Exodus 12:4-16

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:5

Your lamb shall be without blemish . Natural piety would teach that "the blind, the lame, and the sick" should not be selected for sacrifice ( Malachi 1:8 ). The Law afterwards expressly forbade any blemished animals—"blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed"—to be offered for any of the stated sacrifices, though they might be given as free-will offerings (Le Exodus 22:20-25 ). The absence of blemish was especially important in a victim which was to typify... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:6

Ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day . The interval of four days (see Exodus 12:3 ) was probably intended to give ample time for the thorough inspection of the lamb, and for obtaining another, if any defect was discovered. The precept is not observed by the modern Jews; and the later Targum (which belongs to the sixth century after Christ) teaches that it was only intended to apply to the first institution; but the text of Exodus is wholly against this. The whole assembly of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7

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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7-13

Christ his people's salvation and strength. I. THE MEANS OF SAFETY , Exodus 12:7-13 ). 1 . They took the blood and struck it on the door posts and the lintel. We must 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 stand between 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,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:8

Roast with firs . The meat of sacrificial meals was commonly boiled by the Hebrews ( 1 Samuel 2:14 , 1 Samuel 2:15 ). The command to roast the Paschal lamb is accounted for: 1 . By its being a simpler and quicker process than boiling; 2 . By a special sanctity being regarded as attaching to fire; 3 . By the difficulty of cooking the animal whole unless it were roasted. Justin Martyr's statement that for roasting two wooden spits were required, placed at right angles the one... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:9

Eat not of it raw . The injunction appears to moderns superfluous; but an ὠμοφαγία , or eating of the raw flesh of victims sacrificed, seems to have been practised by several heathen nations in ancient times, more especially in the worship of Dionysus or Bacchus. Its head with its legs . The lamb was to be roasted whole—according to some, as a symbol of the unity of Israel, and especially of the political unit which they were to become so soon as they quitted Egypt; but, as we learn... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:10

Ye shall let nothing of it remain till the morning . The whole of the flesh was to be consumed by the guests, and at one sitting, lest there should be any even accidental profanation of the food by man or animal, if part were put away. The English Church, acting on the same principle of careful reverence, declines to allow any reservation of the Eucharistic elements, requiring the whole of the consecrated bread and wine to be consumed by the Priest and communicants in the Church immediately... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:11

With your loins girded , etc. Completely prepared, i.e; to start on your journey—with the loose wrapper ( beged ), ordinarily worn, collected together and fastened by a girdle about the waist; with sandals on the feet, which were not commonly worn in houses; and with walking-sticks in the hand. There were some Jews who regarded these directions as of perpetual obligation; but the general view was that they applied to the first occasion only, when alone they would have answered any... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:12

For I will pass through , etc. God now proceeds to give the reason for the institution of the new ceremony, and to explain the new term pesach. " I have commanded this rite," He says, "because I am about to go through the whole land of Egypt as a destroyer, executing judgment; I am about to smite and kill every one of the firstborn both of man and beast. I shall enter into every house, and slay the first-born in it, unless I see upon the house the token of the blood of the lamb.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:13

The blood shall be to you for a token , etc. The blood was not to be a token to the Israelites, but to God for them. Translate—"and the blood shall be as a token for you upon the houses that you are there." It shall distinguish the houses in which you dwell from the others. I will pass over you . This is the emphatic clause. God would pass by, or over the house on which the blood was, spare it, slay none of its inmates; and from this action of His, the lamb itself, and the feast... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:7-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:10

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 12:13

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