Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Users Search
Help Dashboard Sign In Sign Up
Q&A Meta
Q&A
Posts Tags Edits
Ask Question

Post History

66%
+2 −0
Q&A Was Day of Atonement Practiced During Time of Jesus?

The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, Yom Kippur) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the de...

posted 7d ago by qohelet‭  ·  edited 6d ago by qohelet‭

Answer
#5: Post edited by user avatar qohelet‭ · 2025-03-27T17:41:01Z (6 days ago)
spelling error
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description with evidence of its practice in tractate Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo (writing in the first century) also discussed _Yom Kippur_ in _De Specialibus legibus_ ("The Special Laws") 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • Given the clear evidence for the practice of _Yom Kippur_ during Jesus' lifetime, I think it's more likely the questioner's (mis)understanding of its significance within Judaism and early Christianity is influenced by later theological developments. Perhaps the apparent tension they perceive between Paul's writings and the annual forgiveness of _Yom Kippur_ stems from an anachronistic application of concepts that became central to later Protestant dogma but were understood differently within the first-century Jewish context, including by early followers of Jesus who themselves were Jewish. But to elaborate further would need to be in response to an entirely different question.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Josephus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description with evidence of its practice in tractate Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo (writing in the first century) also discussed _Yom Kippur_ in _De Specialibus legibus_ ("The Special Laws") 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • Given the clear evidence for the practice of _Yom Kippur_ during Jesus' lifetime, I think it's more likely the questioner's (mis)understanding of its significance within Judaism and early Christianity is influenced by later theological developments. Perhaps the apparent tension they perceive between Paul's writings and the annual forgiveness of _Yom Kippur_ stems from an anachronistic application of concepts that became central to later Protestant dogma but were understood differently within the first-century Jewish context, including by early followers of Jesus who themselves were Jewish. But to elaborate further would need to be in response to an entirely different question.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
#4: Post edited by user avatar qohelet‭ · 2025-03-27T17:37:17Z (6 days ago)
Fixed citations of Mishnah + Talmud
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description with evidence of its practice in m. Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in b. Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo (writing in the first century) also discussed _Yom Kippur_ in _De Specialibus legibus_ ("The Special Laws") 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • Given the clear evidence for the practice of _Yom Kippur_ during Jesus' lifetime, I think it's more likely the questioner's (mis)understanding of its significance within Judaism and early Christianity is influenced by later theological developments. Perhaps the apparent tension they perceive between Paul's writings and the annual forgiveness of _Yom Kippur_ stems from an anachronistic application of concepts that became central to later Protestant dogma but were understood differently within the first-century Jewish context, including by early followers of Jesus who themselves were Jewish. But to elaborate further would need to be in response to an entirely different question.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description with evidence of its practice in tractate Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo (writing in the first century) also discussed _Yom Kippur_ in _De Specialibus legibus_ ("The Special Laws") 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • Given the clear evidence for the practice of _Yom Kippur_ during Jesus' lifetime, I think it's more likely the questioner's (mis)understanding of its significance within Judaism and early Christianity is influenced by later theological developments. Perhaps the apparent tension they perceive between Paul's writings and the annual forgiveness of _Yom Kippur_ stems from an anachronistic application of concepts that became central to later Protestant dogma but were understood differently within the first-century Jewish context, including by early followers of Jesus who themselves were Jewish. But to elaborate further would need to be in response to an entirely different question.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
#3: Post edited by user avatar qohelet‭ · 2025-03-26T19:29:01Z (7 days ago)
minor grammatical fix
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description evidence of its practice in m. Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in b. Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo also discussed it (writing in the first century) in _De Specialibus legibus_ (The Special Laws) 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • Given the clear evidence for the practice of _Yom Kippur_ during Jesus' lifetime, I think it's more likely the questioner's (mis)understanding of its significance within Judaism and early Christianity is influenced by later theological developments. Perhaps the apparent tension they perceive between Paul's writings and the annual forgiveness of _Yom Kippur_ stems from an anachronistic application of concepts that became central to later Protestant dogma but were understood differently within the first-century Jewish context, including by early followers of Jesus who themselves were Jewish. But to elaborate further would need to be in response to an entirely different question.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description with evidence of its practice in m. Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in b. Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo (writing in the first century) also discussed _Yom Kippur_ in _De Specialibus legibus_ ("The Special Laws") 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • Given the clear evidence for the practice of _Yom Kippur_ during Jesus' lifetime, I think it's more likely the questioner's (mis)understanding of its significance within Judaism and early Christianity is influenced by later theological developments. Perhaps the apparent tension they perceive between Paul's writings and the annual forgiveness of _Yom Kippur_ stems from an anachronistic application of concepts that became central to later Protestant dogma but were understood differently within the first-century Jewish context, including by early followers of Jesus who themselves were Jewish. But to elaborate further would need to be in response to an entirely different question.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
#2: Post edited by user avatar qohelet‭ · 2025-03-26T17:37:11Z (7 days ago)
Added note on the rest of the question
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description evidence of its practice in m. Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in b. Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo also discussed it (writing in the first century) in _De Specialibus legibus_ (The Special Laws) 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
  • The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.
  • Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):
  • >On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]
  • The Mishna also records a detailed description evidence of its practice in m. Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in b. Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]
  • Philo also discussed it (writing in the first century) in _De Specialibus legibus_ (The Special Laws) 1:186–188.[^4]
  • In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.
  • Given the clear evidence for the practice of _Yom Kippur_ during Jesus' lifetime, I think it's more likely the questioner's (mis)understanding of its significance within Judaism and early Christianity is influenced by later theological developments. Perhaps the apparent tension they perceive between Paul's writings and the annual forgiveness of _Yom Kippur_ stems from an anachronistic application of concepts that became central to later Protestant dogma but were understood differently within the first-century Jewish context, including by early followers of Jesus who themselves were Jewish. But to elaborate further would need to be in response to an entirely different question.
  • [^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).
  • [^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.
  • [^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.
  • [^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar qohelet‭ · 2025-03-26T17:33:13Z (7 days ago) 
The Day of Atonement (in Hebrew, *Yom Kippur*) is described in detail in Leviticus 16 (see also Numbers 29:7-11). There is abundant evidence that it continued to be practiced until (and after) the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, including in Joesphus' writings.

Josephus explicitly describes it in *Antiquities of the Jews* (which was likely completed near the end of the first century):

>On the tenth day of the same lunar month, they fast till the evening; and this day they sacrifice a bull, and two rams, and seven lambs, and a kid of the goats, for sins. And, besides these, they bring two kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness within the limits of the camp, and is there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing. With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place, together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and sprinkles it about the great altar. Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the liver upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to God as a burnt offering.[^1]

The Mishna also records a detailed description evidence of its practice in m. Yoma,[^2] as does the Babylonian Talmud in b. Yoma 4 (and elsewhere).[^3]

Philo also discussed it (writing in the first century) in _De Specialibus legibus_ (The Special Laws) 1:186–188.[^4]

In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that the Day of Atonement (_Yom Kippur_) was a significant and actively practiced observance within Judaism during the first century, the period in which Jesus lived. The explicit descriptions provided by the contemporary historian Josephus, coupled with the later but still relevant detailed accounts in the Mishna and Babylonian Talmud, and the first-century discussions by the philosopher Philo, leave little doubt about the established and ongoing observance of this central religious ritual. These independent sources, spanning historical narrative, legal tradition, and philosophical commentary, collectively underscore the deeply ingrained nature of _Yom Kippur_ in the religious landscape of Jesus' time.

[^1]: Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, _The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 95 (*Antiquities of the Jews* 3.10.3, 240-243).

[^2]: Jacob Neusner, _The Mishnah : A New Translation_ (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988), 265–279.

[^3]: Michael L. Rodkinson, trans., _The Babylonian Talmud: Original Text, Edited, Corrected, Formulated, and Translated into English_, vol. 6a (Boston, MA: The Talmud Society, 1918), 58–68.

[^4]: Charles Duke Yonge with Philo of Alexandria, _The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged_ (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995), 551.