How are land and offerings assigned to support the sanctuary?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Separate sacred, Levitical, civic and princely portions accompany just measures, communal levies and scheduled expiation.

Chapter breakdown

When the land is divided by lot, a portion is set apart for the Lord: twenty-five thousand long and ten thousand broad. The edition leaves the measure as reeds or cubits. Within it, the sanctuary is five hundred square, with fifty cubits of suburbs around it. The measured twenty-five-thousand-by-ten-thousand portion contains the temple and holy of holies and provides houses and holy place for the priests. A neighboring portion of the same dimensions belongs to the Levites who serve the house, with twenty store chambers. A city possession five thousand broad and twenty-five thousand long, opposite the sanctuary's firstfruits, belongs to all Israel.

The prince receives land on both sides of the sanctuary's firstfruits and the city's possession, extending westward toward the sea and eastward to the eastern border, with length corresponding to the tribal portions. The princes must cease robbing the people and distribute the land to Israel's tribes. They are commanded to leave iniquity and robbery, execute judgment and justice, and separate their confines from the people.

Just balances, an ephi and a bate are required. Each ephi and bate contains a tenth of a core; the edition distinguishes the liquid and dry measures. A sicle contains twenty obols, and twenty, twenty-five and fifteen sicles together make a mna. The required firstfruits are a sixth of an ephi from each core of wheat and each core of barley. Oil is measured by the bate, described as a tenth of a core, with ten bates making a core. One ram from every two hundred of Israel's well-fed flock is supplied for sacrifices, holocausts and peace offerings to make atonement. All the people are bound to these firstfruits for the prince, and the prince supplies holocausts, sacrifices and libations for feasts, new moons, sabbaths and other solemnities, including sin and peace offerings for Israel's expiation.

On the first day of the first month, an unblemished calf expiates the sanctuary. Its blood is put on the house's posts, the four corners of the altar's brim and the posts of the inner court's gate. On the seventh day, the house is expiated for those who were ignorant or deceived by error. On the fourteenth day comes the pasch and seven days of unleavened bread. On that day the prince offers a calf for his own sins and all the people's. Each of the seven days requires seven unblemished calves and seven unblemished rams as holocausts, and a he-goat for sin. Each calf and ram receives an ephi, with a hin of oil for every ephi. The same seven-day provisions of sin offerings, holocausts, sacrifices and oil apply to the solemn feast beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

The story inside

The prince must cease robbery while the people provide specified firstfruits. The ephi, bate, sicle and mna are described with exact relationships. First-month expiation and two seven-day feasts require distinct offerings.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The prince must cease robbery while the people provide specified firstfruits.
2
The ephi, bate, sicle and mna are described with exact relationships.
3
First-month expiation and two seven-day feasts require distinct offerings.

Test your recall

What is offered daily during the paschal seven days?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 96350–96372
45:1. And when you shall begin to divide the land by lot, separate ye firstfruits to the Lord, a portion of the land to be holy, in length twenty-five thousand and in breadth ten thousand: it shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. Twenty-five thousand.... Viz., reeds or cubits. 45:2. And there shall be for the sanctuary on every side five hundred by five hundred, foursquare round about: and fifty cubits for the suburbs thereof round about. 45:3. And with this measure thou shalt measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand, and in it shall be the temple and the holy of holies. 45:4. The holy portion of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to the ministry of the Lord: and it shall be a place for their houses, and for the holy place of the sanctuary. 45:5. And five and twenty thousand of length, and ten thousand of breadth shall be for the Levites, that minister in the house: they shall possess twenty store chambers.
Lines 96390–96409
45:9. Thus saith the Lord God: Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: cease from iniquity and robberies, and execute judgment and justice, separate your confines from my people, saith the Lord God. 45:10. You shall have just balances, and a just ephi, and a just bate. 45:11. The ephi and the bate shall be equal, and of one measure: that the bate may contain the tenth part of a core, and the ephi the tenth part of a core: their weight shall be equal according to the measure of a core. The ephi and the bate.... These measures were of equal capacity, but the bate served for liquids, and the ephi for dry things. 45:12. And the sicle hath twenty obols. Now twenty sicles, and five and twenty sicles, and fifteen sicles, make a mna, 45:13. And these are the firstfruits, which you shall take: the sixth part of an ephi of a core of wheat, and the sixth part of an ephi of a core of barley.
Lines 96439–96456
45:21. In the first month, the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the solemnity of the pasch: seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten. 45:22. And the prince on that day shall offer for himself, and for all the people of the land, a calf for sin. 45:23. And in the solemnity of the seven days he shall offer for a holocaust to the Lord, seven calves, and seven rams without blemish daily for seven days: and for sin a he goat daily. 45:24. And he shall offer the sacrifice of an ephi for every calf, and an ephi for every ram: and a hin of oil for every ephi. 45:25. In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the solemn feast, he shall do the like for the seven days: as well in regard to the sin offering, as to the holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the oil.