And since the giving of thanks for
the fruits of the field has ceased to have any substantial place
in the feasts, the very shadow of connection between the two also
begins to disappear, for the rites of Leviticus xxiii. are taken
over from an older legislation, and for the most part are passed
over in silence in Numbers xxviii., xxix. Here, again, the passover
has followed a path of its own. Even at an earlier period,
substitution of other cattle and sheep was permitted. But now in
the Priestly Code the firstlings are strictly demanded indeed,
but merely as dues, not as sacrifices; the passover, always a
yearling lamb or kid, has neither in fact nor in time anything to
do with them, but occupies a separate position alongside. But as
it is represented to have been instituted in order that the Hebrew
first born may be spared in the destruction of those of the Egyptians,
this connection betrays the fact that the yearling lambs are after
all only a substitute for the firstlings of all animals fit for
sacrifice, but in comparison with the cattle and sheep of the
Jehovistic tradition and Deuteronomy a secondary substitute, and
one for the uniformity of which there is no motive; and we see
further that if the firstlings are now over and above assigned to
the priests this is equivalent to a reduplication, which has been
made possible first by a complete obscuration, and afterwards
by an artificial revival of the original custom.
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