1“‘And in the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a sacred assembly, no task of work shall you do. A day of trumpeting it shall be for you. 2And you shall do a burnt offering, a fragrant odor to the LORD, one bull from the herd, one ram, seven unblemished yearling lambs. 3And their grain offering mixed with oil, three-tenths for the bull, two-tenths for the ram. 4And one-tenth for each lamb of the seven lambs. 5And a goat for an offense offering to atone for you. 6Besides the burnt offering of the new moon and its grain offering and the perpetual burnt offering and its grain offering and their libations according to their rule, as a fragrant odor, a fire offering to the LORD. 7And on the tenth of this seventh month you shall have a sacred assembly, and you shall afflict yourselves, no task shall you do. 8And you shall offer up a burnt offering to the LORD, a fragrant odor: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven unblemished yearling lambs you shall have. 9And their grain offering fine semolina flour mixed with oil, three-tenths for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram. 10One-tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs. 11One goat as an offense offering, besides the offense offering of atonement and the perpetual burnt offering and its grain offering and their libations.
12“‘And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a sacred assembly, no task of work shall you do, and you shall celebrate a festival to the LORD seven days. 13And you shall offer up a burnt offering, a fire offering, a fragrant odor to the LORD, thirteen bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen yearling lambs, unblemished they shall be. 14And their grain offering, fine semolina flour mixed with oil, three-tenths for each bull of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each ram of the two rams. 15And one-tenth for every lamb of the fourteen lambs. 16And one goat as an offense offering besides the perpetual burnt offering, its grain offering and its libation. 17And on the second day twelve bulls from the herd, two rams, fourteen unblemished yearling lambs. 18And their meal offering and their libations—for the bulls and for the rams and for the lambs by their number and according to their rule. 19And one goat as an offense offering besides the perpetual burnt offering and its grain offering and their libations. 20And on the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen unblemished yearling lambs. 21And their grain offering and their libations—for the bulls and for the rams and for the lambs by their number according to their rule. 22And one offense-offering goat, besides the perpetual burnt offering and its grain offering and its libation. 23And on the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen unblemished yearling lambs. 24Their grain offering and their libations—for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs by their number according to their rule. 25And one goat as an offense offering, besides the perpetual burnt offering, its grain offering and its libation. 26And on the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen unblemished yearling lambs. 27And their grain offering and their libations—for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs by their number according to their rule. 28And one offense-offering goat, besides the perpetual burnt offering and its grain offering and its libation. 29And on the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen unblemished yearling lambs. 30And their grain offering and their libations—for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs by their number according to their rule. 31And one offense-offering goat, besides the perpetual burnt offering, its grain offering and its libations. 32And on the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen unblemished yearling lambs. 33And their grain offering and their libations—for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number according to their rule. 34And one offense-offering goat, besides the perpetual burnt offering, its grain offering and its libation. 35On the eighth day you shall have a convocation, no task of work shall you do. 36And you shall offer up a burnt offering, a fire offering, a fragrant odor to the LORD, one bull, one ram, seven unblemished yearling lambs. 37Their grain offering and their libations—for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number according to their rule. 38And one offense-offering goat, besides the perpetual burnt offering and its grain offering and its libation. 39These shall you do for the LORD in your fixed seasons, besides your votive offerings and your donations, as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings and your libations and your communion sacrifices.’” 30:1And Moses said to the Israelites as all that the LORD had charged Moses.
CHAPTER 29 NOTES
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1. in the seventh month on the first of the month. In the postbiblical period, this sacred assembly would be designated Rosh Hashanah, New Year. The month in which it occurs, approximately equivalent to September, figures as the seventh month in biblical calculation because the agriculturally based calendar begins in the early spring.
A day of trumpeting. The Hebrew teruʿah in all likelihood refers to the sounding of the ram’s horn, the shofar. Blasts on the ram’s horn were used in coronation ceremonies, and as Moshe Weinfeld plausibly argues, this festival was probably linked with other ancient Near Eastern festivals that enacted an annual coronation of the principal deity. It is quite possible that as the biblical faith, evolving toward the form it took in rabbinic Judaism, became more monotheistically theological and less centered on agriculture, this theme of God’s kingship led to the adoption of the first day of the seventh month as the beginning of the year—the time when God’s majestic rule is ceremonially acknowledged and humanity vows fealty and submits itself (there are ancient Near Eastern precedents) to divine judgment.
7. and on the tenth of this seventh month . . . you shall afflict yourselves. The holiday referred to is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, though that name is not mentioned here. The idiom “you shall afflict yourselves,” weʿinitem ʾet-nafshoteikhem, indicates fasting.
12. on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The holiday in question is the seven-day fall harvest festival of Succoth. Not only is that name not used here but there is also no mention of the harvest aspect of the holiday in this Priestly document, which focuses relentlessly on sacrificial procedures.
13. And you shall offer up a burnt offering. Throughout this cultic legislation, the et cetera principle is strenuously avoided. Although all of the sacrifices, except for the bulls, are identical on each day, for every day, as if to confirm the high ceremonial scrupulousness of what is to be performed, each of the items is restated verbatim. Only trivial variations in wording are allowed—“and” sometimes appears and sometimes is deleted in the lists; the goat is sometimes “one goat as an offense offering” (seʿir ʿizim ʾeḥad ḥataʾt) and some times, more concisely, “one offense-offering goat” (seʿir ʾataʾt ʾeḥad). This is a literature of meticulous protocol.
thirteen bulls. The bulls, which decrease by one each day, begin with the odd number thirteen in order that on the seventh day there will be a perfect match of seven bulls for the seven days—a harmonious pairing of the sacred number in the counting of the days and in the sacrificial animals.
35. On the eighth day you shall have a convocation. This eighth day’s convocation, ʿatseret, is clearly marked in the cult as a separate holiday because it has no part in the countdown of bulls, only one bull now being sacrificed. In postbiblical tradition, the holiday would come to be known as Shemini ʿAtseret, the Eighth-Day Convocation.
30:1. Hebrew Bibles set this as the beginning of chapter 30, but it is obviously a conclusion of the present unit, summarizing what has preceded.