p.m.). Moreover, it must not be overlooked that even the highest annual Sabbath in Israel, Yom Kippur, was a fast day on which eating and drinking were not permitted. Thus, even the slaughter of lambs on a weekly Sabbath was an exceptional situation that occurred only rarely. Much more important was that the people of Israel remembered precisely the individual events of the Exodus that followed in time. 

To arbitrarily postpone the slaughter of the lambs by one or two days of the week would be a greater sin than to circumvent the commandment of rest on a small weekly Sabbath for only a few hours (the slaughter took place only at the end of the Sabbath, starting at 3 p.m.). Furthermore, it should not be overlooked that even the highest holiday in Israel, Yom Kippur, was a fast day on which eating and drinking were not permitted. This was also not pleasant and was intended to humble the people. The breaking of the Sabbath on the 14th of Nisan affected only a short period (3 hours) within the whole Sabbath, because there was a rest period of about 21 hours before that. Moreover, only the father of the house had to do the heavy work; the rest of the family continued to observe the Sabbath rest and, of course, did not engage in the usual professional activities.

It has always been permitted to free a donkey or a sheep from a pit on the Sabbath, as Jesus said, which was really the heaviest work. And the slaughtering of lambs on a small weekly Sabbath (when it fell on a 14th of Nisan) was thus [1.] an exceptional situation that occurred only rarely and [2.] took up only a short time of the Sabbath and also [3.] became work for only a few people. It was much more important that God's people accurately remembered the individual chronological events of the Exodus and celebrated this every year, recognizing the spiritual significance of the first feast of the year.  

There is not one reference in the Bible to slaughter being forbidden on a Sabbath or Friday when the 14th of Nisan falls on a Sabbath (Saturday) or preparation day (Friday). These are religious inventions of self-righteous people who place the Sabbath above God and cannot see the spiritual meaning of the feast and its fulfillment by Jesus. 

Until the beginning of the First World War, Germany was very advanced in literary terms. There were outstanding scholars, also from the Jewish field, who worked intensively on the Bible. Unfortunately, many of their works have been forgotten and modern encyclopedias treat many topics only superficially.

• Beer, Georg: "Die Mischna: Text, Übersetzung und ausführliche Erklärung; mit eingehender geschichtlicher und sprachlicher Einleitung und textkritischem Anhang / begr. von Georg Beer ... Hrsg. von Karl Heinrich Rengstorf ... Seder 2, Moed: Traktat 3 (1912). Die Mischna, Pesachim (Ostern): [Seder 2, Moed, Traktat 3] / Text, Übers. u. Erklärung nebst e. textkrit. Anhang". Gießen: Töpelmann, 1912.   Link-1,   Link-2 
• Fritzsche: Orientalia "Der Orient Leipzig: Berichte, Studien und Kritiken für jüdische Geschichte und Literatur", Band 2, Leipzig 1841.   Link-1,   Link-2,   Link-3  
• Herlitz, Georg und Bruno Kirschner, Jüdisches Lexikon: ein enzyklopädisches Handbuch des jüdischen Wissens in vier Bänden, Jüdischer Verlag 1927, Nachdruck der ersten Auflage Athenäum Verlag 1987.  Link 
• Lund, Johann: "Die Alten Jüdischen Heiligthümer, Gottesdienste und Gewohnheiten, für Augen gestellet, In einer ausführlichen Beschreibung des gantzen Levitischen Priesterthums, Und fünff unterschiedenen Büchern: Es handelt deren I. Von der Stiffts-Hütten, dero verfertigung, Geräthen, Versetzung [et]c: Dis Werck, dergleichen in Teutscher Sprache noch niemahls heraus gegeben worden: zeiget alle und jede der alten Jüden heilige, wie auch andere Gebräuche umständlich und gründlich; weiset, wohin solche gezielet; und machet durch Beyhülffe so wol der glaubwürdigsten Jüdischen, als vieler hochgeachteten Christl. Scribenten, alles so deutlich, daß es nicht nur zum Verstande heiliger Schrift grosses Licht geben, und gleichsam als ein Schlüssel derselben nützlich gebrauchet werden; sondern auch manniglichen, wes Standes er sey, wegen vieler darinnen vorkommenden curieusen Sachen, zur historischen Ergetzung dienen kan. ist mit zierlichen, und zur Erleuterung helffenden Figuren; wie auch aller Capitel wohlgefasseten Summarien und Marginalien, vermittelst dreyzehen-jähriger Mühe und Forschung sorgsamst ausgearbeitet..." Mitwirkende: Heinrich Muhlius, Johann Christoph Wolf, Johann Wilhelm Michaelis. Verlag: Verlegst Christian Wilhelm Brand, 1738.   Link-1,   Link-2,   Link-3 

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