Exodus 12:1-14

Directions for the Passover 12:1-14

The Jews called their first month Abib (Exodus 12:2). After the Babylonian captivity they renamed it Nisan (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7). It corresponds to our March-April. Abib means "ear-month" referring to the month when the grain was in the ear.

"The reference to the Passover month as the ’lead month,’ ’the first of the year’s months’ is best understood as a double entendre. On the one hand, the statement may be connected with an annual calendar, but on the other hand, it is surely an affirmation of the theological importance of Yahweh’s Passover." [Note: Ibid., p. 153.]

The spring was an appropriate time for the Exodus because it symbolized new life and growth. Israel had two calendars: one religious (this one) and one civil (Exodus 23:16). The civil year began exactly six months later in the fall. The Israelites used both calendars until the Babylonian captivity. After that, they used only the civil calendar. [Note: See James F. Strange, "The Jewish Calendar," Biblical Illustrator 13:1 (Fall 1986):28-32. Also see the Appendix of these notes for a chart of the Hebrew calendar.]

". . . the sense of the verse is: you are now beginning to count a new year, now the new year will bring you a change of destiny." [Note: Cassuto, p. 137.]

The Passover was a communal celebration. The Israelites were to observe it with their redeemed brethren, not alone (Exodus 12:4). They celebrated the corporate redemption of the nation corporately (cf. Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).

Since the lamb was a substitute sacrifice its required characteristics are significant (Exodus 12:5; cf. John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19).

"Freedom from blemish and injury not only befitted the sacredness of the purpose to which they were devoted, but was a symbol of the moral integrity of the person represented by the sacrifice. It was to be a male, as taking the place of the male first-born of Israel; and a year old, because it was not till then that it reached the full, fresh vigour of its life." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:10.]

Some of the ancient rabbis taught that God wanted the Jews to sacrifice the Passover lamb exactly at sunset because of the instructions in Exodus 12:6 and Deuteronomy 16:6. However "at twilight" literally means "between the two evenings." The more widely held Jewish view was that the first evening began right after noon and the second began when the sun set. [Note: Gispen, p. 117.] In Josephus’ day, which was also Jesus’ day, the Jews slew the Passover lamb in mid-afternoon. [Note: Josephus, 14:4:3.] The Lord Jesus Christ died during this time (i.e., about 3:00 p.m., Matthew 27:45-50; Mark 15:34-37; Luke 23:44-46; 1 Corinthians 5:7).

The sprinkling of the blood on the sides and top of the doorway into the house was a sign (Exodus 12:7; cf. Exodus 12:13). It had significance to the Jews. The door represented the house (cf. Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14; Deuteronomy 12:17; et al.). The smearing of the blood on the door with hyssop was an act of expiation (cleansing; cf. Leviticus 14:49-53; Numbers 19:18-19). This act consecrated the houses of the Israelites as altars. They had no other altars in Egypt. They were not to apply the blood to the other member of the doorframe, the threshold, because someone might tread on it. The symbolic value of the blood made this action inappropriate. The whole ritual signified to the Jews that the blood (life poured out, Leviticus 17:11) of a sinless, divinely appointed substitute cleansed their sins and resulted in their setting apart (sanctification) to God. The application of the blood as directed was a demonstration of the Israelites’ faith in God’s promise that He would pass over them (Exodus 12:13; cf. Hebrews 11:28).

The method of preparing and eating the lamb was also significant (Exodus 12:8-11). God directed that they roast it in the manner common to nomads rather than eating it raw as many of their contemporary pagans ate their sacrificial meat (cf. 1 Samuel 2:14-15). They were not to boil the lamb either (Exodus 12:9). Roasting enabled the host to place the lamb on the table undivided and unchanged in its essential structure and appearance (Exodus 12:9). This would have strengthened the impression of the substitute nature of the lamb. It looked like an animal rather than just meat.

The unleavened bread was bread that had not risen (cf. Exodus 12:34). The bitter herbs-perhaps endive, chicory, and or other herbs native to Egypt-would later recall to the Israelites who ate them the bitter experiences of life in Egypt. However the sweetness of the lamb overpowered the bitterness of the herbs. The Israelites were not to eat the parts of the meal again as leftovers (Exodus 12:10). It was a special sacrificial meal, not just another dinner. Moreover they were to eat it in haste (Exodus 12:11) as a memorial of the events of the night when they first ate it, the night when God provided deliverance for His people. [Note: For an explanation of the history and modern observance of the Passover by Jews, the Seder, or "order of service," see Youngblood, pp. 61-64. For an account of a Seder observance held in Dallas on April 2, 1988, see Robert Andrew Barlow, "The Passover Seder," Exegesis and Exposition 3:1 (Fall 1988):63-68.]

"Those consuming the meat were not to be in the relaxed dress of home, but in traveling attire; not at ease around a table, but with walking-stick in hand; not in calm security, but in haste, with anxiety." [Note: Durham, p. 154.]

In slaying the king’s son and many of the first-born animals, God smote the gods of Egypt that these living beings represented (Exodus 12:12). This was the final proof of Yahweh’s sovereignty.

"The firstborn of Pharaoh was not only his successor to the throne, but by the act of the gods was a specially born son having divine property. Gods associated with the birth of children would certainly have been involved in a plague of this nature. These included Min, the god of procreation and reproduction, along with Isis who was the symbol of fecundity or the power to produce offspring. Since Hathor was not only a goddess of love but one of seven deities who attended the birth of children, she too would be implicated in the disaster of this plague. From excavations we already have learned of the tremendous importance of the Apis bull, a firstborn animal and other animals of like designation would have had a tremendous theological impact on temple attendants as well as commoners who were capable of witnessing this tragic event. The death cry which was heard throughout Egypt was not only a wail that bemoaned the loss of a son or precious animals, but also the incapability of the many gods of Egypt to respond and protect them from such tragedy." [Note: Davis, p. 141.]

Egyptian religion and culture valued sameness and continuity very highly. The Egyptians even minimized the individual differences between the Pharaohs.

"The death of a king was, in a manner characteristic of the Egyptians, glossed over in so far as it meant a change." [Note: Frankfort, p. 102.]

The Egyptians had to acknowledge the death of Pharaoh’s son, however, as an event that Yahweh had brought to pass.

Note that God said that when He saw the blood He would pass over the Jews (Exodus 12:13). He did not say when they saw it. The ground of their security was propitiation. The blood satisfied God. Therefore the Israelites could rest. The reason we can have peace with God is that Jesus Christ’s blood satisfied God. Many Christians have no peace because the blood of the Lamb of God does not satisfy them. They think something more has to supplement His work (i.e., human good works). However, God says the blood of the sacrifice He provided is enough (cf. 1 John 2:1-2).

One writer believed that the first Passover was the origin of the concept of "the day of the Lord," which is so prominent in the writing prophets. The day of the Lord that they referred to was an instance of divine intervention, similar to what God did at the first Passover, involving judgment and blessing. [Note: Benno Jacob, The Second Book of the Bible: Exodus, p. 315.]