Exodus 12:4-16

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:13

And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are ,.... The blood of the passover lamb being sprinkled on the two sideposts and upper doorposts of the houses inhabited by the Israelites, or where they were eating the passover; this should be a sign or token to them of the Lord's making good his promises, to them, and so of their safety, and to the destroying angel not to enter therein, but pass by and save them: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you ; for... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:14

And this shall be unto you for a memorial ,.... To be remembered, and that very deservedly, for the destruction of the firstborn of the Egyptians, and for the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and as memorable a day it is, and much more so, for the redemption of the spiritual Israel by the Messiah; for it was on this selfsame day that he suffered for the redemption and salvation of his people: the Jews not only having a saying,"that in the month Nisan they were redeemed,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:15

Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread ,.... From the evening of the fourteenth day to the evening of the twenty first; and this was a distinct festival from what was properly called the feast of the passover, and does not respect the first passover in Egypt; for though the passover lamb was eaten with unleavened bread, and the Israelites ate no other, not only for seven days, but for thirty days following; yet this was not only by the divine command, but through necessity, they having no... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:16

And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation ,.... An holy day, in which the people be called to holy exercises, and wholly abstain from worldly business, done on other days: and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation unto you ; observed in a festival way, and in the like religious manner the first day was, the day of their going out of Egypt; and the seventh was the day in which Pharaoh and his host were drowned in the Red sea, as Aben Ezra observes; for which... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:4

If the household be too little - That is, if there be not persons enough in one family to eat a whole lamb, then two families must join together. The rabbins allow that there should be at least ten persons to one paschal lamb, and not more than twenty. Take it, according to the number of the souls - The persons who were to eat of it were to be first ascertained, and then the lamb was to be slain and dressed for that number. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:5

Without blemish - Having no natural imperfection, no disease, no deficiency or redundancy of parts. On this point the rabbins have trifled most egregiously, reckoning fifty blemishes that render a lamb or kid, or any animal, improper to be sacrificed: five in the ear, three in the eyelid, eight in the eye, three in the nose, six in the mouth, etc., etc. A male of the first year - That is, any age in the first year between eight days and twelve months. From the sheep, or from the goats... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:6

Ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day - The lamb or kid was to be taken from the flock on the tenth day, and kept up and fed by itself till the fourteenth day, when it was to be sacrificed. This was never commanded nor practiced afterwards. The rabbins mark four things that were required in the first passover that were never required afterwards: The eating of the lamb in their houses dispersed through Goshen. The taking the lamb on the tenth day. The striking of its blood on... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:7

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, etc.; see Exodus 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, 1 Peter 1:2 ; Hebrews 9:13 , Hebrews 9:14 ; Hebrews 8:10 . It is remarkable that no blood was to be sprinkled on the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:8

They shall eat the flesh - roast with fire - As it was the ordinary custom of the Jews to boil their flesh, some think that the command given here was in opposition to the custom of the Egyptians, who ate raw flesh in honor of Osiris. The Ethiopians are to this day remarkable for eating raw flesh, as is the case with most savage nations. Unleavened bread - מצות matstsoth , from מצה matsah , to squeeze or compress, because the bread prepared without leaven or yeast was generally... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:9

With the purtenance thereof - All the intestines, for these were abused by the heathens to purposes of divination; and when roasted in the manner here directed they could not be thus used. The command also implies that the lamb was to be roasted whole; neither the head or legs were to be separated, nor the intestines removed. I suppose that these last simply included the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, etc., and not the intestinal canal. read more

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:7

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:9

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