So far as I know the earliest explicit mention of these is in the tanaic/amoraic literature. Is there any earlier mention of them or other kind of evidence?

On Simchas Torah we read the end of V'zos Habracha and the begining of Bereishes - is there any special connection between them? Maybe something similiar about the Pesukim or the story line?

One who eats Pigul is Chayav Karet (see Zevachim, Mishna 2:2). There are several ways to create Pigul, but a simple case is such: Priest A is receiving the blood of a sacrificial animal, and he thinks about eating the meat of the same animal beyond its allotted time. One must discontinue the sacr...