The situation reported concerns certain Galileans—the number,
unspecified, need have been no more than a couple (Easton, 213)—who had been
offering sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. The occasion could have been
Passover, the only time when the laity slaughtered their own animals (Jeremias,
Words, 207 n. 4), and the incident
involved the killing of the men while they were sacrificing. Thus Pilate could
be said to mix (μίγνυμι,
Mt. 27:34; Rev. 8:7; 15:2) their blood with that of their sacrifices (cf. SB
II, 193). The expression need not be taken literally, but could simply be a
gruesome metaphor for the two events taking place simultaneously. (I.
Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text [New
International Greek Testament Commentary; Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978], 553)
Here is the text
of Strack and Billerbeck Marshall references:
13:1: Galileans, whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices.
This was possible because the slaughter of the sacrificial animals was
primarily the responsibility of the person who offered the sacrifice. The
activity of the priests did not begin until the blood was collected and
sprinkled.
Mishnah Zebaḥim 3.1: The slaughter is valid if it is done by
non-priests, by women, by slaves, and even by unclean people. Even for the most
holy sacrifices, only those who are unclean may not touch the
sacrifice.—Babylonian Talmud Zebaḥim 32A: Because it says, “But you and your
sons with you shall observe your priesthood with regard to every matter of the
altar” (Num 18:7), one might think that this also applies to the slaughter of
the sacrifice (that this is also to be done by the priests). However, the Scripture
teaches, “And he is to slaughter the young ox before Yahweh, and the sons of
Aaron, the priests, are to offer the blood” (Lev 1:5). From the collection (of
the blood) onward, the commandments are applicable to the priesthood. This
teaches that the slaughter can be done by every human being in a manner that is
valid.—This baraita can be found in SLev 1:5. ‖ ἔμιξεν = עֵירֵב.—Midrash
on Psalms 7 § 2 (32A): R. Samuel b. Nahman (ca. 260) said, “David swore to
Abishai, son of Zeruiah, and said, ‘As the true Yahweh lives’ (1 Sam 26:10)! If
you touch the blood of this righteous one (Saul), I will mix your blood with
his blood אני
מערב דמך בדמו.”
‖ Exodus Rabbah 19 (81C): God said to the Israelites, “If you do not circumcise
yourselves, you are not permitted to eat (of the Passover lamb),” see Exod
12:43. Immediately, they gave themselves over to be circumcised, and the blood
of the Passover sacrifice was mixed נתערב
with the blood of circumcision. (Hermann L. Strack and Paul
Billerbeck, A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash,
ed. Jacob N. Cerone, 4 vols. [trans. Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino;
Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2022], 2:225)
