They 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. They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts. You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. This 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. For 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. The 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. This 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.
“ ‘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. In 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. You 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. In 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. There 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. You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”
Then 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. You 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. For 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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22, 23 That is, all that may be eaten.
That is, all that may be eaten.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–23 Exo 12:7 And they shall take of the blood,…
Exo 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike [it] on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Ver. 7. And strike it on the two sideposts.] Not on the threshold. We may not "tread under foot the Son of God, or count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing," {Heb 10:29} but get "our hearts sprinkled" tberewith by the hyssop branch of faith "from an evil conscience, that we may serve the living God." {Heb 9:14}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23 This was afterwards restrained to the priests, but at…
This was afterwards restrained to the priests, but at this time it was allowed to the masters of families, as their present circumstances required.
They shall strike it; with a bunch of hyssop, Exo 12:22, as a badge of distinction between their houses and the Egyptians; not to direct the destroying angel where they were, who could as well discern the houses as the blood in the night, but to direct their thoughts to Christ, whose blood was hereby evidently typified, by whose merits and mediation they obtained this preservation and deliverance from Egypt, as well as their great deliverance from hell.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v21 I. Moses is here, as a faithful steward in…
I. Moses is here, as a faithful steward in God's house, teaching the children of Israel to observe all things which God had commanded him; and no doubt he gave the instructions as largely as he received them, though they are not so largely recorded. It is here added,
1. That this night, when the first-born were to be destroyed, no Israelite must stir out of doors till morning, that is, till towards morning, when they would be called to march out of Egypt, Exo 12:22. Not but that the destroying angel could have known an Israelite from an Egyptian in the street; but God would intimate to them that their safety was owing to the blood of sprinkling; if they put themselves from under the protection of that, it was at their peril. Those whom God has marked for himself must not mingle with evil doers: see Isa 26:20, Isa 26:21. They must not go out of the doors, lest they should straggle and be out of the way when they should be summoned to depart: they must stay within, to wait for the salvation of the Lord, and it is good to do so.
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2. That hereafter they should carefully teach their children the meaning of this service, Exo 12:26, Exo 12:27. Observe,
(1.) The question which the children would ask concerning this solemnity (which they would soon take notice of in the family): "What mean you by this service? What is he meaning of all this care and exactness about eating this lamb, and this unleavened bread, more than about common food? Why such a difference between this meal and other meals?" Note, [1.] It is a good thing to see children inquisitive about the things of God; it is to be hoped that those who are careful to ask for the way will find it. Christ himself, when a child, heard and asked questions, Luk 2:46. [2.] It concerns us all rightly to understand the meaning of those holy ordinances wherein we worship God, what is the nature and what the end of them, what is signified and what intended, what is the duty expected from us in them and what are the advantages to be expected by us. Every ordinance has a meaning; some ordinances, as sacraments, have not their meaning so plain and obvious as others have; therefore we are concerned to search, that we may not offer the blind for sacrifice, but may do a reasonable service. If either we are ignorant of, or mistake about, the meaning of holy ordinances, we can neither please God nor profit ourselves.
(2.) The answer which the parents were to return to this question (Exo 12:27): You shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, that is, "By the killing and sacrificing of this lamb, we keep in remembrance the work of wonder and grace which God did for our fathers, when," [1.] "To make way for our deliverance out of bondage, he slew the firstborn of the Egyptians, so compelling them to sign our discharge;" and, [2.] "Though there were with us, even with us, sins against the Lord our God, for which the destroying angel, when he was abroad doing execution, might justly have destroyed our first-born too, yet God graciously appointed and accepted the family-sacrifice of a lamb, instead of the first-born, as, of old, the ram instead of Isaac, and in every house where the lamb was slain the first-born were saved." The repetition of this solemnity in the return of every year was designed, First, To look backward as a memorial, that in it they might remember what great things God had done for them and their fathers. The word pesach signifies a leap, or transition; it is a passing over; for the destroying angel passed over the houses of the Israelites, and did not destroy their first-born. When God brings utter ruin upon his people he says, I will not pass by them any more (Amo 7:8; Amo 8:2), intimating how often he had passed by them, as now when the destroying angel passed over their houses. Note, 1. Distinguishing mercies lay under peculiar obligations. When a thousand fall at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand, and yet we are preserved, and have our lives given us for a prey, this should greatly affect us, Psa 91:7. In war or pestilence, if the arrow of death have passed by us, passed over us, hit the next to us and just missed us, we must not say it was by chance that we were preserved but by the special providence of our God. 2. Old mercies to ourselves, or to our fathers, must not be forgotten, but be had in everlasting remembrance, that God may be praised, our faith in him encouraged, and our hearts enlarged in his service. Secondly, It was designed to look forward as an earnest of the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the fulness of time, instead of us and our first-born. We were obnoxious to the sword of the destroying angel, but Christ our passover was sacrificed for us, his death was our life, and thus he was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, from the foundation of the Jewish church: Moses kept the passover by faith in Christ, for Christ was the end of the law for righteousness.
II. The people received these instructions with reverence and ready obedience. 1. They bowed the head and worshipped (Exo 12:27): they hereby signified their submission to this institution as a law, and their thankfulness for it as a favour and privilege. Note, When God gives law to us, we must give honour to him; when he speaks, we must bow our heads and worship. 2. They went away and did as they were commanded, Exo 12:23. Here was none of that discontent and murmuring among them which we read of, Exo 5:20, Exo 5:21. The plagues of Egypt had done them good, and raised their expectations of a glorious deliverance, which before they despaired of; and now they went forth to meet it in the way appointed. Note, The perfecting of God's mercies to us must be waited for in a humble observance of his institutions.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–23 And they shall take of the blood,.... Of the…
And they shall take of the blood,.... Of the lamb, being received into a basin, Exo 12:22,
and strike it on the two side posts; with a bunch of hyssop dipped into it:
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and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it; but not on the posts of those houses, the inhabitants of which joined with their neighbours in eating it; though Levi Ben Gersom thinks they were sprinkled as the rest; but to what purpose, when there were no Israelites, and no firstborn in them? the two side posts were the posts of a folding door, on which the two folds were hung, and the upper doorpost is what is afterwards called the lintel, Exo 12:23 and has its name in Hebrew from looking out; for, as Aben Ezra says, there was a window over the door, as is the custom throughout the whole country of the Ishmaelites or Arabians; and so Schindler says (o), which perhaps he took from him, that the word signifies either a lintel, or a little window over the door, through which it might be seen who called or knocked at the door; and adds, in Egypt, as now in Arabia, there were windows over the doors of houses. The sprinkling the blood of the paschal lamb was typical of the sprinkling of the blood of Christ upon the hearts and consciences of his people, and of their peace, safety, and security by it from the wrath of God, and the vengeance of divine justice; of the further use of this rite, see Exo 12:22, Aben Ezra mentions it as the opinion of some, that the sprinkling of the blood on those places was to show that they slew the abomination of the Egyptians openly; but he himself gives a much better reason for this rite, namely, that it was to be a propitiation for everyone that ate in the house, and was a sign to the destroyer, that he might look upon it in like manner, as it is said Eze 9:4, "set a mark, &c." this seems to be peculiar to the passover in Egypt, and was not used in later times.
(o) Lex. Pentaglott. col. 1938.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 16, 19, 22, 23 Raw - Half roasted, but throughly drest.
Raw - Half roasted, but throughly drest.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22 Verse 7. Take of the blood, and strike it…
Verse 7. Take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts] This was to be done by dipping a bunch of hyssop into the blood, and thus sprinkling it upon the posts, c. see Ex 12:22. That this sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb was an emblem of the sacrifice and atonement made by the death of Jesus Christ, is most clearly intimated in the sacred writings, 1Pe 1:2; Heb 9:13; Heb 9:14; Heb 8:10. It is remarkable that no blood was to be sprinkled on the threshold, to teach, as Mr. Ainsworth properly observes, a reverent regard for the blood of Christ, that men should not tread under foot the Son of GOD, nor count the blood of the covenant wherewith they were sanctified an unholy thing; Heb 10:29.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 22, 23 Exo 12:7. They shall take of the blood —…
Exo 12:7. They shall take of the blood — Which was to be sprinkled before the flesh was eaten. Strike it on the two side-posts, and the upper door- post — These were to be sprinkled by dipping a bunch of hyssop into the blood, Exo 12:22; but not the threshold, lest any one should tread upon the blood, which would have been profane.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22 The upper door post - Or lintel, Exo 12:23.…
The upper door post - Or lintel, Exo 12:23. This direction was understood by the Hebrews to apply only to the first Passover: it was certainly not adopted in Palestine. The meaning of the sprinkling of blood is hardly open to question. It was a representation of the offering of the life, substituted for that of the firstborn in each house, as an expiatory and vicarious sacrifice.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22 Houses. Those who joined their neighbours to eat the…
Houses. Those who joined their neighbours to eat the paschal lamb, were therefore to continue with them that night, if they would escape destruction, ver. 23. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v21 C.—The institution of the first passover. The last plague.…
C.—The institution of the first passover. The last plague. The release and the preparation for departure
Exo_12:21-36
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21Then [And] Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw [Go] out,12 and take you a lamb [take you lambs] according to your families, and kill the passoExo Exo_12:22 And ye shall [And] take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts [two posts] with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his 23house until the morning. For [And] Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts [two posts], Jehovah will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto [come into] your houses to smite you 24And ye shall observe this thing for [as] an ordinance to [for] thee and to [for] thy sons for eExo Exo_12:25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be [are] come to the land which Jehovah will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of Jehovah’s passover [the passover of Jehovah], who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head [bowed down] and worshipped. 28And the children of Israel went away [went], and did 29[did so;] as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass that at midnight [at midnight that] Jehovah smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle. 30And Pharaoh 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. 31And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve Jehovah, as ye have said. 32Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be [are] all dead men. 34And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. 35And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed [asked] of the Egyptians jewels [articles] of 36silver, and jewels [articles] of gold, and raiment. And Jehovah gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that [and] they lent unto them such things as they required [they gave unto them]: and they spoiled [despoiled] the Egyptians.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Exo_12:21. “Draw out,” as the rendering of מִשְׁכוּ, is acquiesced in by Lange, De Wette, “Wordsworth, Murphy, and Canon Cook (in the Speaker’s Commentary), and is defended by Kalisch and Bush. The latter, in a note on Jdg_4:6, affirms that מָשַךְ never means “to approach.” He assigns to it there the meaning “to draft,” or “enlist,” sc. soldiers for his army—a meaning which certainly is no where else (therefore not “frequently,” as Bush says) to be found. That מָשַׁךְ may be used intransitively, Bush does not deny; and indeed in Jdg_20:37 he himself follows the rendering “drew themselves along,” and explains it as descriptive of a mass of men “stretching themselves out in a long train and rapidly urging their way to the city.” This certainly is not far from the meaning which he denies to the word. What significance could be attached to the phrase “draw out,” as here used of the paschal lamb, is not clear. Not “draw out,” in the sense of “pull out,”—a meaning which the word has in such cases as that of Jeremiah, who was drawn up with cords out of the dungeon, Jer_38:13. Not “draw out” in the sense of “draw by lot;” for the word no where has this meaning, and the lambs were not drawn by lot. It could mean only “take”—a meaning which, though assigned to it here by Kalisch, the word no where else has, and which, if it had it, would be the same as that of the following word. There is therefore little doubt that we are to understand the word, with the LXX., Vulg., Gesenius, Fürst, Bunsen, Arnheim, Alford, Keil, Knobel, and others, as used intransitively.—Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
The narrative evidently transports us to the 14th day of Nisan, the days of preparation being passed over.
Exo_12:21. For this reason we do not translate מִשְׁכוּ intransitively, “go hence,” etc. The paschal lambs have been for four days in a special enclosure; now they are to be drawn out, seized and slaughtered. Hence also the injunction proceeds at once to the further directions concerning the transaction.
Exo_12:22. A bunch of hyssop.—A handful, says Maimonides. Hyssop “designates probably not the plant which we call hyssop, not the hyssopus officinalis, it being doubtful whether this is found in Syria and Arabia (vid. Ritter, Erdkunde, XVII., p. 686), but a species of the origanum similar to the hyssop” (Keil).—That is in the basin—i.e., in which the blood was caught. None of you shall go out.—They are protected only in the house, behind the propitiatory blood.
Exo_12:23. The destroyer to come in—Comp. the ὀλοθρεύων of Heb_11:28 with 2Sa_24:16; Isa_37:36. So Keil and others, whereas Knobel and others take מַשְׁחִית as abstract=destruction. Knobel’s reasons (p. 105) are easily refuted; e.g., though Jehovah Himself goes through Egypt, yet it does not thence follow that He might not make use of an angel of judgment in the judicial inflictions (to be understood symbolically, vid. Psa_78:49); He Himself, however, distinguishes between His people and the Egyptians.
Exo_12:24-26. The establishment of the Passover festival is again enjoined, and at the same time there is connected with it an injunction to instruct children concerning it. The Israelitish child will not unthinkingly practice a dead worship; he will ask: What does it mean? And the Israelitish fathers must not suppress the questions of the growing mind, but answer them, and thus begin the spiritualizing of the paschal rite.
Exo_12:27. Worshipped.—Expression of faith, allegiance, joy, and gratitude.
Exo_12:28. Brief reference to the festive meal of faith in contrast with the dreadful judgment now beginning. At midnight.—According to Keil, we have no occasion here to look for any natural force as underlying the punishment, but to regard it as a purely supernatural operation of divine omnipotence, inasmuch as here the pestilence is not named, as in 2Sa_24:15. Also (he says) Jehovah administers the last plague without Moses’ mediation. But here too Moses’ prophetic prediction has a place; and also the teleological design of the facts. And this was the main feature of all these punitive miracles, provided we do not conceive Moses’ rod as having itself wrought them. According to Knobel, the miracle consisted in the pestilence “which from the oldest time to the present day has had its chief seat in Egypt.” He gives a series of examples, p. 106. Also statements concerning the season in which the pestilence is accustomed to appear in Egypt: December, February, March. “It is most destructive from March to May.” “Quite in accordance with the facts, the series of plagues ends with the pestilence, which generally lasts till the Nile inundation.” “The pestilence spares many region, e.g., the deserts (Pruner, p. 419).” On the death of the cattle: “According to Hartmann (Erdbeschreibung) von Afrika, I., p. 68), the dogs in Cairo almost constantly have the pestilence; and when it rages among them, it ceases to prevail among men.” According to Knobel, the occurrence was expanded by legendary tradition into a miracle. But miraculous are: (1) The prediction of the fact, its object, and its results; (2) the sudden spread of the plague over the younger generation, the first-born, especially the first-born of the king, being singled out; (3) the fact that both beasts and men suffered; (4) the liberation of Israel. That the religious expression of this great event has its peculiarity, that it makes generalizations, and leaves out subordinate features in accordance with its idealizing tendency and symbolic design—on this point one must shape his views by means of a thorough hermeneutical apprehension of the religious style. Even Keil cannot quite adopt the assumption of Cornelius a Lapide, that in many houses grandfathers, fathers, sons, and wives, in case they were all first-born, were killed. But literally understood, the narrative warrants this. But the perfect realization of the object aimed at lifts the event above the character of a legend.
Exo_12:30-31. The great lamentation which in the night of terror resounds through Egypt becomes the immediate motive for releasing Israel. And he called for Moses.—We need not, with Calvin, lay any stress on the fact that Pharaoh, Exo_10:28, had commanded the men not to show themselves again to him, as if a humiliating inconsistency of the tyrant with himself were not characteristic, and as if in the history of despotism it were not a frequent feature. This crushing humiliation Pharaoh could not escape. Moses and Aaron had to receive the permission from his own month. And we cannot call it mere permission. He drives him out by a mandate which boars unmistakable marks of excitement. Serve Jehovah, as ye have said.—These words involve the promise of complete liberation, and at the same time the intention to require the Israelites to return. As ye have said—he repeats—and finally he even begs for their intercession: “bless me also.” According to Keil, every thing, even the request for their blessing, looks to a manifest and quite unconditional dismissal and emancipation. But this thought is expressed more positively in the behavior of the Egyptians, who were the most terrified.”
Exo_12:33. At all events the Israelites had a right to understand the dismission as an emancipation, although formally this right was not complete until Pharaoh hostilely pursued them. Keil refers to Exo_14:4-5. The report brought to the king, that the people had fled, seems, however, to imply that in the mind of the Egyptians there had been no thought of unconditional emancipation, but only of an unconditional furlough. And when Pharaoh was disposed violently to take back even this promise, that was a new instance of hardness of heart, the last and the fatal one. We are all dead men: as it were, already dead. Expression of the greatest consternation.
Exo_12:34. And the people took their dough, before it was leavened. That is (according to Keil): “The Israelites intended to leaven the dough, because the command to eat unleavened bread for seven days had not yet been made known to them.” But the text evidently means to say just the opposite of this: they carried, in accordance with the command, dough which was entirely free from leaven. They had already put enough for seven days into the baking-pans, and carried these on their shoulders, wrapped up in their outer garments, or rather in wrapping cloths, such as might be used for mantles or wallets.
Exo_12:35-36. Vid. Exo_3:21 and Comm. on Genesis, p. 83.
Footnotes:
[12][Exo_12:21. “Draw out,” as the rendering of מִשְׁכוּ, is acquiesced in by Lange, De Wette, “Wordsworth, Murphy, and Canon Cook (in the Speaker’s Commentary), and is defended by Kalisch and Bush. The latter, in a note on Jdg_4:6, affirms that מָשַךְ never means “to approach.” He assigns to it there the meaning “to draft,” or “enlist,” sc. soldiers for his army—a meaning which certainly is no where else (therefore not “frequently,” as Bush says) to be found. That מָשַׁךְ may be used intransitively, Bush does not deny; and indeed in Jdg_20:37 he himself follows the rendering “drew themselves along,” and explains it as descriptive of a mass of men “stretching themselves out in a long train and rapidly urging their way to the city.” This certainly is not far from the meaning which he denies to the word. What significance could be attached to the phrase “draw out,” as here used of the paschal lamb, is not clear. Not “draw out,” in the sense of “pull out,”—a meaning which the word has in such cases as that of Jeremiah, who was drawn up with cords out of the dungeon, Jer_38:13. Not “draw out” in the sense of “draw by lot;” for the word no where has this meaning, and the lambs were not drawn by lot. It could mean only “take”—a meaning which, though assigned to it here by Kalisch, the word no where else has, and which, if it had it, would be the same as that of the following word. There is therefore little doubt that we are to understand the word, with the LXX., Vulg., Gesenius, Fürst, Bunsen, Arnheim, Alford, Keil, Knobel, and others, as used intransitively.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22 take of the blood, and strike it on the…
take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts, &c.--as a sign of safety to those within. The posts must be considered of tents, in which the Israelites generally lived, though some might be in houses. Though the Israelites were sinners as well as the Egyptians, God was pleased to accept the substitution of a lamb--the blood of which, being seen sprinkled on the doorposts, procured them mercy. It was to be on the sideposts and upper doorposts, where it might be looked to, not on the threshold, where it might be trodden under foot. This was an emblem of the blood of sprinkling (Heb 12:24; Heb 10:29).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22 7. They shall take of the blood — Each…
7. They shall take of the blood — Each doorway was made an altar, the lintel and side-posts of which were to be sprinkled with blood from a bunch of hyssop, (Exo_12:22,) and thus was each person who entered consecrated. The blood was not dropped upon the threshold, lest it should be trodden under foot. This was the outward token of expiation and consecration which all the families of Israel were required to set upon themselves, as the outward sacraments are ordained in the Church of Christ; not that God needs to see these signs, but that we need to make them.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–23 7. The blood of the slain lamb to be…
7. The blood of the slain lamb to be applied to the doorposts and lintel of the house in which it is eaten,—as it were, to consecrate the house, and protect its inmates against destruction. This rite is probably a survival of an earlier, perhaps pre-Yahwistic stage, of usage. The Bedawin of the present day, when a new house is dedicated, sprinkle its doors and front with the blood of a goat slaughtered at the ceremony. See p. 411; and Lees, The Witness of the Wilderness (1909), p. 180.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 (7) Strike it.—With a bunch of hyssop. (See Exo_12:22.)
(7) Strike it.—With a bunch of hyssop. (See Exo_12:22.)
The two side posts and on the upper door post.—The idea seems to have been that the destroying influence, whatever it was, would enter the house by the door. The sight of the bloody stains above the door and on either side would prevent its entering. The word translated “upper door post” appears to be derived from shâcaph, “to look out,” and to signify properly the latticed window above the door, through which persons reconnoitred those who knocked before admitting them. Such windows are frequently represented in the early Egyptian monuments. The blood thus rendered conspicuous would show that atonement had been made for the house, i.e., for its inmates.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–23 They shall take of the blood. The blood, which,…
They shall take of the blood. The blood, which, according to Hebrew ideas, "is the life," and so the very essence of the sacrifice, was always regarded as the special symbol of that expiation and atonement, with a view to which sacrifice was instituted. As by the Paschal sacrifice atonement was made for the house, which was therefore to escape unscathed, the sign of atonement was to be conspicuously placed upon it. And strike. The "striking" was to be by means of a bunch of hyssop dipped in the blood (ver. 22). The selection of the doorway as the part of the house to receive the stains of blood is probably to be connected with the idea that the secondary agency producing death, whatever it was, would enter by the door and if the door showed the house to have been atoned for, would not enter. The upper door-past. The word used is elsewhere translated "lintel"; (Exo_12:22, Exo_12:23) but it seems properly to mean the latticed window which was commonly placed over a doorway in Egyptian houses, and which is often represented in the facades of tombs. (See Lepsius, Denkmaler, pt. 2. pls. 16, 17, 147, etc.) It is derived from a root signifying "to look out.
Vers. 7-13. Christ his people"s salvation and strength.
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I THE MEANS OF SAFETY vers. 7-13).
1. They took the blood and struck it on the door posts and the lintel. Wemust appropriate Christ"s atonement. We must say by faith, "he died for me.
2. They passed within the blood-stained portals. Christ"s blood must standbetween us and condemnation, between us and sin. Our safety lies in setting that between oar soul and them. The realising of Christ"s death for our sins is, salvation.
II THE MEANS OF STRENGTH FOR THE ONWARD WAY. Feeding upon Christ. While Egypt was slumbering Israel was feasting. While the world is busy with its dreams we must feast upon the joy of eternity, and, comprehending with all saints the infinite love of Christ, be filled with all the fulness of God. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
III HOW CHRIST MUST BE PARTAKEN OF.
1. With unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The old leaven of malice andwickedness must be put away, and the feasting on Christ"s love must be accompanied with repentance and self denial. There may be now and again a momentary glimpse of Christ"s love where sin is not parted with, but there can be no communion, no enduring vision.
2. Christ must be taken as God has set him before us, in the simplicity ofthe Gospel, with nothing of man"s invention, addition, or diminution. The Gospel remedy avails only when taken in the Gospel way (vers. 9, 10).
3. He must b? partaken of in the union of love. The Passover is a social, afamily feast. Those who refuse to seek church-fellowship are despising God"s arrangements for their own salvation, and proving themselves devoid of the spirit which, loving him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him.
4. He must be partaken of with the pilgrim spirit and preparedness (ver.11). They who will be saved by Jesus must take up their cross and follow him. U.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 15, 21 Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute…
Exo_12:12
Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute Judgment.
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The Lord God of gods
When, in Deu_10:17, Moses says, The Lord your God is God of gods, and when, in Jos_22:22, the people exclaim, The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knoweth--what do the words mean? Are there other gods than Jehovah? It is likely this inquiry will come up in the mind of almost any student of the Bible when he is reading the account of the ten plagues. The question is hard to discuss; but two considerations can be offered for help, and then we can reach the conclusion.
1. One is this: the entire record, unless a most elastic ingenuity of exposition be employed, seems to say that the contests delineated in the exciting chapters which record the deliverance from bondage and the establishment of Israel was between supernatural powers, rather than between ordinary human antagonists. Pharaoh accepted the gauntlet thrown down by Moses as a defiance to his gods, and, with a courage worthy of a better cause, took it up cheerfully in their name. So the conflict proceeds. The nations stand silently and solemnly by while these tremendous antagonistic forces are employed in the royal abodes, and are aroused only afterwards when the pressure outside begins to be felt. The close of the narrative teaches us that they were perfectly intelligent from the beginning in the conceptions they had of what was going on. Pharaoh finally confesses openly the defeat of his gods when he says humbly to Moses, Go then, serve Jehovah; and bless me also! And with a like acknowledgment the Israelites ascribe all the glory of their deliverance to God. They do not behave as if they owed even a decent gratitude to Moses or Aaron.
2. We must put with this consideration a second: these so-called gods of the Egyptians are spoken of constantly as if they were not mere dumb idols, nor even mere ideal creations of human imagination; the language could have hardly been stronger if it had meant to leave the impression that they were living existences--beings possessed of life and intelligence and will and some power (see Deu_32:16-17; 1Co_10:20; Psa_66:4-5). For some mysterious reason of His own, the sovereign Monarch of the universe has accepted an antagonism between the powers of evil and the powers of good in this world; and for nearly six thousand years Satan His creature has been waging battle openly amid the sublime agencies of nature with Jesus Christ His Son. We feel as if we must assume real antagonists when we read Moses own words in Num_33:4 : The Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the Lord had smitten among them; upon their gods also the Lord executed judgment.
3. Thus, then, we reach our conclusion at which all along we have been aiming. Were Pharaohs gods real gods? How was Jehovah the God of gods? And what does our text mean, Against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment? We ask you to recapitulate in your own minds the delineation made concerning the three cycles of miracles grouped around the three personages who stood on a certain occasion on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus Christ, Moses, and Elijah, each the bringer of a dispensation of revealed truth for mens salvation, the law, the prophets, and the gospel. It is sufficient to say, here at the start, that this same onset of demoniacal forces is disclosed in each of these cases, and a recognition made of the fact that the old fight with Satan was renewed, the old fight which began in the Garden of Eden. Demoniacal possession is found in these same three cycles of time, and nowhere else in the history of the Old Testament or the New. This, then, is what is intended when we say that this was a contest between Immanuel and Satan, a positive resumption of the war from the instant when the seed of the woman began to bruise the serpents head. So, when we return to the story we are studying, we are bold to say that this whole contest between Moses and Menephtah was really the sublime and awful conflict between Immanuel and Satan for the slavery, on the one side, for the salvation, on the other, of the race of human souls whom the Almighty had originally made in His own image. Several most welcome explanations, therefore, meet us just here.
1. One is concerning the abrupt cessation of performances, on the part of Pharaohs magicians, when they exclaimed, This is the finger of God. They knew that the resistance was virtually over. We may even imagine that these people had sometimes been surprised already at what actually seemed their own power. Then there is a second explanation furnished by this disclosure.
2. We know now why this history has such an evangelical spirit attributed to it when references are made in the New Testament. Read over again, in the light of such an understanding of Gods true purpose, the story which the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives concerning Moses choice in his early career; see how singular is the motive ascribed to him: He took his stand as a believer in Jehovah Jesus as his Redeemer--By faith Moses, etc. The New Testament writer identifies the two dispensations as the same. Israel was the Church, Jehovah was Jesus; so Moses became a Christian.
3. In the same way the allusions made to the incidents of the later history become intelligible. You recall the terrible trouble from the fiery serpents; put with that now the exhortation of the apostle Paul: Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. He here says that Christ was the one who was tempted in that murmuring; it was Christ who was leading Israel through the wilderness. There never has been but one Church, but one Leader of Gods elect, but one Redeemer, but one way in which to be saved. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Past redemption point
On the bank of the Niagara River, where the rapids begin to swell and swirl most desperately, preparatory to their final plunge, is a sign-board which bears a most startling legend. Past Redemption Point, it reads. To read it even when one feels the soil firm beneath his feet sends a shiver of horror through ones soul as he looks off upon the turbulent water and realizes the full significance of the sign. The one who gets into those boiling rapids and passes that point, cannot retrace his way, cannot pull to shore, cannot be rescued by friends. Past redemption point! How many men despise the warnings God sends, and pass the last stage at which they could arrest their evil way, and too late they find they have passed redemption point!
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv14, 21 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_12:14-20
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_12:14-20
THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
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I. It is the memorial of a glorious fact. The Passover was commemorative of the safety of the children of Israel when the destroying angel passed through the land, and also of their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. And so the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is commemorative of important facts in the moral history of men. It is a memorial of the death of Christ upon the cross, and of the freedom then rendered possible to human souls. God will have the great facts of the Church’s history well remembered; hence He provides monuments of them to succeeding generations.
II. It is the token of abiding mercy. The Passover, whenever it was celebrated, reminded the Israelites of the abounding mercy of God to them, and in after-years this would be pre-eminently the case. And surely no true soul can draw near to the table of the Lord to partake of His Holy Sacrament, without being sensitive to the continued mercy of the Infinite. Hence the Sacrament is not merely a monument of bygone history, but of the continual compassion of God to the penitent sinner. His mercy endureth for ever.
III. It is the time of joyous festival. The Passover was not merely a sacrifice; it was also a feast. The sacrificial part of it found its counterpart in the death of Christ, but the eucharistic part still pertains to the Supper of the Lord. Hence it is only priestly arrogance and pretence that turns the table of the Lord into an altar of sacrifice; only superstition will be deceived by such artifice. The Supper of our Lord is a glorious festival, where men of varied customs, experiences, and temperaments are united in deepest sympathy. This feast is a bond of union. It celebrates the most jubilant memories of the soul.
IV. It is of perpetual obligation. The Passover was binding upon the Jew. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is obligatory upon the Christian, and that to the end of time. Its obligation will never be removed by Christ, and no other authority is able to remove it. Let all Christian people realise not only their obligation, but the joy of coming to the table of the Lord; there they obtain the richest feast the soul can have. LESSONS:—
1. That the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a Divine institution.
2. That it is commemorative of great facts and truths.
3. That it is to be observed by all Christly souls throughout the universe.
THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD; OR, THE ORDINANCES OF GOD, AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY SHOULD BE OBSERVED
The feast of unleavened bread was a distinct ordinance from the Passover, though following immediately upon it. At this feast the Israelites were to eat unleavened bread; probably to commemorate the fact that they had left Egypt in such haste that they had no opportunity to leaven their dough, and were consequently obliged to eat unleavened cakes. It would also remind them of the power of God in bringing them out of Egypt when they were without provision for their journey, and it would teach them a lesson of trust in the Divine providence. This feast was an ordinance of God. We observe in reference to it—
I. That the ordinances of God are clearly made known and enjoined upon man. This feast of unleavened bread was clearly made Known and enjoined upon the Israelites. And so all the ordinances of God are plainly revealed in the Scriptures, and require the observance of man.
1. They are Divinely authorised. This feast of unleavened bread was authorised by God. It was not established by Moses; he was but the exponent of the Divine will in the matter. And so the ordinances of the Christian life have higher authority for their existence than the injunction or desire of man; they are ordained of Heaven. Hence their authority is unquestionable, and will only be set aside by open profanity.
2. They are morally beneficial. The feast of unleavened bread was morally beneficial. It carried back the thought of Israel to the old days of bondage, and also to the mercy of God as displayed in their freedom. It was associated with memories the very reproduction of which in the soul could not but have a beneficial tendency. And so all the ordinances of God are morally elevating and instructive. They remind us of great truths, of glorious experiences, and animate with brilliant hopes. The ordinances of God are the banqueting places of the soul. They remind of the past; they strengthen for the present; they prepare for the future.
3. They are wofully neglected. In this respect the Jew furnishes a great contrast to the Christian. Few Jews would neglect the feast of unleavened bread; many more professing Christians neglect the ordinances of God. This neglect is prevalent; it is fearful; it is inexcusable; it is morally injurious; it will ultimately meet with its due punishment.
II. That the ordinances of God are to be observed in a spirit and temper free from sin. The Israelites in observing this feast were to put away all leaven; none was to remain in the house. And all who wish faithfully to observe the ordinances of God must put away all moral leaven from the soul. All who partake of the Passover must put away leaven; all who have been sprinkled with the blood of Christ must put away sin (1Co_5:1-8).
1. The ordinances of God must be observed in a spirit free from hypocrisy. While observing the ordinances of God, the soul must be pure, free from all duplicity of motive, and perfectly in harmony with the solemn duty in which it is engaged. God seeth the heart, and knows whether the leaven of hypocrisy is expunged. lie cannot be deceived. Hence the need of sincerity.
2. The ordinances of God must be observed in a spirit free from malice and bitterness. Those who observe the ordinances of God must not be of cruel heart, of unrighteous character, infected with error, or filled with vexation. They must be compassionate; their dealings must be characterised by equity, their minds by true wisdom, and their souls by peacefulness.
3. The ordinances of God require that the home life be in sympathy with them. There must be no leaven in the house. A man who has leaven in his house cannot join in the feast of unleavened bread. What we are at home we shall be in the ordinances of God. The home life and the ordinary worship are inseparable; they are part of the same service, and must be pure.
III. That the ordinances of God are to be observed with solemnity and propriety of moral conduct and demeanour. “And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.” It may be asked why the Israelites were to eat unleavened bread for seven days. The number seven is not used here for an indefinite time, but probably to denote the length of time between Israel going out of Egypt and the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Seven days elapsed between these two events, and hence during this time they were to eat unleavened bread, as their freedom was not complete. The ordinances of God are solemn, and must be characterised by appropriate conduct. It was a holy convocation. This feast was set apart from all profane use, and consecrated unto God. Two days of it were not to be profaned by secular toil. On the first day of the seven, appropriate sacrifices were offered (Numbers 23.) During this time it was lawful to prepare food, which was not the case on the Sabbath (Exo_35:3). The first and last days were regarded with peculiar sanctity; the intervening days, work could be done. All the ordinances of God are holy, they should be observed with appropriate sacrifices of the heart; but they are not intended to interfere unduly with the time allowed for our secular duties.
IV. That those who profane the ordinances of God are unworthy of them, and should be denied the privilege of them. “That soul shall be cut off from Israel.” Some interpret this to mean capital punishment; more probably it signifies the excommunication of the offender from the society and privileges of the chosen people, either by the public act of the proper officers, or by the direct hand of God (Gen_17:14). And so men who neglect or abuse the ordinances of God are unworthy of them; they will derive no benefit from them; they will injure others in the use of them, and ought to be excluded from them until they return to a better state of mind. But such discipline was more rigorous in the Jewish Church than it is in the Christian. There ought, however, to be strict attention paid to the moral fitness of man for the ordinances of God. LESSONS:—
1. That there are in connection with the Church of God many ordinances to be observed by men.
2. That these ordinances should be observed with due solemnity and appropriate conduct.
3. That neglect of these ordinances is disobedience to the command of God.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_12:14-20. Passover mercies and unleavened duties are joined together by the Lord.
God’s full time must be kept in unleavened duties toward Him.… Unleavened services are appointed as a feast to Jehovah.… Such festivals in type and truth are aimed by God to holiness.… Holy convocations are intended to sanctify the name of God and His people by holy duties.
None of man’s own works must come in to interrupt God at any time.
The strict service of God denies not daily food to His servants, but allows it.
Days of deliverance by God should be days of unleavened feasting to Him.
Memorials of such days are suitable to the generations of the Church.
God’s statutes alone must make such time to be observed by His people,
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Memorial Feast! Exo_12:14. A lover on the west coast of Scotland, when about to leave his heath-clad hills and shaggy woods for India, led his betrothed to a rugged glen, through whose precipitous channel flowed a foaming stream. Clambering down its steep and rocky sides, amid the calls and tears of the maid, he reached the edge of the flood, where grew a lovely “forget-me-not” Obtained at the peril, though not the cost, of his life, he presented it to her, begging that she would preserve it as the memorial of his love. Far more wonderful is that “Crimson Passion-Flower,” which, in the form of the Lord’s Supper, seems to say, “Forget-Me-not;” this do as a memorial of Me. As Thomas Watson says, “If a friend give us a ring at death, we wear it to keep up the memory of our friend.” Much more, then, ought we to keep up the memorial of Christ’s death in the Sacrament
“Where flowers of heaven, divinely fair,
Unfold their happy bloom.”
—Bonar.
Supper-Songs! Exo_12:14. If ancient history is worthy of credence, Cleopatra once made a great feast or banquet of wine. Into the cup which she presented to her guest she placed a jewel worth a kingdom. Into the sacred cup which Jesus presents to His people, filled with His precious blood-shedding, He has put a pearl of great price—His Divine love. With such eucharistic joyfulness does this cup fill the believing recipient, that, like the Church in the Canticles, he exclaims: “Thy love is better than wine,”—
“That wine of love can be obtained of none
Save Him, who trod the wine-press all alone.”
—Trench.
Ordinances! Exo_12:14-20. Fuller says that as it was necessary for the patriarchs to fix their residence near a well, so is it for believers to fix their residence near ordinances. They are morally beneficial. They refresh and strengthen. Yet not in themselves. As M‘Cheyne puts it, when a man goes thirsty to a well, his thirst is not allayed merely by going there. An English sailor having escaped from his Moorish captors in Africa, found himself thirsty in the desert. Night came on, and his thirst increased. Amid the shadows he wandered on; then lay down under a tree with his thirst still unquenched. Had it been day, he would have perceived that he was lying beside a cooling spring. He had come to the well, but his thirst was not allayed by that act; on the contrary, his thirst was increased by every step he took. In the morning, it was by what he drew out of the well that he was refreshed and strengthened. Just so, it is not by the mere act or exercise of coming to ordinances that souls obtain life and joyfulness; but by the tasting of Jesus in the ordinances, Whose flesh is meat indeed, and His blood drink indeed—
“His fountains are deep, His waters are pure,
And sweet to the weary soul.”
Commemorations! Exo_12:14-20. During the reign of the Stuarts over the two kingdoms of England and Scotland, the youthful scion of a powerful Scotch house, whose family had once coerced their youthful monarch, was in revenge and fear confined in a dungeon. After upwards of twenty years’ solitary seclusion, where he beguiled his imprisonment with the education of a mouse, he was liberated. On the night previous to his liberation, he and the person through whose mediation his freedom had been secured, partook of a humble feast, which they always afterwards celebrated on the successive anniversaries of his liberty. With some such feelings of joyfulness and commemorative gratitude must Israel have feasted year by year. Year by year, it stirred the ashes of memory in the Jewish heart, and kindled them up into a flame of hope; while it taught them to look for a greater prophet than Moses, to long fur a grander sacrificial lamb than that of the passover, and to hope for a more glorious salvation than freedom from temporal oppression and bondage. So Christians commemorate with graceful praise the Feast of that great Paschal Lamb, looking in joyful anticipation to that full and final freedom in the Heavenly Canaan—
“Where peaceful hills and holy vales
Sleep in eternal day.”
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v11 The Passover, type of Christ our Redeemer Exo 12:1-28;…
passover
The Passover, type of Christ our Redeemer Exo 12:1-28; Joh 1:29; 1Co 5:6; 1Co 5:7; 1Pe 1:18; 1Pe 1:19.
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(1) The lamb must be without blemish, and to test this it was kept up for four days Exo 12:5; Exo 12:6. So our Lord’s public life, under hostile scrutiny, was the testing which proved his holiness; Luk 11:53; Luk 11:54; Joh 8:46; Joh 18:38.
(2) The Lamb thus tested must be slain Exo 12:6; Joh 12:24; Heb 9:22.
(3) The blood must be applied Exo 12:7 This answers to appropriation by personal faith, and refutes universalism Joh 3:36.
(4) The blood thus applied of itself, without anything, constituted a perfect protection from judgment Exo 12:13; 1Jn 1:7; Heb 10:10; Heb 10:14.
(5) The feast typified Christ as the bread of life, answering to the memorial supper. Mat 26:26-28; 1Co 11:23-26. To observe the feast was a duty and privilege, but not a condition of safety. As a matter of fact, the bread was not eaten by the Israelites on the night in which, nevertheless, they were preserved from the judgment upon the firstborn. Exo 12:34-39.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv11, 21 The Precept Pertaining to Unleavened Bread
The Precept Pertaining to Unleavened Bread
v. 11. And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, literally, "shod on your feet," and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste, in hasty flight, as such that were about to flee, in readiness for speedy flight. It is the Lord’s Passover. These instructions concerned the celebration in Egypt and were afterward dropped as unessential. Only the name for the festival, the Passover of the Lord, was not changed, a perpetual reminder of the miracle which the Lord performed in delivering His people.
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v. 12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. As the avenging, almighty Judge the Lord intended to traverse the entire land of Egypt, to strike down all the first-born, to punish the princes with the common people, and thus to expose all the Egyptian idols as helpless delusions.
v. 13. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. Thus the Lord Himself explained the meaning of the Passover. Wherever there was a sign of blood, as He had commanded, there He would pass by, or over, and the blow would not strike the inmates of a house thus designated to work destruction in their midst. The slaughter would come upon the land of the Egyptians only.
v. 14. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, the evening of the fourteenth day of Abib; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations, a festival of commemoration from one generation to the next; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. It was to be celebrated as the festival of Israel’s redemption and of its being set aside as the people of God’s covenant.
v. 15. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. This is the solemn ordinance relating to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was thus from the beginning connected with the Festival of Passover. The exact period of the seven days is later fixed by many further ordinances.
v. 16. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, a solemn festival assembly, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you, another service of worship; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. That was the only labor which was permitted, that connected with the preparation of foods, according to the necessities of the day, the ordinance thus being less strict than that concerning the Sabbath. Cf Lev 23:7.
v. 17. And ye shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever. While the Passover commemorated the dreadful night of judgment and deliverance, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so closely connected with it, reminded the children of Israel of the Exodus itself, of the chief circumstances connected with the departure of their armies out of Egypt.
v. 18. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
v. 19. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses; that was the order which was to apply for the future, when they would have reached the Land of Promise; for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, in any solid food, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land. The naturalized, that is, the circumcised foreigner was obliged to submit to the ordinance in just the same manner as the native Israelite.
v. 20. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. The ordinance was certainly not lacking in clearness and emphasis, for it was the intention of the Lord to symbolize the entire consecration of His people, as based upon their redemption.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23 Do not eat it raw
Do not eat it raw
"Do not eat the lamb or goat uncooked"
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You must not let any of it be left over until morning
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Do not leave any of it until the morning" (See: Active or Passive)
belt
This refers to a strip of leather or fabric for tying around the waist.
eat it hurriedly
"eat it quickly"
It is Yahweh's Passover
Here the word "it" refers to eating the animal on the tenth day of the month. AT: "This observance is Yahweh's Passover" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
staff
Passover
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 22 12:7 blood: God could not simply exempt his people…
12:7 blood: God could not simply exempt his people from this plague as he had preserved them from the other plagues. Death reigns in the world because of sin, and in light of God’s justice, sin cannot be ignored; it must be either punished or atoned for. Since the blood represents life (Lev 17:11), it alone is acceptable for the forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22). As Deut 6:9 suggests, doorframes represent the totality of life as the place of going in and coming out.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.