Even though Exod 12:6 stipulated the sacrifice of the Passover lamb on the afternoon of 14 Nisan, there is some rabbinic evidence that Passover lambs were regularly sacrificed earlier.13 Such latitude in sacrifice is hardly surprising given the vast numbers of pilgrims serviced by the temple at Passover. The wording of v. 12 thus reflects a practice evidently accepted by many Jewish pilgrims.
