Exodus 12:1-16

C. God’s redemption of His people 12:1-13:16

Scholars differ in their opinions as to when Israel actually became a nation. Many have made a strong case for commencing national existence with the institution of the Passover, which this section records. The proper translation of the Hebrew word pasah is really "hover over" rather than "pass over." [Note: Meredith G. Kline, "The Feast of Cover-over," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 37:4 (December 1994):497-510.]

". . . properly understood, the Exodus also is precisely the event and the moment that coincides with the historical expression of God’s election of Israel. The choice of Israel as the special people of Yahweh occurred not at Sinai but in the land of Goshen. The Exodus was the elective event; Sinai was its covenant formalization." [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, "A Theology of the Pentateuch," in A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, p. 31. Cf. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 259.]

God gave the Israelites a national calendar that set them apart from other nations (Exodus 12:2). They also received instructions for two national feasts that they were to perpetuate forever thereafter (Exodus 12:14; Exodus 12:17; Exodus 12:24). Also Moses revealed and explained the event that resulted in their separation from Egypt here.