📖 Biblical Definition
The tamid (תָּמִיד, "continual") was the continual daily burnt offering — one lamb sacrificed in the morning and one in the evening, perpetually, throughout Israel’s generations (Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 28:3-8). It was the heartbeat of tabernacle and temple worship — smoke ascended without break from the altar of burnt offering. The continuity itself was the testimony: God’s worship never paused. Daniel’s prophecy of the abomination of desolation specifies the cessation of the tamid as a desolation-marker (Daniel 8:11-13; 11:31; 12:11). Christ Himself is the true continual offering: "by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14) — once for all, perpetually efficacious.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The continual morning-and-evening burnt offering.
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The continual daily burnt offering commanded in Exodus 29 and Numbers 28: one lamb each morning and one each evening, every day throughout Israel's generations. The Hebrew tamid means "continually," and the daily rhythm itself was theological — God's worship in Israel never paused. Daniel 8:11-14 prophesies the desolating cessation of the tamid; its restoration is part of eschatological renewal.
📖 Key Scripture
Exodus 29:38-39 — "Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even."
Numbers 28:3-4 — "This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering."
Daniel 8:11 — "Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice (tamid) was taken away."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Most Christians don't know the tamid existed; with it, the theology of perpetual worship and its cessation as desolation is dimmer.
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The temple's morning-and-evening lamb was Israel's heartbeat. Christians often miss the continuity-symbol entirely. The Hebrew word tamid is the same word that names continuous prayer in modern Hebrew — the unceasing aspect.
Recover the rhythm: morning and evening lamb. Christ is the final tamid — offered once, but His intercession is continual at the right hand of the Father.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew tamid.
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['Hebrew', 'H8548', 'tamid', 'continually, perpetually']
Usage
"Tamid is the continual daily offering."
"Christ is the final tamid; His intercession continues."
"Pray morning and evening — the rhythm survives."