The korbanot include cattle, lambs, goats, birds, and meal-offerings of various types. How much would each one cost (in Talmudic money or in today's?), and what was the total cost of the communal korbanot each year paid by the 1/2 shekel tax?
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2This might be a starting point (price of a goat)– b aCommented Jan 25, 2019 at 9:39
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Re "in today's", surely that info is readily available. I mean, people do buy these things today.– msh210 ♦Commented Jan 25, 2019 at 12:49
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Please remember that the two Temples spanned a thousand years and tens of kings, occupations, regimes and cultures. So you must focus on a specific era.– Al BerkoCommented Jan 25, 2019 at 14:32
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@msh210 the price as, say, a function of income (or of a day's food, or other measure) might have been different then than now.– Monica CellioCommented Jan 27, 2019 at 1:29
1 Answer
There are some essays (in Hebrew) on the realia of the Beis Hamikdash, including its economics, by Prof. Zohar Amar, on his website (http://zoharamar.org.il/מקדש/).
His study of the korbanos tzibbur (ההיבט הכלכלי של קרבנות הציבור במקדש) suggests that the costs of those, plus various operating expenses (not all of which are known from our sources), would have amounted to at least 4000+ gold dinarim, or 50000+ half-shekels. (To address Al Berko's point in a comment on the OP, Prof. Amar's data seem to be based on the late Second Temple period.)