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| 1 Then spake Yahweh, unto Moses and unto Aaron, in the land of Egypt, saying– |
The Lord's Passover |
| 2 This month, is, to you, a beginning of months,–the first, it is, to you, of the months of the year. |
The beginning of months...the first month – That this refers to the month of Nisan is confirmed by Est. 3:7. |
| 3 Speak ye unto all the assembly of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month, then let them take to them, each man a lamb for his ancestral household, a lamb for a household. |
The congregation of Israel – Typical of those in the world of mankind kept in bondage by sin and death in the world (Egypt) yet desiring to be free.
The tenth day – Jesus was taken into the house of Israel 4 days prior to his being killed.
A lamb – Jesus, "The lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29
"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us." 1 Cor. 5:7
For an house – For the household of faith. This statement is much broader that saying the Little Flock (144,000), or the Spirit-begotten. This would seem to include all of those pictured as being on plane N of the Chart of the Ages, i.e., those (during the Gospel Age) in a (tentatively) justified condition. |
| 4 But, if the household be too small for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbour that is near unto his house take [one], according to the number of souls,–each man according to his eating, shall ye number for the lamb. |
This verse shows how in the midst of giving this wonderful type for the Lord's people during the Gospel Age, our Heavenly Father also took care of the practical matters, realizing that not every household would be able to eat an entire lamb in that one night. |
| 5 A lamb without defect, a male a year old, shall yours be,–from the sheep, or from the goats, shall ye take it. |
Your lamb – Jesus is "the lamb of God," for every individual of the human race.
Without blemish – Picturing the perfect humanity of the man Christ Jesus.
A male – In order to fitly represent that our Lord was to be the replacement for father Adam.
Of the first year – A yearling, in its full vitality. |
| 6 So shall it be yours, to keep, until the fourteenth day of this month,–then shall all the convocation of the assembly of Israel slay it, between the two evenings. |
Ye – The nation of Israel.
Shall keep it – Jesus spent every day from the 10th to the 14th in Jerusalem, returning to Bethany (about 2 miles away) each evening (except for the 14th).
Until the fourteenth day – Thus Jesus, the "lamb of God", was taken into their house by the Jews on the 10th day and was kept until the 14th day.
The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel – This, in the type, helps us to understand what took place in the antitype. It was the nation of Israel that rejected Jesus, except for the few. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not, But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God." John 1:11,12
It was the people of Israel who said "Let His blood be on us and on our children." Matt. 27:25
Shall kill it – The Jews killed our Lord on Nisan 14, 33 A.D.
In the evening – Literally, "between evenings," i.e., between sunset and sunset. Sunset to the Jews is like midnight to us. It marks the end of one day and the beginning of the next. R2270; R2283; R2917; R2918; R5191
Jewish Publication Society 1917 edition (JPS) translates the phrase 'in the evening' as 'at dusk.'
Dusk is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as "The darker stage of twilight, especially in the evening," and by WordNet (Princeton University) as "The time of day immediately following sunset." |
| 7 And they shall take of the blood, and put upon the two door-posts, and upon the upper-beam,–upon the houses wherein they are to eat it. |
And they – Those in the house wherein is the lamb.
Take of the blood – The shed blood of the lamb. The life is in the blood. Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11, 14; Deut. 12:23.
Strike it – Please see additional comments for vs. 22.
On the two side posts and the upper post – Showing that those in the house are protected by the blood of the lamb. Another way to say this is that on that Passover night, all in the house had faith that they would be protected from danger by the blood of the lamb.
It is worth noting that this was a three-sided covering. Why not make it complete and put the blood on the threshold or entrance to the house? Because that would then put the blood of the lamb under the feet of those who entered and you do not want to trample under foot the blood of the son of God. - Heb. 10:28-29.
Wherein ye shall eat it – Only those under the blood were allowed to feast upon the lamb (of God).
According to vs. 22 the blood was applied with hyssop. This shows that having the blood on the door-posts also indicates the occupants are cleansed - picturing justification by faith. - Psa. 51:7. |
| 8 Then shall they eat the flesh, in the same night,–roast with fire, and with unleavened cakes, with bitter herbs, shall they eat it. |
Eat the flesh – To eat is to appropriate to one's self the value of that which is being eaten. In this case those who eat of the flesh (perfect humanity) of the lamb (Jesus) are appropriating that perfection, i.e., they are appropriating Justification.
In that night – The night when the death angel passed over the firstborn. This pictures the Gospel Age when the firstborn (little flock) are in danger of (second) death but are passed over or spared alive.
Roast with fire – Showing the fiery trials of our Lord.
Unleavened bread – Leaven is a symbol for sin, therefore this bread is without sin and pictures "sincerity and truth." 1 Cor. 5:8
Bitter herbs – Picturing the bitter experiences of the faithful during the Gospel Age. These bitter experiences only serve to wet our appetite for the Lamb of God, even as, to Israel, the bitter herbs served to wet the appetite for the Passover lamb. |
| 9 Do not eat of it underdone, nor cooked by boiling in water,–but roast with fire, its head with its legs, and with its inward parts. |
Eat it not raw – None can gain the value of eating (appropriating) the flesh of the lamb (justification from the perfect man Christ Jesus) before the lamb was properly prepared (before the man Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all - 1 Tim. 2:5-6).
Nor boiled with water – It was not scalding truth (boiled water) that prepared Jesus to be man's redeemer.
Roast with fire – Jesus was prepared by His fiery experiences. |
| 10 And ye shall let nothing thereof remain until morning,–but, that which is left remaining until morning, in the fire, shall ye consume. |
Nothing of it remain – The Church is to eat ALL of the lamb, i.e., our consecration is to be full and complete AND the Little Flock will completely eat (feast fully) on the antitypical lamb, the Lamb of God.
The church will be fully developed during the Gospel age.
Until morning – When the new (Millennial) day is come. This is when the church is completed.
That which remaineth of it until the morning – Nothing was supposed to remain until the morning, so what is this? We suggest that this may refer to the Great Company who have to be compelled to fulfill their covenant of sacrifice. We see them, as a class, shown in the Millennial Morning (Rev. 7:9-17), after the sealing of the 144,000.In any case there are spirit begotten new creatures in Christ (both little flock and great company) still remaining in the flesh during the morning of the Millennial Age.
Burn with fire – The fire of the Time of Trouble. 1 Cor. 3:15
This may also apply to the Little Flock who go through the same fire (Time of Trouble) as does the Great Company. In the case of the church class they finish their course in glorious victory as more than overcomers. – Remember, this fire of trouble takes place in the Millennial Morning. |
| 11 And, thus, shall ye eat it,–your loins, girded, your sandals, on your feet, and, your staff, in your hand,–so shall ye eat it, in haste, it is Yahweh's, passing over. |
With your loins girded – Prepared for an effort. Girt with truth - Eph. 6:14
Shoes on your feet – Prepared to walk the narrow way.
Staff in your hand – Ready for the long journey to the promised land.
Eat it in haste – This is the business the Lord, our King has given us to do, and the kings business requires haste. 1 Sam. 21:8
The LORD's – This is strictly designed by Jehovah God Himself.
Passover – So-called because on that night the LORD (through his angel) passed over all those who were under the blood of the lamb. |
| 12 I will pass along, therefore, throughout the land of Egypt, this night, and will smite every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man even to beast,–and, against all the gods of Egypt, will I execute judgments–I, Yahweh. |
I – Jehovah God. Whether it was Jehovah God Himself or an angel acting as His representative matters not. It was done at His command.
The land of Egypt – Typical of the world.
This night – The 14th of Nisan.
Will smite all the firstborn – It is the firstborn only who are in danger of death during the nighttime of the Gospel Age.
In the land of Egypt – In the world. We are in the world but not of the world. |
| 13 Then shall the blood serve you for a sign, on the houses wherein ye are, then will I behold the blood, and will pass over you,–and there shall be among you no plague to destroy, when I smite the land of Egypt. |
The blood – The blood of the lamb, the blood of Christ.
For a token upon the houses where you are – As long as the Lord's people were in the house and under the blood then the houses (and those within) were spared.
This would seem to indicate that as long as the antitypical firstborn are within some of the houses of Christendom, those houses would be spared. Or to reverse the viewpoint, if houses (denominations) of Christendom have been destroyed it would seem to indicate that all the Lord's people (the antitypical firstborn) have come out of those houses (denominations).
When I see the blood – That there are still those who are under the blood of Christ in that house.
I will pass over you – Those firstborn who remain under the blood of Christ during this night (Gospel Age) will be spared.
This seems to be a consistent theme with the Lord. He does not destroy something until all of His people are out. Here, he does not destroy their houses because there are those under the blood within those houses. God did not destroy Sodom until Lot and his family were out of the city. It would seem that Christendom is not fully destroyed until all the spirit-begotten have left. Any who choose to remain would loose their begetting, i.e., be subject to the second death. Compare with Rev. 16:15. |
| 14 So shall this day serve you for a memorial, and ye shall celebrate it, as a festival to Yahweh,–to your generations–as an age-abiding statute, shall ye celebrate it. |
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| 15 Seven days, unleavened cakes, shall ye eat, surely, on the first day, shall ye put away leaven, out of your houses,–for, whosoever eateth what is leavened, then shall that soul be cut off out of Israel, from the first day, unto the seventh day. |
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| 16 Both, on the first day, a holy convocation, and, on the seventh day–a holy convocation, shall there be to you,–no work, shall be done therein, save only what must be eaten by every soul, that alone, shall be done by you. |
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| 17 So then ye shall observe the unleavened cakes, because, on this self-same day, brought I forth your hosts out of the land of Egypt,–so then ye shall observe this day to your generations, as a statute age-abiding. |
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| 18 In the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, shall ye eat unleavened cakes,–until the one-and-twentieth [day] of the month, in the evening. |
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| 19 For seven days, leaven, shall not be found in your houses,–for, whosoever eateth what is leavened, then shall that soul be cut off out of the assembly of Israel, whether sojourner, or native of the land. |
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| 20 Nothing leavened, shall ye eat,–in all your dwellings, shall ye eat unleavened cakes. |
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| 21 So then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them,–Proceed and take for yourselves one of the flock, according to your families, and slay the passover. |
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| 22 Then shall ye take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and strike the upper beam, and the two door-posts, with the blood which is in the basin,–and, ye, shall not go forth, any man out of the entrance of his house, until morning. |
Bunch of hyssop – Symbolic of cleansing. Psa. 51:7.
The blood that is in the basin – The blood of the lamb (the lamb of God - Jesus)
Strike – The oil of hyssop is used as a cleansing agent and was believed by many Jews of the past to ward off evil spirits. By striking (not just spreading the blood on the doorposts, but 'striking' it) the oil of the hyssop was released. This reminds us that 'by His stripes we are healed.' Isa. 53:5. Also we find that both the church (Rev. 1:5) and the Great Company (Rev. 7:14) are washed in the blood of the lamb.
The lintel and the two side posts – The blood is spread in such fashion as to completely cover the entrance to the house. John 10:1, 9; Acts 4:10, 12
The blood was not spread on the threshold. Heb. 10:28-29.
None of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning – This makes it clear that the Jews did NOT leave Egypt on the night of the 14th. It also establishes the Passover supper was indeed on the 14th and not the 15th. If it were the 15th and they stayed inside until the morning how could they have left that night. (Deut. 16:1) |
| 23 And Yahweh will pass along to plague the Egyptians, and, when he beholdeth the blood upon the upper beam, and upon the two door-posts, then will Yahweh pass over the entrance, and not suffer the destroyer to enter into your houses, to inflict on you the plague. |
Tenth Plague – Death of Firstborn – Described |
| 24 And ye shall observe this thing,–for a statute to thee and to thy sons, unto times age-abiding. |
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| 25 And so it shall come to pass, when ye shall enter into the land which Yahweh will give you, as he hath spoken,–and ye shall observe this service; |
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| 26 and it shall come to pass, that your sons shall say unto you,–What is this your service? |
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| 27 Then shall ye say–A passover sacrifice, it is to Yahweh, who passed-over the houses of the sons of Israel, in Egypt, when he plagued the Egyptians, but, our houses, he delivered. Then did the people bend their heads and bow themselves down. |
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| 28 And the sons of Israel went their way and did,–as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so, did they. |
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| 29 And it came to pass, at midnight, that Yahweh, smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat upon his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive who was in the pit of his prison,–and every firstborn of beasts. |
Tenth Plague – Death of Firstborn |
| 30 Then rose up Pharaoh by night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there arose a great outcry throughout Egypt,–for there was not a house, where there was not one dead. |
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| 31 So he called for Moses and for Aaron by night, and said–Rise ye, go forth out of the midst of my people, both ye, and the sons of Israel,–and go, serve Yahweh, according to your word; |
He – Pharoah
Calleth for Moses – The translation here is faulty. The general understanding of this verse seems to be that the defeated Pharoah "summoned" or commanded the victorious Moses. This clearly is NOT what is intended here. Other uses of this word (Strong's 7121) include Gen. 4:26 "..then began men to call upon the name of the LORD;" Gen. 12:8 "..(Abram) .. builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD."
What happened is that Pharoah went to see Moses. Not only is this the way such things normally are done, but this is the way it had to be done! Remember God's instruction to Moses found in verse 22. "None of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning." Then also note what we are told in verse 35, i.e., "the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses." And this is repeated in verse 50: "Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they."
Think about it. If (as depicted in the 1956 movie "The Ten Commandments") Pharaoh "called for" Moses and Moses left Goshen and went to see Pharaoh in his palace, then Moses would have been in violation of God's instruction in verse 22 that "none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning." How much more accurate and consistent the account becomes when we simply recognize that the defeated Pharaoh left his palace and "called upon" Moses.
The parallel account of verses 31 and 32 in the book of Jasher (chapter 80 verses 55 and 56) is supportive of the above conclusions. We present verses 49, 55 and 56 here as follows:"[49] And Bathia the daughter of Pharaoh went forth with the king on that night to seek Moses and Aaron in their houses, and they found them in their houses, eating and drinking and rejoicing with all Israel. .. [55] And Pharaoh king of Egypt approached Moses and Aaron, and some of the children of Israel who were with them in that place, and he prayed to them, saying, [56] Rise up and take your brethren, all the children of Israel who are in the land, with their sheep and oxen, and all belonging to them, they shall leave nothing remaining, only pray for me to the Lord your God." |
| 32 also, your flocks and your herds, take ye, as ye spake, and go your way,–so shall ye bless, even me. |
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| 33 And the Egyptians became urgent with the people, to send them in haste out of the land,–for they said–We all, are dying. |
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| 34 So the people took up their dough, ere yet it was leavened,–with their kneading-bowls, bound up in their mantles, on their shoulders. |
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| 35 And, the sons of Israel, did according to the word of Moses,–and asked of the Egyptians, articles of silver and articles of gold and mantles. |
The children of Israel did according to the word of Moses – This would include the instructions in vs. 22 that "none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning."
They borrowed of the Egyptians – Poor translation. It should read: "They asked of the Egyptians.." The word is Strong's H7592.Throughout the Book of Genesis this word is translated by some form of the word "ask." |
| 36 And, Yahweh, gave the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they gave them gladly,–so they spoiled the Egyptians. |
They lent unto them such things as they required – JPS translation is much better: "They let them have what they asked." |
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| 37 Then did the sons of Israel break up from Rameses, towards Succoth,–about six hundred thousand foot, of men grown, besides little ones. |
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| 38 Moreover also, a mixed multitude, came up with them,–flocks also, and herds, exceeding much cattle. |
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| 39 Then baked they the dough which they had brought out of Egypt–into round unleavened cakes, for it had not been leavened,–for they had been driven out of Egypt, and could not tarry, and indeed no, provisions, had they made ready for themselves. |
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| 40 Now, the time during which the sons of Israel dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. |
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| 41 And it came to pass, at the end of four hundred and thirty years, yea it came to pass, on this self-same day, that all the hosts of Yahweh had come forth out of the land of Egypt. |
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| 42 A night of solemn observances, it is unto Yahweh, for bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt,–this same night, pertaineth to Yahweh, for solemn observances, by all the sons of Israel, to their generations. |
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| 43 And Yahweh said unto Moses and Aaron: This, is the statute of the passover,–No stranger, shall eat thereof; |
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| 44 but, every man's servant bought with silver,–when thou hast circumcised him, then, shall he eat thereof: |
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| 45 An alien or a hireling, shall not eat thereof. |
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| 46 In one house, shall it be eaten, thou shalt not take forth, out of the house, any of the flesh, outside; and a, bone thereof, shalt thou not break. |
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| 47 All the assembly of Israel, shall keep it. |
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| 48 And, when there may sojourn with thee a sojourner who may wish to keep a passover to Yahweh, there must be circumcised to him every male, and, then, may he draw near to keep it, so shall he be as a native of the land,–but, no uncircumcised male, shall eat thereof. |
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| 49 One law, shall there be for the native,–and for the sojourner that sojourneth in your midst. |
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| 50 Thus did all the sons of Israel,–as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so, did they. |
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| 51 And it came to pass, on this self-same day, that Yahweh brought forth the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt, by their hosts. |
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