Exodus 12:37-42

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 12:37-42

Here is the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt; having obtained their dismission, they set forward without delay, and did not defer to a more convenient season. Pharaoh was now in a good mind; but they had reason to think he would not long continue so, and therefore it was no time to linger. We have here an account, 1. Of their number, about 600,000 men (Exod. 12:37), besides women and children, which I think, we cannot suppose to make less than 1,200,000 more. What a vast... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:37

And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth ,.... Rameses was a place in Goshen, or rather the land of Goshen, from whence the country was so called; See Gill on Genesis 47:11 . The Targum of Jonathan takes it to be Pelusium, or Sin, now called Tinah, formerly the strength of Egypt, and which lay at the entrance of it, and says it was one hundred and thirty miles to Succoth; and Jarchi says one hundred and twenty. But the distance between these two places was not so great;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:38

And a mixed multitude went up also with them ,.... Some of these were Egyptians, and some of other nations that had resided in Egypt, and who, on various accounts, might choose to go along with the children of Israel; some through intermarriages with them, being loath to part with their relations, see Leviticus 20:10 , others on account of religion, being proselytes of righteousness, and others through worldly interest, the land of Egypt being by the plagues a most desolate place; and such... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:39

And they baked unleavened cakes ,.... While they were at Succoth; but since that was a desert place, where could they get ovens to bake them in? they might lay them upon coals, and by frequent turning them bake them, or under hot ashes, under a pan covered with hot embers and coals, on an hearth, in which way cakes and other things are now baked with us in many places: of the quick way of dressing cakes in the eastern countries; see Gill on Genesis 18:6 and some render the word, "cakes... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:40

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt ,.... The Septuagint version adds, "and in the land of Canaan"; and the Samaritan version is,"the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of their fathers, in the land of Canaan, and in the land of Egypt.'Agreeably to which are both the Talmuds: in one F15 T. Hieros. Magillah, fol. 71. 4. of them the words are,"in Egypt and in all lands,'and in the other F16 T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 9. 1. ,"in Egypt, and in the rest... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:41

And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years ,.... As soon as completed: even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt ; which was the fifteenth of Nisan; and Jarchi says it was on the fifteenth of Nisan that the decree was made known to Abraham between the pieces, concerning the affliction of his posterity four hundred years in a land not theirs; but this is not to be depended on; yet it looks as if at the close... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 12:42

It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord ,.... Or "a night of observations" F20 ליל שמרים "nox observantiarum", Munster, Fagius, Vatablus, so Drusius, Piscator, Cartwright, Ainsworth. , in which many things are to be observed to the honour and glory of God, as done by him, wherein his power, wisdom, goodness, truth and faithfulness, are displayed; partly by the destruction of the Egyptian firstborn, and particularly for bringing them , the children of Israel: out from... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:37

From Rameses to Succoth - Rameses appears to have been another name for Goshen, though it is probable that there might have been a chief city or village in that land, where the children of Israel rendezvoused previously to their departure, called Rameses. As the term Succoth signifies booths or tents, it is probable that this place was so named from its being the place of the first encampment of the Israelites. Six hundred thousand - That is, There was this number of effective men,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:40

Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, etc. - The statement in this verse is allowed on all hands to be extremely difficult, and therefore the passage stands in especial need of illustration. "That the descendants of Israel did not dwell 430 years in Egypt," says Dr. Kennicott, "may be easily proved, and has often been demonstrated. Some therefore imagine that by Egypt here both it and Canaan are to be understood. But this greater latitude of place will not solve the difficulty, since... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 12:42

A night to be much observed - A night to be held in everlasting remembrance, because of the peculiar display of the power and goodness of God, the observance of which annually was to be considered a religious precept while the Jewish nation should continue. read more

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