Tamid, Chapter 3, Mishnah 5. So far our chapter has walked us alongside the kohanim through the first tasks of the morning in the Beit Hamikdash, and here we finally reach the korban Tamid itself. The mishnah records how the animal was slaughtered, how its hide was removed, and how it was divided into the portions that would later be carried up to the mizbeach. In doing so it also shows us exactly where in the Azarah this work took place: the butchering area.
Leading the animal to the butchering area
"Mi shezachah baTamid moshcho veholech leBeit haMitbachayim." The kohen who had won the lottery for slaughtering the Tamid would take hold of the animal and lead it along with him to the Beit HaMitbachayim, the butchering area.
"Umi shezachu ba'evarim holchin acharav." Those kohanim who had merited in the lottery to carry the limbs up to the mizbeach walked behind him. They were not simply an escort: when the animal was brought down to be slaughtered, they helped hold it in place.
Where the butchering area stood
"Beit HaMitbachayim hayah litzfono shel mizbeach." The area where the animal was cut up was situated on the northern side of the mizbeach.
"Ve'alav shemonah amudim nanasin." In that area stood eight low stone pillars, short pillars, described as dwarf-sized.
"Urevi'it shel erez al gabeihen." Resting on top of each of these pillars was a squared block of cedar wood. The blocks were not fastened to the pillars; their sheer weight was enough to keep them firmly in place.
The hooks and the marble tables
"Ve'unkeliyot shel barzel hayu kevu'in bahen." Set into every one of those cedar beams were hooks made of iron.
"Usheloshah sedarim hayah lechol echad ve'echad shebahen tolin." Every one of the blocks had three rows of these hooks, one row above the next. On them the animals were hung, suspended by their hind legs with their backs facing outward, while the kohanim skinned them and cut them into their portions.
"Umafshitin al shulchanot shel shayish shebein ha'amudim." The removal of the hide was carried out over tables of marble, which stood in the open spaces separating one pillar from the next.