Exodus 12:14-20

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 12:1-20

Moses and Aaron here receive of the Lord what they were afterwards to deliver to the people concerning the ordinance of the passover, to which is prefixed an order for a new style to be observed in their months (Exod. 12:1, 2): This shall be to you the beginning of months. They had hitherto begun their year from the middle of September, but henceforward they were to begin it from the middle of March, at least in all their ecclesiastical computations. Note, It is good to begin the day, and... 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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:17

And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread ,.... Which was a distinct feast from the passover feast; for though at that unleavened bread was eaten, it was kept but one night, this seven days; and it is repeated that it might be taken notice of, and the rather, as it was to be observed in all ages as long as the Jewish economy lasted; the reason of which follows: for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt ; which, though not already done, was just... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:18

In the first month ,.... As it was now ordered to be reckoned, the month Abib or Nisan: the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread ; that is, at the evening following, the fourteenth of Nisan, and which was the beginning of the fifteenth day, the Jews beginning their day from the evening: hence the Targum of Jonathan is,"on the fourteenth of Nisan ye shall slay the passover, in the evening of the fifteenth ye shall eat unleavened bread:" unto the twentieth... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:19

Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses ,..... Wherefore, on the fourteenth day the most diligent search was made, and whatever was found was burnt, or cast into the sea, or dispersed with the wind; about which the traditionary writers of the Jews, give many rules and canons; see Gill on Exodus 12:15 , for whoso eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel ; which is repeated to deter them from the breach of this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:20

Ye shall eat nothing leavened ,.... Bread or anything else that had any leaven in it: in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread , that is, if they eat any bread at all, it must be such; otherwise they might eat cakes of almonds or of eggs mixed with sugar, provided there was no leaven used, and this the Jews call the rich unleavened bread F16 See Leo Modena's History of the Rites, &c.; of the Jews, par. 3. c. 3. sect. 5. : this is repeated over and over, that they... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:14

A memorial - To keep up a remembrance of the severity and goodness, or justice and mercy, of God. Ye shall keep it a feast - it shall be annually observed, and shall be celebrated with solemn religious joy, throughout your generations - as long as ye continue to be a distinct people; an ordinance - a Divine appointment, an institution of God himself, neither to be altered nor set aside by any human authority. For ever - עולם חקת chukkath olam , an everlasting or endless statute,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:15

Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread - This has been considered as a distinct ordinance, and not essentially connected with the passover. The passover was to be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month; the feast of unleavened bread began on the fifteenth and lasted seven days, the first and last of which were holy convocations. That soul shall be cut off - There are thirty-six places in which this excision or cutting off is threatened against the Jews for neglect of some... read more

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