Genesis 33:8

33:8 Esau then asked, “What did you intend by sending all these herds to meet me?” Jacob replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.”

Exodus 12:26

12:26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’

Exodus 12:1

The Institution of the Passover

12:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

Exodus 15:14

15:14 The nations will hear and tremble;

anguish 10  will seize 11  the inhabitants of Philistia.


tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Heb “Who to you?”

tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”

tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Heb “what is this service to you?”

sn Chapter 12 details the culmination of the ten plagues on Egypt and the beginning of the actual deliverance from bondage. Moreover, the celebration of this festival of Passover was to become a central part of the holy calendar of Israel. The contents of this chapter have significance for NT studies as well, since the Passover was a type of the death of Jesus. The structure of this section before the crossing of the sea is as follows: the institution of the Passover (12:1-28), the night of farewell and departure (12:29-42), slaves and strangers (12:43-51), and the laws of the firstborn (13:1-16). In this immediate section there is the institution of the Passover itself (12:1-13), then the Unleavened Bread (12:14-20), and then the report of the response of the people (12:21-28).

tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

tn Heb “saying.”

tn This verb is a prophetic perfect, assuming that the text means what it said and this song was sung at the Sea. So all these countries were yet to hear of the victory.

10 tn The word properly refers to “pangs” of childbirth. When the nations hear, they will be terrified.

11 tn The verb is again a prophetic perfect.