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| 1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto Aaron, in the land of Egypt, saying, |
The Lord's Passover |
| 2 'This month [is] to you the chief of months it [is] the first 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 company of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month they take to them each man a lamb for the house of the fathers, a lamb for a house. |
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 '(And if the household be too few for a lamb, then hath he taken, he and his neighbour who is near unto his house, for the number of persons, each according to his eating ye do count 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, a perfect one, a male, a son of a year, let be to you; from the sheep or from the goats ye do 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 'And it hath become a charge to you, until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole assembly of the company of Israel have slaughtered it between the 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 have taken of the blood, and have put on the two side-posts, and on the lintel over the houses in which they 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 'And they have eaten the flesh in this night, roast with fire; with unleavened things and bitters they do 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 ye do not eat of it raw, or boiled at all in water, but roast with fire, its head with its legs, and with its inwards; |
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 do not leave of it till morning, and that which is remaining of it till morning with fire ye do burn. |
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 ye do eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and ye have eaten it in haste; it is Jehovah's passover, |
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 and I have passed over through the land of Egypt during this night, and have smitten every first-born in the land of Egypt, from man even unto beast, and on all the gods of Egypt I do judgments; I [am] Jehovah. |
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 'And the blood hath become a sign for you on the houses where ye [are], and I have seen the blood, and have passed over you, and a plague is not on you for destruction in My smiting in 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 'And this day hath become to you a memorial, and ye have kept it a feast to Jehovah to your generations; a statute age-during; ye keep it a feast. |
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| 15 Seven days ye eat unleavened things; only in the first day ye cause leaven to cease out of your houses; for any one eating anything fermented from the first day till the seventh day, even that person hath been cut off from Israel. |
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| 16 'And in the first day [is] a holy convocation, and in the seventh day ye have a holy convocation; any work is not done in them, only that which is eaten by any person it alone is done by you, |
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| 17 and ye have observed the unleavened things, for in this self-same day I have brought out your hosts from the land of Egypt, and ye have observed this day to your generations a statute age-during. |
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| 18 'In the first [month], in the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, ye do eat unleavened things until the one and twentieth day of the month, at evening; |
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| 19 seven days leaven is not found in your houses, for any [one] eating anything fermented that person hath been cut off from the company of Israel, among the sojourners or among the natives of the land; |
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| 20 anything fermented ye do not eat, in all your dwellings ye do eat unleavened things.' |
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| 21 And Moses calleth for all the elders of Israel, and saith unto them, 'Draw out and take for yourselves [from] the flock, for your families, and slaughter the passover-sacrifice; |
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| 22 and ye have taken a bunch of hyssop, and have dipped [it] in the blood which [is] in the basin, and have struck [it] on the lintel, and on the two side-posts, from the blood which [is] in the basin, and ye, ye go not out each from the opening of his house till 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 Jehovah hath passed on to smite the Egyptians, and hath seen the blood on the lintel, and on the two side-posts, and Jehovah hath passed over the opening, and doth not permit the destruction to come into your houses to smite. |
Tenth Plague – Death of Firstborn – Described |
| 24 'And ye have observed this thing, for a statute to thee, and to thy sons unto the age; |
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| 25 and it hath been, when ye come in unto the land which Jehovah giveth to you, as He hath spoken, that ye have kept this service; |
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| 26 and it hath come to pass when your sons say unto you, What [is] this service ye have |
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| 27 that ye have said, A sacrifice of passover it [is] to Jehovah, who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt, in His smiting the Egyptians, and our houses He delivered.' |
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| 28 And the people bow and do obeisance, and the sons of Israel go and do as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron; so have they done. |
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| 29 And it cometh to pass, at midnight, that Jehovah hath smitten every first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who is sitting on his throne, unto the first-born of the captive who [is] in the prison-house, and every first-born of beasts. |
Tenth Plague – Death of Firstborn |
| 30 And Pharaoh riseth by night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there is a great cry in Egypt, for there is not a house where there is not [one] dead, |
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| 31 and he calleth for Moses and for Aaron by night, and saith, 'Rise, go out from the midst of my people, both ye and the sons of Israel, and go, serve Jehovah 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 both your flock and your herd take ye, as ye have spoken, and go; then ye have blessed also me.' |
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| 33 And the Egyptians are urgent on the people, hasting to send them away out of the land, for they said, 'We are all dead;' |
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| 34 and the people taketh up its dough before it is fermented, their kneading-troughs [are] bound up in their garments on their shoulder. |
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| 35 And the sons of Israel have done according to the word of Moses, and they ask from the Egyptians vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments; |
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 Jehovah hath given the grace of the people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they cause them to ask, and they spoil 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 And the sons of Israel journey from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, apart from infants; |
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| 38 and a great rabble also hath gone up with them, and flock and herd very much cattle. |
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| 39 And they bake with the dough which they have brought out from Egypt unleavened cakes, for it hath not fermented; for they have been cast out of Egypt, and have not been able to delay, and also provision they have not made for themselves. |
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| 40 And the dwelling of the sons of Israel which they have dwelt in Egypt [is] four hundred and thirty years; |
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| 41 and it cometh to pass, at the end of four hundred and thirty years yea, it cometh to pass in this self-same day all the hosts of Jehovah have gone out from the land of Egypt. |
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| 42 A night of watchings it [is] to Jehovah, to bring them out from the land of Egypt; it [is] this night to Jehovah of watchings to all the sons of Israel to their generations. |
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| 43 And Jehovah saith unto Moses and Aaron, 'This [is] a statute of the passover; Any son of a stranger doth not eat of it; |
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| 44 and any man's servant, the purchase of money, when thou hast circumcised him then he doth eat of it; |
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| 45 a settler or hired servant doth not eat of it; |
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| 46 in one house it is eaten, thou dost not carry out of the house [any] of the flesh without, and a bone ye do not break of it; |
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| 47 all the company of Israel do keep it. |
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| 48 'And when a sojourner sojourneth with thee, and hath made a passover to Jehovah, every male of his [is] to be circumcised, and then he doth come near to keep it, and he hath been as a native of the land, but any uncircumcised one doth not eat of it; |
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| 49 one law is to a native, and to a sojourner who is sojourning in your midst.' |
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| 50 And all the sons of Israel do as Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron; so have they done. |
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| 51 And it cometh to pass in this self-same day, Jehovah hath brought out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, by their hosts. |
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