Discovery BoxExodus 12:1-51
Context12:1 1 The Lord said 2 to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 3 12:2 “This month is to be your beginning of months; it will be your first month of the year. 4 12:3 Tell the whole community of Israel, ‘In the tenth day of this month they each 5 must take a lamb 6 for themselves according to their families 7 – a lamb for each household. 8 12:4 If any household is too small 9 for a lamb, 10 the man 11 and his next-door neighbor 12 are to take 13 a lamb according to the number of people – you will make your count for the lamb according to how much each one can eat. 14 12:5 Your lamb must be 15 perfect, 16 a male, one year old; 17 you may take 18 it from the sheep or from the goats. 12:6 You must care for it 19 until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole community 20 of Israel will kill it around sundown. 21 12:7 They will take some of the blood and put it on the two side posts and top of the doorframe of the houses where they will eat it. 12:8 They will eat the meat the same night; 22 they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast 23 and with bitter herbs. 12:9 Do not eat it raw 24 or boiled in water, but roast it over the fire with its head, its legs, and its entrails. 12:10 You must leave nothing until morning, but you must burn with fire whatever remains of it until morning. 12:11 This is how you are to eat it – dressed to travel, 25 your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 26
12:12 I will pass through 27 the land of Egypt in the same 28 night, and I will attack 29 all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, 30 and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. 31 I am the Lord. 12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, so that when I see 32 the blood I will pass over you, 33 and this plague 34 will not fall on you to destroy you 35 when I attack 36 the land of Egypt. 37
12:14 This day will become 38 a memorial 39 for you, and you will celebrate it as a festival 40 to the Lord – you will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance. 41 12:15 For seven days 42 you must eat 43 bread made without yeast. 44 Surely 45 on the first day you must put away yeast from your houses because anyone who eats bread made with yeast 46 from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off 47 from Israel.
12:16 On the first day there will be a holy convocation, 48 and on the seventh day there will be a holy convocation for you. You must do no work of any kind 49 on them, only what every person will eat – that alone may be prepared for you. 12:17 So you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very 50 day I brought your regiments 51 out from the land of Egypt, and so you must keep this day perpetually as a lasting ordinance. 52 12:18 In the first month, 53 from the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat bread made without yeast until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening. 12:19 For seven days 54 yeast must not be found in your houses, for whoever eats what is made with yeast – that person 55 will be cut off from the community of Israel, whether a foreigner 56 or one born in the land. 12:20 You will not eat anything made with yeast; in all the places where you live you must eat bread made without yeast.’”
12:21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel, and told them, “Go and select 57 for yourselves a lamb or young goat 58 for your families, and kill the Passover animals. 59 12:22 Take a branch of hyssop, 60 dip it in the blood that is in the basin, 61 and apply to the top of the doorframe and the two side posts some of the blood that is in the basin. Not one of you is to go out 62 the door of his house until morning. 12:23 For the Lord will pass through to strike Egypt, and when he sees 63 the blood on the top of the doorframe and the two side posts, then the Lord will pass over the door, and he will not permit the destroyer 64 to enter your houses to strike you. 65 12:24 You must observe this event as an ordinance for you and for your children forever. 12:25 When you enter the land that the Lord will give to you, just as he said, you must observe 66 this ceremony. 12:26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 67 – 12:27 then you will say, ‘It is the sacrifice 68 of the Lord’s Passover, when he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck 69 Egypt and delivered our households.’” The people bowed down low 70 to the ground, 12:28 and the Israelites went away and did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. 71
12:29 72 It happened 73 at midnight – the Lord attacked all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison, and all the firstborn of the cattle. 12:30 Pharaoh got up 74 in the night, 75 along with all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no house 76 in which there was not someone dead. 12:31 Pharaoh 77 summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Get up, get out 78 from among my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord as you have requested! 79 12:32 Also, take your flocks and your herds, just as you have requested, and leave. But bless me also.” 80
12:33 The Egyptians were urging 81 the people on, in order to send them out of the land quickly, 82 for they were saying, “We are all dead!” 12:34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, 83 with their kneading troughs bound up in their clothing on their shoulders. 12:35 Now the Israelites had done 84 as Moses told them – they had requested from the Egyptians 85 silver and gold items and clothing. 12:36 The Lord 86 gave the people favor 87 in the sight of the Egyptians, and they gave them whatever they wanted, 88 and so they plundered Egypt. 89
12:37 The Israelites journeyed 90 from Rameses 91 to Sukkoth. There were about 600,000 men 92 on foot, plus their dependants. 93 12:38 A mixed multitude 94 also went up with them, and flocks and herds – a very large number of cattle. 95 12:39 They baked cakes of bread without yeast using the dough they had brought from Egypt, for it was made without yeast – because they were thrust out 96 of Egypt and were not able to delay, they 97 could not prepare 98 food for themselves either.
12:40 Now the length of time the Israelites lived in Egypt was 430 years. 99 12:41 At the end of the 430 years, on the very day, all the regiments 100 of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt. 12:42 It was a night of vigil for the Lord to bring them out from the land of Egypt, 101 and so 102 on this night all Israel is to keep the vigil 103 to the Lord for generations to come.
12:43 104 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner may 105 share in eating it. 106 12:44 But everyone’s servant who is bought for money, after you have circumcised him, may eat it. 12:45 A foreigner and a hired worker must not eat it. 12:46 It must be eaten in one house; you must not bring any of the meat outside the house, and you must not break a bone of it. 12:47 The whole community of Israel must observe it.
12:48 “When a foreigner lives 107 with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, all his males must be circumcised, 108 and then he may approach and observe it, and he will be like one who is born in the land 109 – but no uncircumcised person may eat of it. 12:49 The same law will apply 110 to the person who is native-born and to the foreigner who lives among you.”
12:50 So all the Israelites did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. 111 12:51 And on this very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments.
Leviticus 23:5-8
Context23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, 112 is a Passover offering to the Lord. 23:6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month 113 will be the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 23:7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work. 114 23:8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”
Numbers 9:2-14
Context9:2 “The Israelites are to observe 115 the Passover 116 at its appointed time. 117 9:3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, 118 you are to observe it at its appointed time; you must keep 119 it in accordance with all its statutes and all its customs.” 120 9:4 So Moses instructed 121 the Israelites to observe 122 the Passover. 9:5 And they observed the Passover 123 on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight in the wilderness of Sinai; in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.
9:6 It happened that some men 124 who were ceremonially defiled 125 by the dead body of a man 126 could not keep 127 the Passover on that day, so they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. 9:7 And those men said to him, “We are ceremonially defiled by the dead body of a man; why are we kept back from offering the Lord’s offering at its appointed time among the Israelites?” 9:8 So Moses said to them, “Remain 128 here and I will hear 129 what the Lord will command concerning you.”
9:9 The Lord spoke to Moses: 9:10 “Tell the Israelites, ‘If any 130 of you or of your posterity become ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, or are on a journey far away, then he may 131 observe the Passover to the Lord. 9:11 They may observe it on the fourteenth day of the second month 132 at twilight; they are to eat it with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs. 9:12 They must not leave any of it until morning, nor break any of its bones; they must observe it in accordance with every statute of the Passover.
9:13 But 133 the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails 134 to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. 135 Because he did not bring the Lord’s offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin. 136 9:14 If a resident foreigner lives 137 among you and wants to keep 138 the Passover to the Lord, he must do so according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its custom. You must have 139 the same 140 statute for the resident foreigner 141 and for the one who was born in the land.’”
Numbers 28:16-25
Context28:16 “‘On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover. 28:17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten. 28:18 And on the first day there is to be a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work 142 on it.
28:19 “‘But you must offer to the Lord an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs one year old; they must all be unblemished. 143 28:20 And their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil. For each bull you must offer three-tenths of an ephah, and two-tenths for the ram. 28:21 For each of the seven lambs you are to offer one-tenth of an ephah, 28:22 as well as one goat for a purification offering, to make atonement for you. 28:23 You must offer these in addition to the burnt offering in the morning which is for a continual burnt offering. 28:24 In this manner you must offer daily throughout the seven days the food of the sacrifice made by fire as a sweet aroma to the Lord. It is to be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. 28:25 On the seventh day you are to have a holy assembly, you must do no regular work.
Deuteronomy 16:1-8
Context16:1 Observe the month Abib 144 and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month 145 he 146 brought you out of Egypt by night. 16:2 You must sacrifice the Passover animal 147 (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he 148 chooses to locate his name. 16:3 You must not eat any yeast with it; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, symbolic of affliction, for you came out of Egypt hurriedly. You must do this so you will remember for the rest of your life the day you came out of the land of Egypt. 16:4 There must not be a scrap of yeast within your land 149 for seven days, nor can any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until the next morning. 150 16:5 You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of your villages 151 that the Lord your God is giving you, 16:6 but you must sacrifice it 152 in the evening in 153 the place where he 154 chooses to locate his name, at sunset, the time of day you came out of Egypt. 16:7 You must cook 155 and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses; you may return the next morning to your tents. 16:8 You must eat bread made without yeast for six days. The seventh day you are to hold an assembly for the Lord your God; you must not do any work on that day. 156
Deuteronomy 16:1
Context16:1 Observe the month Abib 157 and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month 158 he 159 brought you out of Egypt by night.
Colossians 1:7-8
Context1:7 You learned the gospel 160 from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave 161 – a 162 faithful minister of Christ on our 163 behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
[12:1] 1 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).
[12:1] 2 tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”
[12:2] 4 sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 294-95) shows that the intent of the passage was not to make this month in the spring the New Year – that was in the autumn. Rather, when counting months this was supposed to be remembered first, for it was the great festival of freedom from Egypt. He observes how some scholars have unnecessarily tried to date one New Year earlier than the other.
[12:3] 5 tn Heb “and they will take for them a man a lamb.” This is clearly a distributive, or individualizing, use of “man.”
[12:3] 6 tn The שֶּׂה (seh) is a single head from the flock, or smaller cattle, which would include both sheep and goats.
[12:3] 7 tn Heb “according to the house of their fathers.” The expression “house of the father” is a common expression for a family.
[12:3] 8 tn Heb “house” (also at the beginning of the following verse).
[12:4] 9 sn Later Judaism ruled that “too small” meant fewer than ten (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 88).
[12:4] 10 tn The clause uses the comparative min (מִן) construction: יִמְעַט הַבַּיִת מִהְיֹת מִשֶּׂה (yim’at habbayit mihyot miseh, “the house is small from being from a lamb,” or “too small for a lamb”). It clearly means that if there were not enough people in the household to have a lamb by themselves, they should join with another family. For the use of the comparative, see GKC 430 §133.c.
[12:4] 11 tn Heb “he and his neighbor”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:4] 12 tn Heb “who is near to his house.”
[12:4] 13 tn The construction uses a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive after a conditional clause: “if the household is too small…then he and his neighbor will take.”
[12:4] 14 tn Heb “[every] man according to his eating.”
[12:5] 15 tn The construction has: “[The] lamb…will be to you.” This may be interpreted as a possessive use of the lamed, meaning, “[the] lamb…you have” (your lamb) for the Passover. In the context instructing the people to take an animal for this festival, the idea is that the one they select, their animal, must meet these qualifications.
[12:5] 16 tn The Hebrew word תָּמִים (tamim) means “perfect” or “whole” or “complete” in the sense of not having blemishes and diseases – no physical defects. The rules for sacrificial animals applied here (see Lev 22:19-21; Deut 17:1).
[12:5] 17 tn The idiom says “a son of a year” (בֶּן־שָׁנָה, ben shanah), meaning a “yearling” or “one year old” (see GKC 418 §128.v).
[12:5] 18 tn Because a choice is being given in this last clause, the imperfect tense nuance of permission should be used. They must have a perfect animal, but it may be a sheep or a goat. The verb’s object “it” is supplied from the context.
[12:6] 19 tn The text has וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְמִשְׁמֶרֶת (vÿhaya lakem lÿmishmeret, “and it will be for you for a keeping”). This noun stresses the activity of watching over or caring for something, probably to keep it in its proper condition for its designated use (see 16:23, 32-34).
[12:6] 20 tn Heb “all the assembly of the community.” This expression is a pleonasm. The verse means that everyone will kill the lamb, i.e., each family unit among the Israelites will kill its animal.
[12:6] 21 tn Heb “between the two evenings” or “between the two settings” (בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם, ben ha’arbayim). This expression has had a good deal of discussion. (1) Tg. Onq. says “between the two suns,” which the Talmud explains as the time between the sunset and the time the stars become visible. More technically, the first “evening” would be the time between sunset and the appearance of the crescent moon, and the second “evening” the next hour, or from the appearance of the crescent moon to full darkness (see Deut 16:6 – “at the going down of the sun”). (2) Saadia, Rashi, and Kimchi say the first evening is when the sun begins to decline in the west and cast its shadows, and the second evening is the beginning of night. (3) The view adopted by the Pharisees and the Talmudists (b. Pesahim 61a) is that the first evening is when the heat of the sun begins to decrease, and the second evening begins at sunset, or, roughly from 3-5
[12:8] 22 tn Heb “this night.”
[12:8] 23 sn Bread made without yeast could be baked quickly, not requiring time for the use of a leavening ingredient to make the dough rise. In Deut 16:3 the unleavened cakes are called “the bread of affliction,” which alludes to the alarm and haste of the Israelites. In later Judaism and in the writings of Paul, leaven came to be a symbol of evil or corruption, and so “unleavened bread” – bread made without yeast – was interpreted to be a picture of purity or freedom from corruption or defilement (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 90-91).
[12:9] 24 sn This ruling was to prevent their eating it just softened by the fire or partially roasted as differing customs might prescribe or allow.
[12:11] 25 tn Heb “your loins girded.”
[12:11] 26 tn The meaning of פֶּסַח (pesakh) is debated. (1) Some have tried to connect it to the Hebrew verb with the same radicals that means “to halt, leap, limp, stumble.” See 1 Kgs 18:26 where the word describes the priests of Baal hopping around the altar; also the crippled child in 2 Sam 4:4. (2) Others connect it to the Akkadian passahu, which means “to appease, make soft, placate”; or (3) an Egyptian word to commemorate the harvest (see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, 95-100). The verb occurs in Isa 31:5 with the connotation of “to protect”; B. S. Childs suggests that this was already influenced by the exodus tradition (Exodus [OTL], 183, n. 11). Whatever links there may or may not have been that show an etymology, in Exod 12 it is describing Yahweh’s passing over or through.
[12:12] 27 tn The verb וְעָבַרְתִּי (vÿ’avarti) is a Qal perfect with vav (ו) consecutive, announcing the future action of God in bringing judgment on the land. The word means “pass over, across, through.” This verb provides a contextual motive for the name “Passover.”
[12:12] 28 tn Heb “this night.”
[12:12] 29 tn The verb נָכָה (nakhah) means “to strike, smite, attack”; it does not always mean “to kill,” but that is obviously its outcome in this context. This is also its use in 2:12, describing how Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.
[12:12] 30 tn Heb “from man and to beast.”
[12:12] 31 tn The phrase אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים (’e’eseh shÿfatim) is “I will do judgments.” The statement clearly includes what had begun in Exod 6:1. But the statement that God would judge the gods of Egypt is appropriately introduced here (see also Num 33:4) because with the judgment on Pharaoh and the deliverance from bondage, Yahweh would truly show himself to be the one true God. Thus, “I am Yahweh” is fitting here (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 312).
[12:13] 32 tn Both of the verbs for seeing and passing over are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives: וּפָסַחְתִּי…וְרָאִיתִי (vÿra’iti...ufasakhti); the first of these parallel verb forms is subordinated to the second as a temporal clause. See Gesenius’s description of perfect consecutives in the protasis and apodosis (GKC 494 §159.g).
[12:13] 33 tn The meaning of the verb is supplied in part from the near context of seeing the sign and omitting to destroy, as well as the verb at the start of verse 12 “pass through, by, over.” Isa 31:5 says, “Just as birds hover over a nest, so the
[12:13] 34 tn The word “plague” (נֶגֶף, negef) is literally “a blow” or “a striking.” It usually describes a calamity or affliction given to those who have aroused God’s anger, as in Exod 30:12; Num 8:19; 16:46, 47; Josh 22:17 (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 92-93).
[12:13] 35 tn Heb “for destruction.” The form מַשְׁחִית (mashkhit) is the Hiphil participle of שָׁחַת (shakhat). The word itself is a harsh term; it was used to describe Yahweh’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 13:10).
[12:13] 36 tn בְּהַכֹּתִי (bÿhakkoti) is the Hiphil infinitive construct from נָכָה (nakhah), with a preposition prefixed and a pronominal suffix added to serve as the subjective genitive – the subject of this temporal clause. It is also used in 12:12.
[12:13] 37 sn For additional discussions, see W. H. Elder, “The Passover,” RevExp 74 (1977): 511-22; E. Nutz, “The Passover,” BV 12 (1978): 23-28; H. M. Kamsler, “The Blood Covenant in the Bible,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 94-98; A. Rodriguez, Substitution in the Hebrew Cultus; B. Ramm, “The Theology of the Book of Exodus: A Reflection on Exodus 12:12,” SwJT 20 (1977): 59-68; and M. Gilula, “The Smiting of the First-Born: An Egyptian Myth?” TA 4 (1977): 94-85.
[12:14] 38 tn Heb “and this day will be.”
[12:14] 39 tn The expression “will be for a memorial” means “will become a memorial.”
[12:14] 40 tn The verb וְחַגֹּתֶם (vÿkhaggotem), a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive to continue the instruction, is followed by the cognate accusative חַג (khag), for emphasis. As the wording implies and the later legislation required, this would involve a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Yahweh.
[12:14] 41 tn Two expressions show that this celebration was to be kept perpetually: the line has “for your generations, [as] a statute forever.” “Generations” means successive generations (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 94). עוֹלָם (’olam) means “ever, forever, perpetual” – no end in sight.
[12:15] 42 tn This expression is an adverbial accusative of time. The feast was to last from the 15th to the 21st of the month.
[12:15] 43 tn Or “you will eat.” The statement stresses their obligation – they must eat unleavened bread and avoid all leaven.
[12:15] 44 tn The etymology of מַצּוֹת (matsot, “unleavened bread,” i.e., “bread made without yeast”) is uncertain. Suggested connections to known verbs include “to squeeze, press,” “to depart, go out,” “to ransom,” or to an Egyptian word “food, cake, evening meal.” For a more detailed study of “unleavened bread” and related matters such as “yeast” or “leaven,” see A. P. Ross, NIDOTTE 4:448-53.
[12:15] 45 tn The particle serves to emphasize, not restrict here (B. S. Childs, Exodus [OTL], 183, n. 15).
[12:15] 46 tn Heb “every eater of leavened bread.” The participial phrase stands at the beginning of the clause as a casus pendens, that is, it stands grammatically separate from the sentence. It names a condition, the contingent occurrences of which involve a further consequence (GKC 361 §116.w).
[12:15] 47 tn The verb וְנִכְרְתָה (vÿnikhrÿtah) is the Niphal perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it is a common formula in the Law for divine punishment. Here, in sequence to the idea that someone might eat bread made with yeast, the result would be that “that soul [the verb is feminine] will be cut off.” The verb is the equivalent of the imperfect tense due to the consecutive; a translation with a nuance of the imperfect of possibility (“may be cut off”) fits better perhaps than a specific future. There is the real danger of being cut off, for while the punishment might include excommunication from the community, the greater danger was in the possibility of divine intervention to root out the evildoer (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 94). Gesenius lists this as the use of a perfect with a vav consecutive after a participle (a casus pendens) to introduce the apodosis (GKC 337 §112.mm).
[12:16] 48 sn This refers to an assembly of the people at the sanctuary for religious purposes. The word “convocation” implies that the people were called together, and Num 10:2 indicates they were called together by trumpets.
[12:16] 49 tn Heb “all/every work will not be done.” The word refers primarily to the work of one’s occupation. B. Jacob (Exodus, 322) explains that since this comes prior to the fuller description of laws for Sabbaths and festivals, the passage simply restricts all work except for the preparation of food. Once the laws are added, this qualification is no longer needed. Gesenius translates this as “no manner of work shall be done” (GKC 478-79 §152.b).
[12:17] 50 tn Heb “on the bone of this day.” The expression means “the substance of the day,” the day itself, the very day (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 95).
[12:17] 51 tn The word is “armies” or “divisions” (see Exod 6:26 and the note there; cf. also 7:4). The narrative will continue to portray Israel as a mighty army, marching forth in its divisions.
[12:17] 52 tn See Exod 12:14.
[12:18] 53 tn “month” has been supplied.
[12:19] 54 tn “Seven days” is an adverbial accusative of time (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 12, §56).
[12:19] 55 tn The term is נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), often translated “soul.” It refers to the whole person, the soul within the body. The noun is feminine, agreeing with the feminine verb “be cut off.”
[12:19] 56 tn Or “alien”; or “stranger.”
[12:21] 57 tn Heb “draw out and take.” The verb has in view the need “to draw out” a lamb or goat selected from among the rest of the flock.
[12:21] 58 tn The Hebrew noun is singular and can refer to either a lamb or a goat. Since English has no common word for both, the phrase “a lamb or young goat” is used in the translation.
[12:21] 59 tn The word “animals” is added to avoid giving the impression in English that the Passover festival itself is the object of “kill.”
[12:22] 60 sn The hyssop is a small bush that grows throughout the Sinai, probably the aromatic herb Origanum Maru L., or Origanum Aegyptiacum. The plant also grew out of the walls in Jerusalem (1 Kgs 4:33). See L. Baldensperger and G. M. Crowfoot, “Hyssop,” PEQ 63 (1931): 89-98. A piece of hyssop was also useful to the priests because it worked well for sprinkling.
[12:22] 61 tn The Greek and the Vulgate translate סַף (saf, “basin”) as “threshold.” W. C. Kaiser reports how early traditions grew up about the killing of the lamb on the threshold (“Exodus,” EBC 2:376).
[12:22] 62 tn Heb “and you, you shall not go out, a man from the door of his house.” This construction puts stress on prohibiting absolutely everyone from going out.
[12:23] 63 tn The first of the two clauses begun with perfects and vav consecutives may be subordinated to form a temporal clause: “and he will see…and he will pass over,” becomes “when he sees…he will pass over.”
[12:23] 64 tn Here the form is the Hiphil participle with the definite article. Gesenius says this is now to be explained as “the destroyer” although some take it to mean “destruction” (GKC 406 §126.m, n. 1).
[12:23] 65 tn “you” has been supplied.
[12:25] 66 tn The verb used here and at the beginning of v. 24 is שָׁמַר (shamar); it can be translated “watch, keep, protect,” but in this context the point is to “observe” the religious customs and practices set forth in these instructions.
[12:26] 67 tn Heb “what is this service to you?”
[12:27] 68 sn This expression “the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover” occurs only here. The word זֶבַח (zevakh) means “slaughtering” and so a blood sacrifice. The fact that this word is used in Lev 3 for the peace offering has linked the Passover as a kind of peace offering, and both the Passover and the peace offerings were eaten as communal meals.
[12:27] 69 tn The verb means “to strike, smite, plague”; it is the same verb that has been used throughout this section (נָגַף, nagaf). Here the construction is the infinitive construct in a temporal clause.
[12:27] 70 tn The two verbs form a verbal hendiadys: “and the people bowed down and they worshiped.” The words are synonymous, and so one is taken as the adverb for the other.
[12:28] 71 tn Heb “went away and did as the
[12:29] 72 sn The next section records the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and so becomes the turning point of the book. Verses 28 and 29 could be included in the exposition of the previous section as the culmination of that part. The message might highlight God’s requirement for deliverance from bondage through the application of the blood of the sacrifice, God’s instruction for the memorial of deliverance through the purging of corruption, and the compliance of those who believed the message. But these verses also form the beginning of this next section (and so could be used transitionally). This unit includes the judgment on Egypt (29-30), the exodus from Egypt (31-39) and the historical summation and report (40-42).
[12:29] 73 tn The verse begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi), often translated “and it came to pass.” Here it could be left untranslated: “In the middle of the night Yahweh attacked.” The word order of the next and main clause furthers the emphasis by means of the vav disjunctive on the divine name preceding the verb. The combination of these initial and disjunctive elements helps to convey the suddenness of the attack, while its thoroughness is stressed by the repetition of “firstborn” in the rest of the verse, the merism (“from the firstborn of Pharaoh…to the firstborn of the captive”), and the mention of cattle.
[12:30] 74 tn Heb “arose,” the verb קוּם (qum) in this context certainly must describe a less ceremonial act. The entire country woke up in terror because of the deaths.
[12:30] 75 tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of time – “in the night” or “at night.”
[12:30] 76 sn Or so it seemed. One need not push this description to complete literalness. The reference would be limited to houses that actually had firstborn people or animals. In a society in which households might include more than one generation of humans and animals, however, the presence of a firstborn human or animal would be the rule rather than the exception.
[12:31] 77 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Pharaoh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[12:31] 78 tn The urgency in Pharaoh’s words is caught by the abrupt use of the imperatives – “get up, go” (קוּמוּ צְּאוּ, qumu tsÿ’u), and “go, serve” (וּלְכוּ עִבְדוּ, ulÿkhu ’ivdu) and “take” and “leave/go” (וָלֵכוּ…קְחוּ, qÿkhu...valekhu).
[12:31] 79 tn Heb “as you have said.” The same phrase also occurs in the following verse.
[12:32] 80 tn The form is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive (וּבֵרַכְתֶּם, uverakhtem); coming in the sequence of imperatives this perfect tense would be volitional – probably a request rather than a command.
[12:33] 81 tn The verb used here (חָזַק, khazaq) is the same verb used for Pharaoh’s heart being hardened. It conveys the idea of their being resolved or insistent in this – they were not going to change.
[12:33] 82 tn The phrase uses two construct infinitives in a hendiadys, the first infinitive becoming the modifier.
[12:34] 83 tn The imperfect tense after the adverb טֶרֶם (terem) is to be treated as a preterite: “before it was leavened,” or “before the yeast was added.” See GKC 314-15 §107.c.
[12:35] 84 tn The verbs “had done” and then “had asked” were accomplished prior to the present narrative (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 99). The verse begins with disjunctive word order to introduce the reminder of earlier background information.
[12:35] 85 tn Heb “from Egypt.” Here the Hebrew text uses the name of the country to represent the inhabitants (a figure known as metonymy).
[12:36] 86 tn The holy name (“Yahweh,” represented as “the
[12:36] 87 sn God was destroying the tyrant and his nobles and the land’s economy because of their stubborn refusal. But God established friendly, peaceful relations between his people and the Egyptians. The phrase is used outside Exod only in Gen 39:21, referring to Joseph.
[12:36] 88 tn The verb וַיַּשְׁאִלוּם (vayyash’ilum) is a Hiphil form that has the root שָׁאַל (sha’al), used earlier in Qal with the meaning “requested” (12:35). The verb here is frequently translated “and they lent them,” but lending does not fit the point. What they gave the Israelites were farewell gifts sought by demanding or asking for them. This may exemplify a “permissive” use of the Hiphil stem, in which “the Hiphil designates an action that is agreeable to the object and allowed by the subject” (B. T. Arnold and J. H. Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, 52).
[12:36] 89 sn See B. Jacob, “The Gifts of the Egyptians; A Critical Commentary,” Journal of Reformed Judaism 27 (1980): 59-69.
[12:37] 90 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel journeyed.”
[12:37] 91 sn The wilderness itinerary begins here. W. C. Kaiser records the identification of these two places as follows: The name Rameses probably refers to Qantir rather than Tanis, which is more remote, because Qantir was by the water; Sukkoth is identified as Tell el Maskhuta in the Wadi Tumilat near modern Ismailia – or the region around the city (“Exodus,” EBC 2:379). Of the extensive bibliography, see G. W. Coats, “The Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 34 (1972): 135-52; G. I. Davies, “The Wilderness Itineraries: A Comparative Study,” TynBul 25 (1974): 46-81; and J. T. Walsh, “From Egypt to Moab. A Source Critical Analysis of the Wilderness Itinerary,” CBQ 39 (1977): 20-33.
[12:37] 92 tn The word for “men” (הַגְּבָרִים, haggÿvarim) stresses their hardiness and capability – strong men, potential soldiers – in contrast with the word that follows and designates noncombatants.
[12:37] 93 tn For more on this word see 10:10 and 24.
[12:38] 94 tn The “mixed multitude” (עֵרֶב רַב, ’erev rav) refers to a great “swarm” (see a possible cognate in 8:21[17]) of folk who joined the Israelites, people who were impressed by the defeat of Egypt, who came to faith, or who just wanted to escape Egypt (maybe slaves or descendants of the Hyksos). The expression prepares for later references to riffraff who came along.
[12:38] 95 tn Heb “and very much cattle.”
[12:39] 96 sn For the use of this word in developing the motif, see Exod 2:17, 22; 6:1; and 11:1.
[12:39] 98 tn The verb is עָשׂוּ (’asu, “they made”); here, with a potential nuance, it is rendered “they could [not] prepare.”
[12:40] 99 sn Here as well some scholars work with the number 430 to try to reduce the stay in Egypt for the bondage. Some argue that if the number included the time in Canaan, that would reduce the bondage by half. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 102) notes that P thought Moses was the fourth generation from Jacob (6:16-27), if those genealogies are not selective. Exodus 6 has Levi – Kohath – Amram – Moses. This would require a period of about 100 years, and that is unusual. There is evidence, however, that the list is selective. In 1 Chr 2:3-20 the text has Bezalel (see Exod 31:2-5) a contemporary of Moses and yet the seventh from Judah. Elishama, a leader of the Ephraimites (Num 10:22), was in the ninth generation from Jacob (1 Chr 7:22-26). Joshua, Moses’ assistant, was the eleventh from Jacob (1 Chr 7:27). So the “four generations” leading up to Moses are not necessarily complete. With regard to Exod 6, K. A. Kitchen has argued that the four names do not indicate successive generations, but tribe (Levi), clan (Kohath), family (Amram), and individual (Moses; K. A. Kitchen, Ancient Orient and Old Testament, 54-55). For a detailed discussion of the length of the sojourn, see E. H. Merrill, A Kingdom of Priests, 75-79.
[12:41] 100 sn This military term is used elsewhere in Exodus (e.g., 6:26; 7:4; 12:17, 50), but here the Israelites are called “the regiments of the Lord.”
[12:42] 101 tn There is some ambiguity in לֵיל שִׁמֻּרִים הוּא לַיהוָה (lel shimmurim hu’ la’adonay [layhveh]). It is likely that this first clause means that Yahweh was on watch for Israel to bring them out, as the next clause says. He was protecting his people (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 102). Then, the night of vigil will be transferred to Israel, who now must keep it “to” him.
[12:42] 102 tn “and so” has been supplied.
[12:42] 103 tn Heb “this night is for Yahweh a vigil for all Israelites for their generations.”
[12:43] 104 sn The section that concludes the chapter contains regulations pertaining to the Passover. The section begins at v. 43, but vv. 40-42 form a good setting for it. In this unit vv. 43-45 belong together because they stress that a stranger and foreigner cannot eat. Verse 46 stands by itself, ruling that the meal must be eaten at home. Verse 47 instructs that the whole nation was to eat it. Verses 48-49 make provision for foreigners who may wish to participate. And vv. 50-51 record the obedience of Israel.
[12:43] 105 tn This taken in the modal nuance of permission, reading that no foreigner is permitted to share in it (apart from being a member of the household as a circumcised slave [v. 44] or obeying v. 48, if a free individual).
[12:43] 106 tn This is the partitive use of the bet (ב) preposition, expressing that the action extends to something and includes the idea of participation in it (GKC 380 §119.m).
[12:48] 107 tn Both the participle “foreigner” and the verb “lives” are from the verb גּוּר (gur), which means “to sojourn, to dwell as an alien.” This reference is to a foreigner who settles in the land. He is the protected foreigner; when he comes to another area where he does not have his clan to protect him, he must come under the protection of the Law, or the people. If the “resident alien” is circumcised, he may participate in the Passover (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 104).
[12:48] 108 tn The infinitive absolute functions as the finite verb here, and “every male” could be either the object or the subject (see GKC 347 §113.gg and 387 §121.a).
[12:48] 109 tn אֶזְרָח (’ezrakh) refers to the native-born individual, the native Israelite as opposed to the “stranger, alien” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 104); see also W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, 127, 210.
[12:49] 110 tn Heb “one law will be to.”
[12:50] 111 tn Heb “did as the
[23:5] 112 tn Heb “between the two evenings,” perhaps designating the time between the setting of the sun and the true darkness of night. Cf. KJV, ASV “at even”; NAB “at the evening twilight.”
[23:6] 113 tn Heb “to this month.”
[23:7] 114 tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”
[9:2] 115 tn The verb is simply “to do; to make” (עָשָׂה [’asah] in the jussive). It must have the idea here of “to perform; to keep; to observe” the ritual of the Passover.
[9:2] 116 sn For a detailed study note on the Passover, see the discussion with the original institution in Exod 12. The word פֶּסַח (pesakh) – here in pause and with the article – has become the technical name for the spring festival of Israel. In Exod 12 the name is explained by the use of the verb “to pass over” (עָבַר, ’avar), indicating that the angel of death would pass over the house with the blood applied. Many scholarly attempts have been made to supply the etymology of the word, but none has been compelling enough to be accepted by a large number of biblical scholars. For general literature on the Passover, see J. B. Segal, The Hebrew Passover, as well as the Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias.
[9:2] 117 tc The Greek text uses a plural here but the singular in vv. 7 and 13; the Smr uses the plural in all three places.
[9:3] 118 tn The literal Hebrew expression is “between the evenings” (so also in vv. 5, 11). Sunset is certainly one evening; the other may refer to the change in the middle of the afternoon to the late afternoon, or the beginning of dusk. The idea is probably just at twilight, or dusk (see R. B. Allen, TWOT 2:694).
[9:3] 119 tn The two verbs in this verse are identical; they are imperfects of instruction. The English translation has been modified for stylistic variation.
[9:3] 120 tn The two words in this last section are standard “Torah” words. The word חֹק (khoq) is a binding statute, something engraved and monumental. The word מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) means “judgment, decision,” but with a more general idea of “custom” at its core. The verse is making it very clear that the Passover had to follow the custom and form that was legislated in Egypt.
[9:4] 122 tn The infinitive construct functions as the direct object of the preceding verb (a Hebrew complementary usage), answering the question of what he said.
[9:5] 123 tc The LXX omits this first clause; it also omits “at twilight.”
[9:6] 124 tn In the Hebrew text the noun has no definite article, and so it signifies “some” or “certain” men.
[9:6] 125 tn The meaning, of course, is to be ceremonially unclean, and therefore disqualified from entering the sanctuary.
[9:6] 126 tn Or “a human corpse” (so NAB, NKJV). So also in v.7; cf. v. 10.
[9:6] 127 tn This clause begins with the vav (ו) conjunction and negative before the perfect tense. Here is the main verb of the sentence: They were not able to observe the Passover. The first part of the verse provides the explanation for their problem.
[9:8] 128 tn The verb is simply “stand,” but in the more general sense of waiting to hear the answer.
[9:8] 129 tn The cohortative may be subordinated to the imperative: “stand…[that I] may hear.”
[9:10] 130 tn This sense is conveyed by the repetition of “man” – “if a man, a man becomes unclean.”
[9:10] 131 tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of an imperfect tense. In the apodosis of this conditional sentence, the permission nuance fits well.
[9:11] 132 sn The delay of four weeks for such people would have permitted enough time for them to return from their journey, or to recover from any short termed defilement such as is mentioned here. Apart from this provision, the Passover was to be kept precisely at the proper time.
[9:13] 133 tn The disjunctive vav (ו) signals a contrastive clause here: “but the man” on the other hand….
[9:13] 134 tn The verb חָדַל (khadal) means “to cease; to leave off; to fail.” The implication here is that it is a person who simply neglects to do it. It does not indicate that he forgot, but more likely that he made the decision to leave it undone.
[9:13] 135 sn The pronouncement of such a person’s penalty is that his life will be cut off from his people. There are at least three possible interpretations for this: physical death at the hand of the community (G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 84-85), physical and/or spiritual death at the hand of God (J. Milgrom, “A Prolegomenon to Lev 17:11,” JBL 90 [1971]: 154-55), or excommunication or separation from the community (R. A. Cole, Exodus [TOTC], 109). The direct intervention of God seem to be the most likely in view of the lack of directions for the community to follow. Excommunication from the camp in the wilderness would have been tantamount to a death sentence by the community, and so there really are just two views.
[9:13] 136 tn The word for “sin” here should be interpreted to mean the consequences of his sin (so a metonymy of effect). Whoever willingly violates the Law will have to pay the consequences.
[9:14] 137 tn The words translated “resident foreigner” and “live” are from the same Hebrew root, גּוּר (gur), traditionally translated “to sojourn.” The “sojourner” who “sojourns” is a foreigner, a resident alien, who lives in the land as a temporary resident with rights of land ownership.
[9:14] 138 tn The verb is the simple perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. It is therefore the equivalent to the imperfect that comes before it. The desiderative imperfect fits this usage well, since the alien is not required to keep the feast, but may indeed desire to do so.
[9:14] 139 tn The Hebrew text has “there will be to you,” which is the way of expressing possession in Hebrew. Since this is legal instruction, the imperfect tense must be instruction or legislation.
[9:14] 140 tn Or “you must have one statute.”
[9:14] 141 tn The conjunction is used here to specify the application of the law: “and for the resident foreigner, and for the one…” indicates “both for the resident foreigner and the one who….”
[28:18] 142 tn Heb “any work [of] service”; this means any occupational work, that is, the ordinary service.
[28:19] 143 tn Heb “unblemished they will be to you.” So also in v. 31.
[16:1] 144 sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.
[16:1] 145 tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:1] 146 tn Heb “the
[16:2] 147 tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[16:2] 148 tn Heb “the
[16:4] 149 tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.”
[16:4] 150 tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:6] 152 tn Heb “the Passover.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English.
[16:6] 153 tc The MT reading אֶל (’el, “unto”) before “the place” should, following Smr, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate, be omitted in favor of ב (bet; בַּמָּקוֹם, bammaqom), “in the place.”
[16:6] 154 tn Heb “the
[16:7] 155 tn The rules that governed the Passover meal are found in Exod 12:1-51, and Deut 16:1-8. The word translated “cook” (בָּשַׁל, bashal) here is translated “boil” in other places (e.g. Exod 23:19, 1 Sam 2:13-15). This would seem to contradict Exod 12:9 where the Israelites are told not to eat the Passover sacrifice raw or boiled. However, 2 Chr 35:13 recounts the celebration of a Passover feast during the reign of Josiah, and explains that the people “cooked (בָּשַׁל, bashal) the Passover sacrifices over the open fire.” The use of בָּשַׁל (bashal) with “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) suggests that the word could be used to speak of boiling or roasting.
[16:8] 156 tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).
[16:1] 157 sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.
[16:1] 158 tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:1] 159 tn Heb “the
[1:7] 160 tn Or “learned it.” The Greek text simply has “you learned” without the reference to “the gospel,” but “the gospel” is supplied to clarify the sense of the clause. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[1:7] 161 tn The Greek word translated “fellow slave” is σύνδουλος (sundoulo"); the σύν- prefix here denotes association. Though δοῦλος is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:7] 162 tn The Greek text has “who (ὅς, Jos) is a faithful minister.” The above translation conveys the antecedent of the relative pronoun quite well and avoids the redundancy with the following substantival participle of v. 8, namely, “who told” (ὁ δηλώσας, Jo dhlwsa").
[1:7] 163 tc ‡ Judging by the superior witnesses for the first person pronoun ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “us”; Ì46 א* A B D* F G 326* 1505 al) vs. the second person pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “you”; found in א2 C D1 Ψ 075 33 1739 1881 Ï lat sy co), ἡμῶν should be regarded as original. Although it is possible that ἡμῶν was an early alteration of ὑμῶν (either unintentionally, as dittography, since it comes seventeen letters after the previous ἡμῶν; or intentionally, to conform to the surrounding first person pronouns), this supposition is difficult to maintain in light of the varied and valuable witnesses for this reading. Further, the second person is both embedded in the verb ἐμάθετε (emaqete) and is explicit in v. 8 (ὑμῶν). Hence, the motivation to change to the first person pronoun is counterbalanced by such evidence. The second person pronoun may have been introduced unintentionally via homoioarcton with the ὑπέρ (Juper) that immediately precedes it. As well, the second person reading is somewhat harder for it seems to address Epaphras’ role only in relation to Paul and his colleagues, rather than in relation to the Colossians. Nevertheless, the decision must be based ultimately on external evidence (because the internal evidence can be variously interpreted), and this strongly supports ἡμῶν.
