Exodus12
English Standard Version
1The Lord to and in the of ,
2 shall be for you the of . It shall be the of the for you.
3 the of that on the day of this every shall a according to their ’ , a for a .
4And the too for a , then he and his shall according to the of ; to what you shall make your for the .
5Your shall be , a . You may it from the or from the ,
6and you shall it until the of , when the of the of shall their at .
7Then they shall of the and it on the and the of the in which they it.
8They shall the , on the ; with and they shall it.
9Do not of it or in , but , its with its and its .
10And you shall let of it until the ; anything that until the you shall .
11In this you shall it: with your , your on your , and your in your . And you shall it in . It is the Lord ’s .
12For I will the of , and I will the in the of , and ; and on the of I will : I am the Lord.
13The shall be a for you, on the you . And when I the , I will you, and will befall you to you, when I the of .
14 shall be for you a day, and you shall it as a to the Lord; throughout your , as a , you shall keep it as a .
15 you shall . the you shall out of your , for what is , from the until the , that shall be off from .
16On the you shall hold a , and on the . shall be on those days. what to , that alone may be prepared by you.
17And you shall the Feast of , for on this I your of the of . Therefore you shall , throughout your , as a .
18In the month, from the of the at , you shall the of the at .
19For is to be in your . what is , that will be from the of , whether he is a or a of the .
20You shall ; in your you shall .
21Then all the of and to them, and for yourselves according to your , and the .
22 a of and it in the that is in the , and the and the with the that is in the . of you shall of the of his until the .
23For the Lord will to the , and when he the the and the , the Lord will the and will the to your to you.
24You shall as a for you and for your .
25And when you to the that the Lord will you, as he has , you shall .
26And when your to you, do you mean by ?
27you shall , It is the of the Lord ’s , for he the of the of in , when he the but our . And the bowed their and .
28Then the of and so; the Lord had and , so they .
29At the Lord the in the of , from the of who on his to the of the was in the , and the of the .
30And in the , he and his and the . And there was a in , for there was a someone was .
31Then he and by and , , from my , you and the of ; and , the Lord, as you have .
32 your and your , as you have , and be , and me !
33The were with the to them out of the in . For they , We shall be .
34So the their before it was , their being in their on their .
35The of had also as them, for they had the for and and for .
36And the Lord had the in the of the , so that they let them have what they . Thus they the .
37And the of from to , about on , women and .
38A with them, and , both and .
39And they of the that they had of , for it was not , because they were of and , had they any for themselves.
40The the of in was .
41At the of , on that , the of the Lord from the of .
42It was a of by the Lord, to of the of ; so same is a night of to the Lord by the of throughout their .
43And the Lord to and , is the of the : shall of it,
44but that is for may of it after you have him.
45No or may of it.
46It shall be in ; you shall of the the , and you shall any of its .
47 the of shall it.
48 a shall with you and would the to the Lord, his be . Then he may come and it; he shall be as a of the . But shall of it.
49There shall be for the and for the who you.
50 the of just the Lord and .
51And on that the Lord the of of the of by their .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 12.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The beginning of the year changed, The passover instituted. (1–20). The people instructed how to observe the passover. (21–28). The death of the first-born of the Egyptians, The Israelites urged to leave the land of Egypt. (29–36). The Israelites' first journey to Succoth. (37–42). Ordinance respecting the passover. (43–51).
vv1-20
The Lord makes all things new to those whom he delivers from the bondage of Satan, and takes to himself to be his people. The time when he does this is to them the beginning of a new life. God appointed that, on the night wherein they were to go out of Egypt, each family should kill a lamb, or that two or three families, if small, should kill one lamb. This lamb was to be eaten in the manner here directed, and the blood to be sprinkled on the door-posts, to mark the houses of the Israelites from those of the Egyptians. The angel of the Lord, when destroying the first-born of the Egyptians, would pass over the houses marked by the blood of the lamb: hence the name of this holy feast or ordinance. The passover was to be kept every year, both as a remembrance of Israel's preservation and deliverance out of Egypt, and as a remarkable type of Christ. Their safety and deliverance were not a reward of their own righteousness, but the gift of mercy. Of this they were reminded, and by this ordinance they were taught, that all blessings came to them through the shedding and sprinkling of blood. Observe, 1. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our passover, 1Co 5:7. Christ is the Lamb of God, Joh 1:29; often in the Revelation he is called the Lamb. It was to be in its prime; Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days, not when a babe at Bethlehem. It was to be without blemish; the Lord Jesus was a Lamb without spot: the judge who condemned Christ declared him innocent. It was to be set apart four days before, denoting the marking out of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It was to be slain, and roasted with fire, denoting the painful sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. The wrath of God is as fire, and Christ was made a curse for us. Not a bone of it must be broken, which was fulfilled in Christ, Joh 19:33, denoting the unbroken strength of the Lord Jesus. 2. The sprinkling of the blood was typical. The blood of the lamb must be sprinkled, denoting the applying of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Ro 5:11. Faith is the bunch of hyssop, by which we apply the promises, and the benefits of the blood of Christ laid up in them, to ourselves. It was to be sprinkled on the door-posts, denoting the open profession we are to make of faith in Christ. It was not to be sprinkled upon the threshold; which cautions us to take heed of trampling under foot the blood of the covenant. It is precious blood, and must be precious to us. The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of preserving the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was. The blood of Christ is the believer's protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell, Ro 8:1. 3. The solemn eating of the lamb was typical of our gospel duty to Christ. The paschal lamb was not to be looked upon only, but to be fed upon. So we must by faith make Christ our own; and we must receive spiritual strength and nourishment from him, as from our food, see Joh 6:53, 55. It was all to be eaten; those who by faith feed upon Christ, must feed upon a whole Christ; they must take Christ and his yoke, Christ and his cross, as well as Christ and his crown. It was to be eaten at once, not put by till morning. To-day Christ is offered, and is to be accepted while it is called to-day, before we sleep the sleep of death. It was to be eaten with bitter herbs, in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt; we must feed upon Christ with sorrow and brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin. Christ will be sweet to us, if sin be bitter. It was to be eaten standing, with their staves in their hands, as being ready to depart. When we feed upon Christ by faith, we must forsake the rule and the dominion of sin; sit loose to the world, and every thing in it; forsake all for Christ, and reckon it no bad bargain, Heb 13:13, 14. 4. The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, 1Co 5:7, 8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, we must continually delight ourselves in Christ Jesus. No manner of work must be done, that is, no care admitted and indulged, which does not agree with, or would lessen this holy joy. The Jews were very strict as to the passover, so that no leaven should be found in their houses. It must be a feast kept in charity, without the leaven of malice; and in sincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. It was by an ordinance for ever; so long as we live we must continue feeding upon Christ, rejoicing in him always, with thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
vv21-28
That night, when the first-born were to be destroyed, no Israelite must stir out of doors till called to march out of Egypt. Their safety was owing to the blood of sprinkling. If they put themselves from under the protection of that, it was at their peril. They must stay within, to wait for the salvation of the Lord; it is good to do so. In after-times they should carefully teach their children the meaning of this service. It is good for children to ask about the things of God; they that ask for the way will find it. The keeping of this solemnity every year was, 1. To look backward, that they might remember what great things God had done for them and their fathers. Old mercies, to ourselves, or to our fathers, must not be forgotten, that God may be praised, and our faith in him encouraged. 2. It was designed to look forward, as an earnest of the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the fulness of time. Christ our passover was sacrificed for us; his death was our life.
vv29-36
The Egyptians had been for three days and nights kept in anxiety and horror by the darkness; now their rest is broken by a far more terrible calamity. The plague struck their first-born, the joy and hope of their families. They had slain the Hebrews' children, now God slew theirs. It reached from the throne to the dungeon: prince and peasant stand upon the same level before God's judgments. The destroying angel entered every dwelling unmarked with blood, as the messenger of woe. He did his dreadful errand, leaving not a house in which there was not one dead. Imagine then the cry that rang through the land of Egypt, the long, loud shriek of agony that burst from every dwelling. It will be thus in that dreadful hour when the Son of man shall visit sinners with the last judgment. God's sons, his first-born, were now released. Men had better come to God's terms at first, for he will never come to theirs. Now Pharaoh's pride is abased, and he yields. God's word will stand; we get nothing by disputing, or delaying to submit. In this terror the Egyptians would purchase the favour and the speedy departure of Israel. Thus the Lord took care that their hard-earned wages should be paid, and the people provided for their journey.
Key Words
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
מִצְרַיִם: Mitsrajim, i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt
זֶה: the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or that
חֹדֶשׁ: the new moon; by implication, a month
רֹאשׁ: the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)
רִאשׁוֹן: first, in place, time or rank (as adjective or noun)
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
Cross References
Exodus 12Explicitly names Christ as our Passover Lamb, sacrificed for us; the ultimate fulfillment of the type.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Christ is identified explicitly as our Passover sacrificed for us, fulfilling the type of the lamb.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicitly cites the prohibition against breaking a bone of the Passover lamb as fulfilled in Christ.
Supported by JFB
John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Identifies Christ as a Lamb without blemish or spot, echoing the physical requirements of the passover.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
By faith Moses kept the passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest the destroyer touch them.
Supported by JFB
By faith Moses kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood to escape the destroyer.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin
Hyssop is used both for sprinkling the Passover blood and delivering vinegar to Christ on the cross.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Confirms the exact duration of four hundred and thirty years from the covenant to the Law.
The foundational prophecy of Israel's servitude and ultimate deliverance after four hundred years.
The Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' legs, fulfilling the unbroken bone Passover pattern.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Cautions against trampling the blood underfoot; the paschal blood was placed on posts, never the threshold.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Confirms that when the firstborn were smitten, the Lord also executed judgments upon Egypt's gods.
Supported by JFB
Paul links unleavened bread to the Christian life, casting out the leaven of malice and wickedness.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The sprinkling of the lamb's blood typifies the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts and compares the blood of sprinkling on the doorposts with the blood of Jesus.
Supported by JFB
Fulfills the prophecy given to Abraham concerning his seed's affliction and ultimate release.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Confirms the 430-year span between the promise to Abraham and the giving of the Law.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Reiterates the command to observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to Yahweh.
Describes Gentiles as strangers and foreigners excluded from the commonwealth of Israel before Christ.
Establishes circumcision for household servants, qualifying them to partake in the covenant feast.
Repeats the ordinance that no bone of the Passover lamb shall be broken.
Matches the 'without blemish' requirement to Christ, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.
Supported by JFB
Unleavened bread is called the bread of affliction, recalling the haste of their departure from Egypt.
Supported by JFB
The prohibition on breaking a bone is explicitly fulfilled at the crucifixion of Jesus.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Christ commands disciples to let their loins be girded, echoing the readiness required at the Passover.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Direct parallel regarding the blood acting as a protective sign when the Lord passes over.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Fulfillment of Moses' warning that the Lord would go out at midnight to smite the firstborn.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Celebrates Israel leaving with silver and gold, and there being not one feeble person.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Fulfills the promise that Israel would come out of their servitude with great substance.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Stephen recounts the deliverance after they had spent the appointed years in Egypt.
Shows ultimate fulfillment of spiritual equality where there is no Jew, Greek, or stranger in Christ.
Echoes the breaking down of barriers between circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, and Scythian.
Provides the specific protocol for strangers who wish to keep the Passover.
Confirms there is one law and custom for both the Israelite and the resident stranger.
Specifies that the blood must be applied using a bunch of hyssop dipped in the basin.
Supported by John Calvin