Exodus 13:6-22

13:6 For seven days ¹  you must eat ²  bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there is to be ³  a festival to the Lord. 13:7 Bread made without yeast must be eaten ⁴  for seven days; ⁵  no bread made with yeast shall be seen ⁶  among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.

13:8 You are to tell your son ⁷  on that day, ⁸  ‘It is ⁹  because of what ¹⁰  the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 13:9 ¹¹  It ¹²  will be a sign ¹³  for you on your hand and a memorial ¹⁴  on your forehead, ¹⁵  so that the law of the Lord may be ¹⁶  in your mouth, ¹⁷  for ¹⁸  with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 13:10 So you must keep ¹⁹  this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. ²⁰ 

13:11 When the Lord brings you ²¹  into the land of the Canaanites, ²²  as he swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it ²³  to you, 13:12 then you must give over ²⁴  to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. ²⁵  Every firstling ²⁶  of a beast that you have ²⁷  – the males will be the Lord’s. ²⁸  13:13 Every firstling ²⁹  of a donkey you must redeem ³⁰  with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck. ³¹  Every firstborn of ³²  your sons you must redeem.

13:14 ³³ In the future, ³⁴  when your son asks you ³⁵  ‘What is this?’ ³⁶  you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand ³⁷  the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery. ³⁸  13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused ³⁹  to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. ⁴⁰  That is why I am sacrificing ⁴¹  to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’ 13:16 It will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets ⁴²  on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” ⁴³ 

The Leading of God

13:17 ⁴⁴ When Pharaoh released ⁴⁵  the people, God did not lead them ⁴⁶  by the way to the land ⁴⁷  of the Philistines, ⁴⁸  although ⁴⁹  that was nearby, for God said, ⁵⁰  “Lest ⁵¹  the people change their minds ⁵²  and return to Egypt when they experience ⁵³  war.” 13:18 So God brought the people around by the way of the desert to the Red Sea, ⁵⁴  and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle. ⁵⁵ 

13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph ⁵⁶  had made the Israelites solemnly swear, ⁵⁷  “God will surely attend ⁵⁸  to you, and you will carry ⁵⁹  my bones up from this place with you.”

13:20 They journeyed from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the desert. 13:21 Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, ⁶⁰  so that they could ⁶¹  travel day or night. ⁶²  13:22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. ⁶³ 

[13:6]  ¹ tn Heb “Seven days.”

[13:6]  ² tn 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]  ³ tn The phrase “there is to be” has been supplied.

[13:7]  ⁴ tn The imperfect has the nuance of instruction or injunction again, but it could also be given an obligatory nuance.

[13:7]  ⁵ tn The construction is an adverbial accusative of time, answering how long the routine should be followed (see GKC 374 §118.k).

[13:7]  ⁶ tn Or “visible to you” (B. Jacob, Exodus, 366).

[13:8]  ⁷ tn The form is the Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the sequence forward: “and you will declare to your son.”

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

[13:8]  ⁹ tn “it is” has been supplied.

[13:8]  ¹⁰ tn 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]  ¹¹ sn 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]  ¹² tn That is, this ceremony.

[13:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “for a sign.”

[13:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for a memorial.”

[13:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.

[13:9]  ¹⁶ tn 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]  ¹⁷ sn “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]  ¹⁸ tn 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]  ¹⁹ tn The form is a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, functioning as the equivalent of an imperfect of instruction or injunction.

[13:10]  ²⁰ tn Or “every year,” or “year after year.”

[13:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “and it will be when Yahweh brings (will bring) you.”

[13:11]  ²² sn The name “the Canaanite” (and so collective for “Canaanites”) is occasionally used to summarize all the list of Canaanitish tribes that lived in the land.

[13:11]  ²³ tn The verb וּנְתָנָהּ (unÿtanah) is the Qal perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; this is in sequence to the preceding verb, and forms part of the protasis, the temporal clause. The main clause is the instruction in the next verse.

[13:12]  ²⁴ tn The unusual choice of words in this passage reflects the connection with the deliverance of the firstborn in the exodus when the Lord passed over the Israelites (12:12, 23). Here the Law said, “you will cause to pass over (וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ, vÿha’avarta) to Yahweh.” The Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) provides the main clause after the temporal clauses. Yahweh here claimed the firstborn as his own. The remarkable thing about this is that Yahweh did not keep the firstborn that was dedicated to him, but allowed the child to be redeemed by his father. It was an acknowledgment that the life of the child belonged to God as the one redeemed from death, and that the child represented the family. Thus, the observance referred to the dedication of all the redeemed to God.

[13:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “every opener of a womb,” that is, the firstborn from every womb.

[13:12]  ²⁶ tn The descriptive noun שֶׁגֶר (sheger) is related to the verb “drop, cast”; it refers to a newly born animal that is dropped or cast from the womb. The expression then reads, “and all that first open [the womb], the casting of a beast.”

[13:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “that is to you.” The preposition expresses possession.

[13:12]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew text simply has “the males to Yahweh.” It indicates that the Lord must have them, or they belong to the Lord.

[13:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and every opener [of a womb].”

[13:13]  ³⁰ tn The verb תִּפְדֶּה (tifdeh), the instructional imperfect, refers to the idea of redemption by paying a cost. This word is used regularly of redeeming a person, or an animal, from death or servitude (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 109).

[13:13]  ³¹ tn The conditional clause uses an imperfect tense; this is followed by a perfect tense with the vav consecutive providing the obligation or instruction. The owner might not redeem the donkey, but if he did not, he could not keep it, he had to kill it by breaking its neck (so either a lamb for it, or the donkey itself). The donkey could not be killed by shedding blood because that would make it a sacrifice, and that was not possible with this kind of animal. See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1977): 1-15.

[13:13]  ³² tn Heb “and every firstborn of man among your sons.” The addition of “man” is clearly meant to distinguish firstborn humans from animals.

[13:14]  ³³ sn As with v. 8, the Law now requires that the children be instructed on the meaning of this observance. It is a memorial of the deliverance from bondage and the killing of the firstborn in Egypt.

[13:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “tomorrow.”

[13:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and it will be when your son will ask you.”

[13:14]  ³⁶ tn The question is cryptic; it simply says, “What is this?” but certainly refers to the custom just mentioned. It asks, “What does this mean?” or “Why do we do this?”

[13:14]  ³⁷ tn The expression is “with strength of hand,” making “hand” the genitive of specification. In translation “strength” becomes the modifier, because “hand” specifies where the strength was. But of course the whole expression is anthropomorphic for the power of God.

[13:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “house of slaves.”

[13:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (lÿshallÿkhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”

[13:15]  ⁴⁰ tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”

[13:15]  ⁴¹ tn The form is the active participle.

[13:16]  ⁴² tn The word is טוֹטָפֹת (totafot, “frontlets”). The etymology is uncertain, but the word denotes a sign or an object placed on the forehead (see m. Shabbat 6:1). The Gemara interprets it as a band that goes from ear to ear. In the Targum to 2 Sam 1:10 it is an armlet worn by Saul (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). These bands may have resembled the Egyptian practice of wearing as amulets “forms of words written on folds of papyrus tightly rolled up and sewn in linen” (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:384).

[13:16]  ⁴³ sn The pattern of the passage now emerges more clearly; it concerns the grateful debt of the redeemed. In the first part eating the unleavened bread recalls the night of deliverance in Egypt, and it calls for purity. In the second part the dedication of the firstborn was an acknowledgment of the deliverance of the firstborn from bondage. They were to remember the deliverance and choose purity; they were to remember the deliverance and choose dedication. The NT will also say, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price, therefore, glorify God” (1 Cor 6:20). Here too the truths of God’s great redemption must be learned well and retained well from generation to generation.

[13:17]  ⁴⁴ sn This short section (vv. 17-22) marks the beginning of the journey of the Israelites toward the sea and Sinai. The emphasis here is on the leading of Yahweh – but this leading is manifested in a unique, supernatural way – unlikely to be repeated with these phenomena. Although a primary application of such a passage would be difficult, the general principle is clear: God, by his clear revelation, leads his people to the fulfillment of the promise. This section has three short parts: the leading to the sea (17-18), the bones of Joseph (19), and the leading by the cloud and pillar (20-22).

[13:17]  ⁴⁵ tn The construction for this temporal clause is the temporal indicator with the vav (ו) consecutive, the Piel infinitive construct with a preposition, and then the subjective genitive “Pharaoh.”

[13:17]  ⁴⁶ sn The verb נָחָה (nakhah, “to lead”) is a fairly common word in the Bible for God’s leading of his people (as in Ps 23:3 for leading in the paths of righteousness). This passage illustrates what others affirm, that God leads his people in a way that is for their own good. There were shorter routes to take, but the people were not ready for them.

[13:17]  ⁴⁷ tn The word “way” is an adverbial accusative, providing the location for the verb “lead”; it is in construct so that “land of the Philistines” is a genitive of either indirect object (“to the land”) or location (“in” or “through” the land).

[13:17]  ⁴⁸ sn The term Philistines has been viewed by modern scholarship as an anachronism, since the Philistines were not believed to have settled in the region until the reign of Rameses III (in which case the term would not fit either the early or the late view of the exodus). But the OT clearly refers to Philistines in the days of the patriarchs. The people there in the earlier period may have been Semites, judging from their names, or they may have been migrants from Crete in the early time. The Philistines after the exodus were of Greek origin. The danger of warfare at this time was clearly with Canaanitish tribes. For further details, see K. A. Kitchen, “The Philistines,” Peoples of Old Testament Times, 53-54; J. M. Grintz, “The Immigration of the First Philistines in the Inscriptions,” Tarbiz 17 (1945): 32-42, and Tarbiz 19 (1947): 64; and E. Hindson, The Philistines and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1970), 39-59.

[13:17]  ⁴⁹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) introduces a concessive clause here (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §448).

[13:17]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “thought.”

[13:17]  ⁵¹ tn Before a clause this conjunction פֶּן (pen) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 75-76, §461). It may be translated “lest, else,” or “what if.”

[13:17]  ⁵² tn יִנָּחֵם (yinnakhem) is the Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham); it would normally be translated “repent” or “relent.” This nontheological usage gives a good illustration of the basic meaning of having a change of mind or having regrets.

[13:17]  ⁵³ tn Heb “see.”

[13:18]  ⁵⁴ tn The Hebrew term יַם־סוּף (Yam Suf) cannot be a genitive (“wilderness of the Red Sea”) because it follows a noun that is not in construct; instead, it must be an adverbial accusative, unless it is simply joined by apposition to “the wilderness” – the way to the wilderness [and] to the Red Sea (B. S. Childs, Exodus [OTL], 217).

[13:18]  ⁵⁵ tn The term חֲמֻשִׁים (khamushim) is placed first for emphasis; it forms a circumstantial clause, explaining how they went up. Unfortunately, it is a rare word with uncertain meaning. Most translations have something to do with “in battle array” or “prepared to fight” if need be (cf. Josh 1:14; 4:12). The Targum took it as “armed with weapons.” The LXX had “in the fifth generation.” Some have opted for “in five divisions.”

[13:19]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:19]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “solemnly swear, saying” (so NASB). The construction uses the Hiphil infinitive absolute with the Hiphil perfect to stress that Joseph had made them take a solemn oath to carry his bones out of Egypt. “Saying” introduces the content of what Joseph said.

[13:19]  ⁵⁸ sn This verb appears also in 3:16 and 4:31. The repetition here is a reminder that God was doing what he had said he would do and what Joseph had expected.

[13:19]  ⁵⁹ tn The form is a Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it follows in the sequence of the imperfect tense before it, and so is equal to an imperfect of injunction (because of the solemn oath). Israel took Joseph’s bones with them as a sign of piety toward the past and as a symbol of their previous bond with Canaan (B. Jacob, Exodus, 380).

[13:21]  ⁶⁰ sn God chose to guide the people with a pillar of cloud in the day and one of fire at night, or, as a pillar of cloud and fire, since they represented his presence. God had already appeared to Moses in the fire of the bush, and so here again is revelation with fire. Whatever the exact nature of these things, they formed direct, visible revelations from God, who was guiding the people in a clear and unambiguous way. Both clouds and fire would again and again represent the presence of God in his power and majesty, guiding and protecting his people, by judging their enemies.

[13:21]  ⁶¹ tn The infinitive construct here indicates the result of these manifestations – “so that they went” or “could go.”

[13:21]  ⁶² tn These are adverbial accusatives of time.

[13:22]  ⁶³ sn See T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 (1971): 15-30.