Exodus 12:43

Participation in the Passover

12:43 ¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner may ²  share in eating it. ³ 

Exodus 20:6

20:6 and showing covenant faithfulness ⁴  to a thousand generations ⁵  of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Exodus 21:31

21:31 If the ox ⁶  gores a son or a daughter, the owner ⁷  will be dealt with according to this rule. ⁸ 

Exodus 26:34

26:34 You are to put the atonement lid on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

Exodus 31:7

31:7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings ⁹  of the tent,

Exodus 40:3

40:3 You are to place the ark of the testimony in it and shield the ark with the special curtain.

[12:43]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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).

[20:6]  ⁴ tn Literally “doing loyal love” (עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד, ’oseh khesed). The noun refers to God’s covenant loyalty, his faithful love to those who belong to him. These are members of the covenant, recipients of grace, the people of God, whom God will preserve and protect from evil and its effects.

[20:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “to thousands” or “to thousandth.” After “tenth,” Hebrew uses cardinal numbers for ordinals also. This statement is the antithesis of the preceding line. The “thousands” or “thousandth [generation]” are those who love Yahweh and keep his commands. These are descendants from the righteous, and even associates with them, who benefit from the mercy that God extends to his people. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 195) says that this passage teaches that God’s mercy transcends his wrath; in his providence the beneficial consequences of a life of goodness extend indefinitely further than the retribution that is the penalty for persisting in sin. To say that God’s loyal love extends to thousands of generations or the thousandth generation is parallel to saying that it endures forever (Ps. 118). See also Exod 34:7; Deut 5:10; 7:9; Ps 18:51; Jer 32:18.

[21:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the ox) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to this judgment it shall be done to him.”

[31:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the vessels of the tent.”