Exodus 13:1-10

Context

The Law of the Firstborn

13:1 ¹The Lord spoke² to Moses: 13:2 “Set apart³ to me every firstborn male – the first offspring of every womb⁴ among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.”⁵

13:3 Moses said to the people, “Remember⁶ this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the place where you were enslaved,⁷ for the Lord brought you out of there⁸ with a mighty hand – and no bread made with yeast may be eaten.⁹ 13:4 On this day,¹⁰ in the month of Abib,¹¹ you are going out.¹²

13:5 When¹³ the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey,¹⁴ then you will keep¹⁵ this ceremony¹⁶ in this month. 13:6 For seven days¹⁷ you must eat¹⁸ bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there is to be¹⁹ a festival to the Lord. 13:7 Bread made without yeast must be eaten²⁰ for seven days;²¹ no bread made with yeast shall be seen²² among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.

13:8 You are to tell your son²³ on that day,²⁴ ‘It is²⁵ because of what²⁶ the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 13:9 ²⁷ It²⁸ will be a sign²⁹ for you on your hand and a memorial³⁰ on your forehead,³¹ so that the law of the Lord may be³² in your mouth,³³ for³⁴ with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 13:10 So you must keep³⁵ this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.³⁶

[13:1] ¹sn This next section seems a little confusing at first glance: vv. 1 and 2 call for the dedication of the firstborn, then vv. 3-10 instruct concerning the ritual of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and then vv. 11-16 return to the firstborn. B. Jacob (Exodus, 360) explains that vv. 3-16 contain a sermon, in which Moses “began his speech by reminding the people of the events which had just occurred and how they would be recalled by them in the future,” and then he explained the rulings that went along with it. So the first two verses state the core of the sermon, a new command calling for the redeemed (firstborn) to be sanctified. The second portion stresses that God requires the redeemed to remember their redemption by purifying themselves (3-10). The third section (11-16) develops the theme of dedication to Yahweh. The point is that in view of God’s mighty redemption, the redeemed (represented by the firstborn) must be set apart for Yahweh’s service.

[13:1] ²tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke.”

[13:2] ³tn The verb “sanctify” is the Piel imperative of קָדַשׁ (qadash). In the Qal stem it means “be holy, be set apart, be distinct,” and in this stem “sanctify, set apart.”

[13:2] ⁴tn The word פֶּטֶּר (petter) means “that which opens”; this construction literally says, “that which opens every womb,” which means “the first offspring of every womb.” Verses 12 and 15 further indicate male offspring.

[13:2] ⁵tn Heb “to me it.” The preposition here expresses possession; the construction is simply “it [is, belongs] to me.”

[13:3] ⁶tn The form is the infinitive absolute of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”). The use of this form in place of the imperative (also found in the Decalogue with the Sabbath instruction) stresses the basic meaning of the root word, everything involved with remembering (emphatic imperative, according to GKC 346 §113.bb). The verb usually implies that there will be proper action based on what was remembered.

[13:3] ⁷tn Heb “from a house of slaves.” “House” is obviously not meant to be literal; it indicates a location characterized by slavery, a land of slaves, as if they were in a slave house. Egypt is also called an “iron-smelting furnace” (Deut 4:20).

[13:3] ⁸tn Heb “from this” [place].

[13:3] ⁹tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; it could be rendered “must not be eaten” in the nuance of the instruction or injunction category, but permission fits this sermonic presentation very well – nothing with yeast may be eaten.

[13:4] ¹⁰tn The word הַיּוֹם (hayyom) means literally “the day, today, this day.” In this sentence it functions as an adverbial accusative explaining when the event took place.

[13:4] ¹¹sn Abib appears to be an old name for the month, meaning something like “[month of] fresh young ears” (Lev 2:14 [Heb]) (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 106). B. Jacob (Exodus, 364) explains that these names were not precise designations, but general seasons based on the lunar year in the agricultural setting.

[13:4] ¹²tn The form is the active participle, functioning verbally.

[13:5] ¹³tn Heb “and it will be when.”

[13:5] ¹⁴tn See notes on Exod 3:8.

[13:5] ¹⁵tn The verb is וְעָבַדְתָּ (vÿ’avadta), the Qal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is the equivalent of the imperfect tense of instruction or injunction; it forms the main point after the temporal clause – “when Yahweh brings you out…then you will serve.”

[13:5] ¹⁶tn The object is a cognate accusative for emphasis on the meaning of the service – “you will serve this service.” W. C. Kaiser notes how this noun was translated “slavery” and “work” in the book, but “service” or “ceremony” for Yahweh. Israel was saved from slavery to Egypt into service for God as remembered by this ceremony (“Exodus,” EBC 2:383).

[13:6] ¹⁷tn Heb “Seven days.”

[13:6] ¹⁸tn The imperfect tense functions with the nuance of instruction or injunction. It could also be given an obligatory nuance: “you must eat” or “you are to eat.” Some versions have simply made it an imperative.

[13:6] ¹⁹tn The phrase “there is to be” has been supplied.

[13:7] ²⁰tn The imperfect has the nuance of instruction or injunction again, but it could also be given an obligatory nuance.

[13:7] ²¹tn The construction is an adverbial accusative of time, answering how long the routine should be followed (see GKC 374 §118.k).

[13:7] ²²tn Or “visible to you” (B. Jacob, Exodus, 366).

[13:8] ²³tn The form is the Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the sequence forward: “and you will declare to your son.”

[13:8] ²⁴tn Heb “day, saying.” “Tell…saying” is redundant, so “saying” has not been included in the translation here.

[13:8] ²⁵tn “it is” has been supplied.

[13:8] ²⁶tn The text uses זֶה (zeh), which Gesenius classifies as the use of the pronoun to introduce a relative clause after the preposition (GKC 447 §138.h) – but he thinks the form is corrupt. B. S. Childs, however, sees no reason to posit a corruption in this form (Exodus [OTL], 184).

[13:9] ²⁷sn This passage has, of course, been taken literally by many devout Jews, and portions of the text have been encased in phylacteries and bound on the arm and forehead. B. Jacob (Exodus, 368), weighing the pros and cons of the literal or the figurative meaning, says that those who took it literally should not be looked down on for their symbolic work. In many cases, he continues, it is the spirit that kills and the letter makes alive – because people who argue against a literal usage do so to excuse lack of action. This is a rather interesting twist in the discussion. The point of the teaching was obviously meant to keep the Law of Yahweh in the minds of the people, to remind them of their duties.

[13:9] ²⁸tn That is, this ceremony.

[13:9] ²⁹tn Heb “for a sign.”

[13:9] ³⁰tn Heb “for a memorial.”

[13:9] ³¹tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.

[13:9] ³²tn The purpose of using this ceremony as a sign and a memorial is that the Law might be in their mouth. The imperfect tense, then, receives the classification of final imperfect in the purpose clause.

[13:9] ³³sn “Mouth” is a metonymy of cause; the point is that they should be ever talking about the Law as their guide as they go about their duties (see Deut 6:7; 11:19; Josh 1:8).

[13:9] ³⁴tn This causal clause gives the reason for what has just been instructed. Because Yahweh delivered them from bondage, he has the strongest claims on their life.

[13:10] ³⁵tn The form is a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, functioning as the equivalent of an imperfect of instruction or injunction.

[13:10] ³⁶tn Or “every year,” or “year after year.”