Exodus 12:1

The Institution of the Passover

12:1 ¹ The Lord said ²  to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ³ 

Exodus 18:6

18:6 He said ⁴  to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons with her.”

Exodus 19:10

19:10 The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them ⁵  today and tomorrow, and make them wash ⁶  their clothes

Exodus 19:15

19:15 He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not go near your wives.” ⁷ 

[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.”

[12:1]  ³ tn Heb “saying.”

[18:6]  ⁴ sn This verse may seem out of place, since the report has already been given that they came to the desert. It begins to provide details of the event that the previous verse summarizes. The announcement in verse 6 may have come in advance by means of a messenger or at the time of arrival, either of which would fit with the attention to formal greetings in verse 7. This would suit a meeting between two important men; the status of Moses has changed. The LXX solves the problem by taking the pronoun “I” as the particle “behold” and reads it this way: “one said to Moses, ‘Behold, your father-in-law has come….’”

[19:10]  ⁷ tn This verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the force of the imperative preceding it. This sanctification would be accomplished by abstaining from things that would make them defiled or unclean, and then by ritual washings and ablutions.

[19:10]  ⁸ tn The form is a perfect 3cpl with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is instructional as well, but now in the third person it is like a jussive, “let them wash, make them wash.”

[19:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “do not go near a woman”; NIV “Abstain from sexual relations.”