Exodus 12
Summary for Exod 12:1-30: 12:1-30 a The Lord gave Moses instructions for the Passover meal and the Festival of Unleavened Bread (12:14-20 b), and Moses and the people observed the first Passover (12:21-30 c).12:2 d This month was the month Abib (13:4 e; 23:15 f; 34:18 g; Deut 16:1 h; later called by the Babylonian name, Nisan, Neh 2:1 i; Esth 3:7 j), which falls within the months of March and April. Many cultures held festivals about this time of the year, celebrating the renewal of plant life. Israel’s festival celebrated the historic event in which God defeated death and rescued his people from bondage in Egypt.
12:5 k with no defects: We must give God our best, just as he gave us his best: “the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (1 Pet 1:19 l).
12:6 m the whole assembly of the community: Both the benefits and the responsibility of a relationship with God are realized in community.
12:7 n blood: God could not simply exempt his people from this plague as he had preserved them from the other plagues. Death reigns in the world because of sin, and in light of God’s justice, sin cannot be ignored; it must be either punished or atoned for. Since the blood represents life (Lev 17:11 o), it alone is acceptable for the forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22 p). As Deut 6:9 q suggests, doorframes represent the totality of life as the place of going in and coming out.
12:10 r Since this was not a regular meal, none of the meat was to be saved for another day.
12:11 s Be fully dressed: The Israelites were to be ready to depart at a moment’s notice.
12:12 t The plagues were primarily the Lord’s judgment against all the gods of Egypt (see also Num 33:4 u).
12:14 v The Jewish people still commemorate Passover, since it was instituted as a law for all time.
12:15 w without yeast: Israel needed unleavened bread for traveling (see 12:34 x, 39 y), which the festival commemorated. Later, yeast was seen as an image of sin, probably because it is an agent of fermentation (“Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees,” Matt 16:6 z).
• cut off from the community: This means either death or expulsion from the community.
12:22 aa Hyssop is a small bush with stiff, compact branches that can serve as a brush (see also Ps 51:7 ab and study note).
12:25 ac The land the Lord has promised to give you refers to the land of Canaan, which God had promised to Abraham (Gen 12:7 ad; 13:14-17 ae).
Summary for Exod 12:26-27: 12:26-27 af In the future, the Passover celebration would be a memorial reminding future generations of Israelites of God’s grace in providing them a way of escape from death. For more than 3,000 years the Jewish people have celebrated this great formative event in their history.
Summary for Exod 12:28-30: 12:28-30 ag The predicted plague was fulfilled. Just as death exempts no one, so no one in Egypt, from Pharaoh to the lowest prisoner, escaped the effects of Pharaoh’s pride.
Summary for Exod 12:31-42: 12:31–14:31 ah The Lord delivered on his promises and rescued Israel, bringing them out of Egypt.
Summary for Exod 12:31-33: 12:31-33 ai The same Pharaoh who had said that Moses would never again see his face and live (see 10:28 aj) now asked for Moses to come and see him. Just as God had predicted, Pharaoh then ordered the Israelites to leave his land. He implicitly recognized the Lord’s power as he asked Moses to bless him. He never formally admitted that the Lord is God and that he, Pharaoh, was not.
12:35 ak they asked the Egyptians: See 3:22 al; 11:2 am.
12:37 an Succoth is usually identified with Tell el-Maskhutah.
• 600,000 men: See Num 1:46 ao. This large number implies about 2.5 million people in the community as a whole, which raises logistical problems: (1) The area of encampment would be 400 sq. mi.; (2) A column of people 1,000 across would be nearly a mile wide and would take 20 hours to pass a single point; (3) As best we know, there were no other armies nearly so large in the ancient Near East at that time. As a result, scholars have proposed two viable alternatives: (1) The number might be symbolic, communicating not an actual number but the fact that God had greatly blessed Israel. While this use of a number seems strange to us, it would be acceptable in the ancient world. (2) The Hebrew word for “thousand” (’elep) might have been confused with the word for “troop” (’allup). If so, the original would have read “600 troops of fighting men.” With a troop size of approximately 100 men, the total population would be significantly reduced. But despite the logistical difficulties, it is possible that there were in fact 2.5 million Israelites.
12:38 ap A rabble of non-Israelites: Some of these people later became disaffected and led the Israelites into complaining about their difficulties (see Num 11:4 aq). We are never told their motivation for joining with the Israelites. Perhaps some had come to faith in the Lord as a result of the plagues. Others probably saw it as an opportunity for a better life elsewhere.
12:40 ar According to the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch, 430 years would cover the full period from the promise to Abraham (Gen 12 as; 15 at) until the Exodus. Cp. Gal 3:17 au; see further Exodus Book Introduction, The Date of the Exodus.
Summary for Exod 12:43-50: 12:43-50 av These additional instructions for the observance of Passover relate primarily to outsiders (12:43 aw) and foreigners (12:48 ax). Perhaps the presence of the non-Israelite rabble (12:38 ay) in the community prompted these instructions. The key factor was whether or not the person was willing to become fully identified with Israel and with the Lord by submitting to circumcision.
12:46 az do not break any of its bones: The apostle John makes reference to this instruction regarding the Passover lambs when reporting that Jesus’ legs were not broken on the cross (John 19:36 ba).
12:51 bb The Israelites left Egypt like an army, with the Lord as their commander-in-chief.
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