Exodus12
World English Bible · Public Domain
1Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2“This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.
3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household;
4and if the household is too little for a lamb, then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take one according to the number of the souls. You shall make your count for the lamb according to what everyone can eat.
5Your lamb shall be without defect, a male a year old. You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats.
6You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at evening.
7They shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they shall eat it.
8They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
9Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts.
10You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.
11This is how you shall eat it: with your belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is Yahweh’s Passover.
12For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh.
13The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14This day shall be a memorial for you. You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh. You shall keep it as a feast throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
15“‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
16In the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no kind of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, only that may be done by you.
17You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening.
19There shall be no yeast found in your houses for seven days, for whoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a foreigner, or one who is born in the land.
20You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Draw out, and take lambs according to your families, and kill the Passover.
22You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.
23For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.
24You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever.
25It shall happen when you have come to the land which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, that you shall keep this service.
26It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
27that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’” The people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28The children of Israel went and did so; as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29At midnight, Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.
30Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31He called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel; and go, serve Yahweh, as you have said!
32Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!”
33The Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We are all dead men.”
34The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35The children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing.
36Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. They plundered the Egyptians.
37The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, in addition to children.
38A mixed multitude went up also with them, with flocks, herds, and even very much livestock.
39They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought out of Egypt; for it wasn’t leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and couldn’t wait, and they had not prepared any food for themselves.
40Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.
41At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the day, all of Yahweh’s armies went out from the land of Egypt.
42It is a night to be much observed to Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of Yahweh, to be much observed by all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
43Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it,
44but every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.
45A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it.
46It must be eaten in one house. You shall not carry any of the meat outside of the house. Do not break any of its bones.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48When a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, and would like to keep the Passover to Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. He shall be as one who is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
49One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.”
50All the children of Israel did so. As Yahweh commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
51That same day, Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
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