But at the age of fifty years they shall retire from service in the work and not work any more.This caught me by surprise. I'm one of those people who never has seriously considered retirement. Granted, I'm not quite thirty, so I've got plenty of time before I have to really think about it, but I just can't see myself retiring in the normal sense of the word. My dad's the same way; he'll keep going at his work until he physically can't anymore.
So why the mandatory retirement age for priests? Is it because that was about the life expectancy at the time? We see many people older than that listed in various parts of the history, so that may or may not be accurate. My first thought on that age is that that is the point where the body really starts to show its wear. Part of the priests' duties is to carry out certain rituals, the same way every time. I'm only guessing, but maybe the retirement age is to help minimize/prevent priests from trying to do things they physically can't anymore, messing up ceremony, and possibly incurring God's wrath?
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