EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

Exodus 12:1-51

Exodus: Israel becomes a nation

The *Israelites leave Egypt

Exodus Chapter s 1 to 18

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 12 The *Passover – verses 1-28

Preparations for the special meal – verses 1-13

v1 The *LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt. v2 ‘This month will be the first month for you’, he said to them. ‘It will be the first month of your year. v3 Speak to all the *Israelites. Tell them that on day 10 of this month each man must choose a young male sheep or goat. He must choose it for his family to eat. Choose one animal for each home. v4 Perhaps there are not enough people in one home to eat a whole animal. Then they must share the animal with their nearest neighbours. They must notice how many people are in their homes. And they must be sure that everyone gets some of this meat to eat. v5 The animals that you choose must be males of one year old. They must be perfect young sheep or young goats. v6 Each family must take care of their animal until the evening of day 14 in the month. Then they must kill the animal while it is getting dark. v7 They must save some of the animal’s blood. They must protect each house where they will eat the animals. So they must paint this blood on the top and on the side of the beams. These beams go round the doors of those houses.

v8 That same night they must cook the meat over the fire. They should eat the meat with plants that have a bitter taste. Also they must eat flat bread that they make without *yeast. v9 Do not eat the meat when it is raw. And do not cook it in water. You must cook the entire animal over the fire. You must include the head, the legs and the inside parts. v10 Eat all of it that you want. But if you leave any of it until the next morning, you must burn it. v11 When you eat it, you must be ready to travel. You must dress and fasten your belts round your coats. You must wear something on your feet. And you should have your sticks in your hands. Eat the meal quickly. This meal is the *LORD’s *Passover.’

v12 ‘On that same night I will pass through Egypt. I will kill everybody’s oldest son. And I will kill every male animal that is born first. This will be my judgement on all Egypt’s false gods. I am the *LORD. v13 The animals’ blood will be a *sign on your houses. It will show me where you live. So when I see the blood, I will pass over you. I will punish Egypt, but no terrible *plague will touch you.’

Verse 2 They called that first month ‘Abib’. It is the month when the first grain becomes ripe. Later, when they were in the country called Babylon, they called that month ‘Nisan’ (Nehemiah 2:1). It is the same time in the year as the months that we call March and April in English. Before that time, the *Israelites’ year had begun in the autumn. That was after the agricultural year had ended (Exodus 23:16). But God brought the *Israelites away from their past in Egypt. It was a new beginning. So in the future, their year would begin with the month called Abib.

Verses 3-5 The animal must be a perfect male that was one year old. It could be either a sheep or a goat. Each leader of a family counted how many people lived in his home. He had to decide how much each person would eat. A whole animal might be too much for his home if only a few people lived there. Then they must share one animal with their nearest neighbour and his family. In later days, they calculated that ten adults would eat one young sheep.

Verses 6-10 Day 14 would be in the middle of the month. The moon would be complete then. The animal’s blood *represents that it has given its life (Leviticus 17:11). So they painted the blood round the doors of their houses as a *sign. The *Israelites would eat in those houses for which the animals had ‘given’ their lives. They must cook the animal over a fire. God did not want them to eat raw meat. Perhaps people, who did not know God, ate raw meat sometimes.

Later, the plants with a bitter taste reminded the *Israelites about their bitter past as slaves. At that meal they must eat flat bread that they made without *yeast. The *yeast grows slowly in the bread as they make it. Then the mixture rises. So without *yeast the bread is thin and flat. But they would not have time to wait for the *yeast. They had to burn anything that they did not eat completely at that one meal. In that way they were respecting something that they had given to God. Today, the *Jews still eat the *Passover meal. But they have just a part of a perfect animal’s leg. That leg *represents the whole animal.

Verses 11-13 The *Israelites must eat the meal quickly. They must be ready to leave in a hurry. They must fasten their belts round their coats so that they could move easily. They must wear their shoes because they could not walk a long way with bare feet. And they must carry their sticks to help them to walk well. Also they used the sticks to control their animals.

They would be eating the meal at the time when the *LORD ‘passed through’ Egypt. God would bring his judgement on ‘all Egypt’s false gods’. Already the *LORD had punished some of those false gods. Those false gods included the River Nile (Exodus 7:19), Heqt, the false god with the *frog’s head (Exodus 8:2), and Ra, the Sun god (Exodus 10:21). Now God would punish the *Egyptians themselves. He would kill their oldest sons. But the *Israelites had painted the blood on their houses. The blood was a *sign. So the *LORD would ‘pass over’ the *Israelites’ houses. They would be safe. Psalms 78:43-52 refers to God’s judgement on Egypt. It tells how he rescued his people, the *Israelites.

Bread without *yeast – verses 14-20

v14 ‘This is a day that you must remember. You must respect this day for all time. You and your children must remember this day each year. It will be a special day to give honour to the *LORD. This is a law that will last for all time. v15 For 7 days you must eat flat bread that you make without *yeast. On the first day, remove every kind of *yeast from your houses. And for all 7 days, nobody must eat anything with *yeast in it. If they do, they cannot be a part of *Israel’s people. v16 On the first day, meet together to *worship me. Then meet together again on the 7th day. Do not do any work on those two days. However, you can prepare food for everyone to eat on those days.’

v17 ‘Do this every year. And call it “the *Feast when we eat bread without *yeast”. Then you will remember this day. I brought you away from Egypt in your families on this day. This is a law for all the future. v18 Always begin this time on the evening of day 14 of the first month. Continue until the evening of day 21. During that time, eat only flat bread without *yeast. v19 For 7 days you must have no *yeast in your houses. And anyone who eats anything with *yeast in it cannot remain as a part of your nation. This rule is the same for the foreigners who live with you and for *Israelites. v20 Eat nothing that contains *yeast for those 7 days. Wherever you live, you must eat flat bread without *yeast.’

Verses 14-17 God punished the *Egyptians. And he rescued the *Israelites from Egypt. God told the *Israelites to always remember that time. Many writers in the Bible refer back to that time. Today, *Jews continue to remember that time. They continue to have that meal more than 3000 years after it first happened.

Another name for *yeast is ‘leaven’. ‘Unleavened bread’ is bread that they made without *yeast. It is like a thin, flat biscuit. Today, *Jews call bread like this ‘matzos’. The *feast lasts for 7 days. 7 is a *sign that it is complete. At the beginning and at the end of that week God wanted them to meet together. They would *worship God. They could do food preparation. But they must not do any other work on those two days of *worship. God brought his people away from Egypt. During the week after the *Passover meal, they remembered that act. Immediately after the *Passover meal was the *Feast when they ate bread without *yeast. Therefore they considered both these events as one special period (Exodus 23:15).

Verses 18-20 Before the *Passover, the *Israelites had to remove any *yeast from their homes. And they had to remove all food that contained *yeast. Even today, *Jews search their houses to be sure about that. They must not include anyone as part of *Israel if they did not obey that law. That was very serious. It meant that they should punish that person. Either they must send them away, or they must kill them. The rule was for the people who were born as *Israelites. And it was the same rule for the people who had joined them.

The *Passover meal – verses 21-28

v21 Then Moses sent for all *Israel’s leaders. ‘Go at once and choose the animals for your families’, he said to them. ‘Kill the young sheep for the *Passover meal. v22 Hold in your hand some small branches from the plant called hyssop. And make them wet with the sheep’s blood in the basin. Then use them to paint some of the blood. Paint it on the upper beam and on both sides round the door. Go inside your door, and none of you must leave your house until the morning. v23 The *LORD will go through the country and he will kill the *Egyptians. Then he will see the blood round your door, and he will pass over your house. He will not allow his *angel to enter your houses. His *angel, who brings death, will not kill any of you.’

v24 ‘Obey these instructions. They are a law for you and for your children for all time. v25 The *LORD will give to you the country that he has promised to you. When you have entered the country, you must have this ceremony every year. v26 Your children will ask you: “What does this special meal mean for us?” v27 When they ask that question, you must tell them this. “It is the *Passover meal to give honour to the *LORD. He passed over the houses where our people, the *Israelites, lived in Egypt. He did not touch our children, but he killed the *Egyptians.” ’

Then the people bent down and they *worshipped God. v28 The *Israelites did everything that the *LORD had ordered Moses and Aaron.

Verse 22 ‘Hyssop’ was a small bush with a pleasant smell. It grew as a wild bush. If you hold branches of that plant together, you can use it as a kind of brush. They could use hyssop to splash or paint the blood on the beams round the door. After that, nobody must leave the house until the morning. They must stay where the young sheep’s blood was the *sign. The blood would protect them.

Verse 23 ‘His *angel who brings death’ described God’s control. God’s judgement brought death in serious situations.

Verses 24-27 Children will ask why they have that special meal. Then their parents must explain the *Passover. The *LORD had saved the *Israelites when he ‘passed over’ their houses in Egypt. But he entered the *Egyptians’ houses and he killed their oldest sons. Today *Jewish families eat the special meal at *Passover. And the youngest child in the family asks the same question.

The *Israelites leave Egypt – verses 29-36

v29 At midnight, the *LORD killed all the oldest sons in Egypt. *Pharaoh was the king, but his oldest son died. And God killed the oldest sons of men who were in prison too. He also killed the *Egyptians’ male animals that were born first to their mothers. v30 So *Pharaoh and all his officials and all the other *Egyptians got up. Someone had died in every *Egyptian home that night. So they all started to cry loudly.

v31 During that night *Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. ‘Get up and go away from my country!’ he ordered. ‘Take all the *Israelites with you and leave my people! Go and *worship the *LORD. You asked me for that, so go. v32 Take your sheep and your goats and your cows, as you have said. And also ask your God to be kind to me.’

v33 The *Egyptians urged the *Israelites to hurry. ‘Leave our country quickly’, they said. ‘If you do not hurry, we will all die!’

v34 Quickly the *Israelites prepared some bread without *yeast and they put it in pans. They wrapped the pans in clothes. And they carried the pans on their shoulders. v35 The *Israelites did all that Moses had told them to do. They asked the *Egyptians for silver and gold objects. They also asked the *Egyptians for clothes. v36 The *LORD caused the *Egyptians to be kind to the *Israelites. So they gave all those things to the *Israelites. And that was how the *Israelites took away the *Egyptians’ wealth.

Verse 29 Exodus 11:5 compares *Pharaoh with the female slave who made flour. Here it compares *Pharaoh with a prisoner in the worst prison.

Verses 31-32 At last, *Pharaoh allowed the *Israelites to leave. He was allowing their women and the children to go as well. And all the animals could go too. Although they were slaves, the *Israelites had their own animals. *Pharaoh even asked Moses to pray on his behalf.

Verses 33-36 The *Egyptians wanted the *Israelites to leave as quickly as possible. If the *Israelites did not go, more terrible things would happen. The *Egyptians were afraid that all of them would die.

Exodus 3:21-22 and Exodus 11:1-2. Those verses have recorded already how the *Israelites requested gold and silver objects and clothes from the *Egyptians. So the *Israelites left Egypt like an army that had won a war. They carried away precious goods from the enemy. They did that when they defeated an enemy in a battle.

The first part of the journey – verses 37-42

v37 That night the *Israelites travelled from the city called Rameses to the place called Succoth. There were about 600 000 men who were walking. And there were women and children too. v38 Many other people went with them as well. And they were taking many sheep, goats and cows with them. v39 They baked the mixture for bread that they had brought from Egypt. But it made just flat bread, because it had no *yeast in it. They had left Egypt in a hurry. So there had been no time for them to prepare other food for themselves.

v40 Now the *Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years. v41 After exactly 430 years, all the *LORD’s people marched away from Egypt. They were like an army. v42 The *LORD protected them that night as he brought them away from Egypt. So every year on that same night the *Israelites must remember the *LORD. They must give honour to the *LORD in this way for all time to come.

Verses 37-38 Numbers 33:3 records that the *Israelites started their journey on day 15 of the first month. That was the day after the *Passover. And all the *Israelites had gathered together in the city called Rameses. Then they marched to the east through Goshen district to the place called Succoth. In the *Hebrew language, ‘Succoth’ means tents or shelters.

Also Numbers 11:21 tells us that there were 600 000 men. Some people think that the big number is a mistake. They say there were too many people. There were large numbers of women and children as well. But *Pharaoh had worried that so many *Israelites were living in his country (Exodus 1:6-9). And later, he did not want to lose so many free workers. In the future, the *Israelites caused the people called Moabites to be afraid of them (Numbers 22:3). So there were great numbers of *Israelites. Also Moses and their other leaders were very careful. They kept accurate records.

Verse 38 says ‘many other people went with them’. Probably some of these other people had married *Israelites. And some of them may have been prisoners whom the *Egyptians kept as slaves. Perhaps they were from other countries. Now they saw the opportunity to escape from Egypt. But perhaps they did not believe the *Israelite religion. If so, it should not surprise us that they caused trouble. In Numbers 11:4 they encouraged the *Israelites to complain about their food.

Verses 40-42 God told Abraham about the future. Abraham’s family would be slaves for 400 years (Genesis 15:13 and Acts 7:6). The extra 30 years may include some of the time when Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived. ‘After exactly 430 years’ emphasises that the time in Egypt had ended. God had looked after the *Israelites while he brought them away from Egypt. So the *Israelites must remember that fact each year. And they must give honour to the *LORD.

*Passover rules – verses 43-51

v43 Then the *LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron. ‘These are the rules for the *Passover meal’, he told them. ‘No foreigner can eat this meal. v44 You should *circumcise any slave, whom you have bought. Then he can eat this meal with you. v45 But a worker, whom you employ, cannot eat it. And a foreigner, who stays with you for a short time, cannot eat it.’

v46 ‘You must eat this meal inside your home. You must not take any of the meat outside the house. And you must not break any of the bones. v47 Every *Israelite must eat the *Passover meal.’

v48 ‘Perhaps a foreigner is living with you. Perhaps he wants to eat the *Passover meal with you. He wants to give honour to me, the *LORD. You must *circumcise all the males in his family. Then he can eat the *Passover meal like someone who was born as an *Israelite. No man or boy, whom you have not *circumcised, can eat that meal with you. v49 It is the same law for an *Israelite and for any foreigner, who is living with you.’

v50 All the *Israelites did exactly what the *LORD had ordered Moses and Aaron. v51 And on that same day, the *LORD brought the *Israelite families away from Egypt.

Verses 44-45 A slave would become a part of the family if his master had *circumcised him. So he would belong to God’s family too. To *circumcise someone was a *sign. It marked the special promise that God had made to his people (Genesis 17:12). Men, who stayed only for a short time, were not a part of the family. So they must not eat the *Passover meal.

Verse 46 ‘Inside your home’ reminded them about the unity of the family. The *Passover had brought that unity to them. They must not break the animal’s bones during the *Passover meal. The *apostle called John remembered that. Jesus was like the perfect young sheep for a *Passover meal when he died. In Jesus’ time, many prisoners died on crosses. The soldiers usually broke the prisoners’ legs in the evening. But the soldiers did not break Jesus’ legs, because he was dead already (John 19:33 and John 19:36).

Verse 48 Perhaps a foreigner or a stranger wanted to eat the *LORD’s *Passover meal. Then they must *circumcise all the males in his house. That would show that they had joined God’s family. The foreigners or strangers would be exactly like those men who were born *Israelites. Then they would receive the same benefits as the *Israelites received from God’s special promise (Genesis 22:18). In the *New Testament Paul wrote about people who are not *Jews. They can become one family with *Jews. They will all be one family if they all trust Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:6).