Exodus 12

Chap. XII. Ver. 1-28. The passover instituted.—It is eyes! believed that from the creation to this time the year had begun at the autumnal equinox; but now a new year is instituted, generally known as the Ecclesiastical year, because by it the feasts and fasts of the Jews were regulated, and from this was a new era formed. This year began about the vernal equinox, the month Abib (or Nisan) commencing in the middle of our March. (See Introduction.) The new era was the Exodus, or departure from Egypt, and the festival by which it was to be annually commemorated was the passover; the particulars of which are so clearly and minutely detailed, as to require little or no explanation. But it may be asked, What is meant by executing judgment “against all the gods of Egypt?”

This was done, in the first place, when the river which the Egyptians idolized was turned into blood; and when the creatures which they held sacred (as frogs, &c.) were made the instruments of their punishment; and more fully, when the first-born of all their cattle were destroyed; for it is certain that they worshipped cattle, particularly the goat, the ram, and the ox, Apis. Because, however, the term Elohim is sometimes used for kings, judges, or magistrates, our translators have placed the word “princes” in the margin; and some commentators understand it as a judgment upon the higher classes, who were equally sharers in the common calamity with the lower. Some of the Rabbins add, that at this time all their idolatrous images were cast down and broken by an earthquake; but for this they give no authority.

But let us turn our attention to the Christian passover; as St. Paul saith, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” ((1 Corinthians 5:7).) Let us compare the Jewish and the Christian sacrifice. 1. This passover marked a new era among the Jews, and they continued to reckon by it (according to Dr. Clarke) till the building of the Temple: but the incarnation of Christ marked the Christian era, which continues to the present day, and will, doubtless, to the world’s end, the years of which are marked as the years of our redemption. 2. The sacrifice was a lamb; evidently pointing to the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” ((John 1:29).) 3. The lamb was to be roasted whole, as it is said verse 46, “A bone of it shall not be broken;”

which words are applied by the Evangelist to the body of our Lord. ((John 19:36).) And Justin Martyr makes the form in which the animal was suspended, figurative of the death of crucifixion. 4. It was to be thoroughly roasted, as typical of the extreme sufferings of the Lamb of God, under a sense of the divine wrath due to sin and sinners, when he prayed, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:” and again, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” ((Matthew 26:39); xxvii. 46.) 5. The application of the blood of the sacrifice, by sprinkling it on the lintels of the door-posts, clearly points to the application of “the blood of sprinkling” to the hearts and consciences of believers.

((Hebrews 12:24); (1 Peter 1:2).) 6. The pascal lamb was to be eaten. To “eat the flesh and drink the blood” of the Son of God, is to receive his truth and believe on him. ((John 6:53).) 7. It was to be eaten with “bitter herbs,” signifying repentance and contrition. And with unleavened bread; and all leaven was to be banished from their houses: in like manner are Christ’s disciples cautioned against the leaven of malice, and of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ((1 Corinthians 5:8); (Luke 12:1).) 8. It was to be eaten in the dress and attitude of travellers; so are we, as the Hebrews of old, to confess ourselves “pilgrims and strangers on the earth,” seeking for another and “a better country.” ((Ephesians 6:14); (Hebrews 11:14-16); (1 Peter 2:11).) And as they fled from Egypt to the land of Canaan, so are we to “flee for refuge to the hope set before us in the Gospel.” ((Hebrews 6:18).) 9. It was to be eaten in their houses, that is, privately, and among themselves; no Egyptian, nor any uncircumcised person, was to partake with them; and thus is Christ our passover spiritually eaten by those only who belong to his family. “For what communion hath light with darkness? or what concord hath Christ with Belial?” ((2 Corinthians 6:15).) Lastly, it is remarkable that Christ was sacrificed for us on the very same days; for after he had eaten the passover on the Thursday night, (as we reckon it) on the following morning, which the Hebrews reckoned as the same day, “gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice of sweet smelling savour.”—((Ephesians 5:2).) Thus it was, “through faith” in the appointed means of salvation, that Moses and the Israelites “kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first-born should touch them.” ((Hebrews 11:28).) * Jesus, our Passover, was slain, And has at once procur’d Freedom from Satan’s heavy chain And God’s avenging sword.”

It is delivered.—“When the admonitions of conscience are invariably resisted, (says Robinson of Leicester,) and the judgments of God despised, there is little hope. The heart becomes more and more insensible to good, and is more readily carried away by every vile affection: and hence those who have been once awakened, and return to folly, are generally the most desperate of offenders.

Very awful calamities had been inflicted upon Pharaoh, and others were denounced; but still he maintained his opposition, in defiance of all that God could do against him. According to the intimation, then, which had been given, after three preceding days of total darkness, the angel of the Lord went forth at midnight, and destroyed the first-born of every Egyptian family. The consternation produced by the tremendous visitation throughout the land, was beyond all description. Cries of distress were heard in every house; and the king himself was filled with horror and amazement. Then he appeared, indeed, to yield the conquest, and to comply with the terms proposed. He called for Moses and Aaron, whom he had a little before threatened with death, and even requested them, with all the congregation of Israel, into his presence (through an impression of terror, one limitation or restraint;) and entreated them to bless him before their departure.

Nay, both he and his subjects were urgent as to hasten their flight, to load them with the riches of the king upon the people, and (Script. Chap.) The children of Israel, as might have been expected, wanted after so many years of servitude, they no entreaty to go; only, were not willing to go altogether without some reward; an Egyptians, that the Lord gave them so great favour with the gave them whatever they required. The children of Israel being thus liberated, set out from the capital of Goshen, to Succoth, a city of Moses, perhaps the treasure cities built by the tents; and both these, probably, (as mentioned (Exodus 1:11).) and between children of Israel, these it should seem they collected the prodigious number of and implied.

On which Hall here persons here mentioned remarks.—“Old Jacob’s seventy souls, which he brought down into Egypt, in spite of their bondage and bloodshed, go forth besides children. The world is six hundred thousand men, well mended with Israel, since he went with his staff and his

Notes on the verses

Chap. XII. Ver. 3. On the tenth day.—That is, four days before the lamb was to be eaten, that they might properly examine it, and not have to seek it when they should be called to sacrifice it. This, however, was not thought necessary after the first observance, the day before being considered as the preparation of the Passover. ((Matthew 27:62).) lamb, “or kid.” — The word sei, means the young of both sheep and goats, and may be indifferently rendered either lamb or kid. It is evident from ver. 5. that the Hebrews might take either; but they generally preferred a lamb, from being of a more gentle nature.—Lamb for a house.—The Israelites were divided into twelve tribes, these tribes into families, the families into houses, and the houses into particular persons.

— Bagster. A Ver. 6. In the evening.—Hebrew, “Between the two evenings;” that is, in the afternoon, before sunset.—Ainsworth.—(The Jews divided the day into morning and evening: till the sun passed the meridian, all was morning or forenoon; after that all was evening or afternoon. Their first evening began just after twelve o’clock, and continued till sunset; their second evening began at sunset, and continued till night, i.e. during the whole time of twilight:—between twelve o’clock, therefore, and the termination of twilight, the passover was to be offered.) —Bagster. Ver. 8. Unleavened bread (or rather cakes) was made without yeast, or any other kind of leaven.—Bitter herbs.—The Jews reckon chicory, wild lettuce, horehound, &c.—Ainsworth.

Ver. 9. Eat not of it raw.—“The raz, whereof the law warneth us, is flesh roasted a little, but not fit for man to eat.”—Maimonides. But it is said the Egyptians ate raw flesh in honour of Osiris; and we know that the Ethiopians eat it to the present day.—Dr. Clarke. Ver. 10. Let nothing remain till the morning.—That is, as some think, lest it should putrify, which meat will soon do in hot countries. But there seems another reason: they were about to flee from Egypt, and were not to leave the holy sacrifice to be profaned by idolaters. Ver. 11. With your loins girded.—This order was peculiar to the first celebration, on account of their leaving Egypt immediately after: as were some Ver.

22. Hyssop.—(The word aizov, which has been variously rendered, most probably denotes Hyssop; whence are derived the Chaldee aizova, Syriac, zupha, Arabic, zupha, or azah, and hushopa, Greek, ussopos, Latin, hyssopus, German usop, and our hyssop, a name retained, with little variation, in all the western languages. It is a plant of the gymnospermia (naked seeded) order, belonging to the didynamia class. It has bushy stalks, black a foot and a half high; small spear shaped, close-sitting and opposite leaves, with several smaller ones rising from the same joint; and all the stalks and branches terminated by erect whorled spikes of flowers, of different colours in the varieties of the plant. The leaves have an aromatic smell, and a warm pungent taste; and are particularly recommended in humoral asthmas, and other disorders of the breast and lungs, and greatly promote expectoration.

Its detersive, cleansing, and medicinal qualities were probably the reason why it was so particularly recommended in Scripture.) —Bagster. Ver. 29. Midnight.—(The infliction of this Judgment on the Egyptians was most equitable; because after their nation had been preserved by one of the Israelitish family, they had, contrary to all right, and in defiance of original stipulation, enslaved the people, to whom they had been so much indebted, had murdered their offspring, and made their bondage intolerable. See Bryant.) —Bagster.—In the dungeon.—The Hebrew reads, as in the margin, “house of the pit;” such were the dungeons of former times. Ver. 34. Their kneading (or dough) troughs bound up, &c.—The vessels which the Arabs use for kneading their unleavened cakes, are only small wooden bowls, in which they afterwards serve up their provisions.—Orient. Cust. The Arabs have also leathern utensils, in which they carry their provisions, and which they spread for a table cloth.—Harmer’s Obs. Ver. 35,36. They (the children of Israel) borrowed.—They (the Egyptians) lent.—“Since the translation of the Bible into the English tongue is so excellent a performance in itself, and so necessary a service to the Church, (says Watts,) I feel a sensible regret, whensoever there is occasion to complain of it, or to correct it.” With exactly the same sentiments and feelings, we must repeat the remark made in a preceding chapter, (Note, ch. iii. 22.) that this “is a most unhappy translation;” but our venerable translators were by no means aware of the handle which would be made of it.

The fact is, the Israelites asked and the Egyptians gave, and gave freely, to be rid of them. In addition to the authorities already cited, we now add those of Dr. John Taylor’s Heb. Concordance, Parkhurst’s Heb. (Leviticus 10), and Leigh’s Crit. Sac. Ver. 37. Rameses (or Raamses) to Succoth.—Perhaps these were the treasure cities (in Heb. Mischenoth) referred to (Exodus 1:11).—Calmet’s Dict. Ver. 40. The sojourning of Israel 430 years.—(Genesis 15:13). the time is stated but the texts are thus reconciled. It was 400 years from Ishmael’s mocking Isaac, the beginning of their affliction;* but from Abraham’s the commencement of their sojourning, was 420 years.— entering Canaan, In the text.

of Genesis, the Samaritan copy, after the Comp. on (Genesis 15:30). “they and their fathers, In the land of Canaan,” children of Israel, adds, (The Samaritan, and in the land of Egypt;” which makes it more explicit. the Samaritan Pentateuch, in all its manuscripts and printed copies, reads: “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of their fathers in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt was 430 years.” The Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint has the same reading; and the same statement is made by the Apostle Paul, in (Galatians 3:17). who reckons from the promise made to Abraham. That these three witnesses have the truth, the chronology itself proves; e.g. 430 years spent in Egypt; while it is equally evident that the period from Abraham’s entrance into Canaan to the Exodus, is exactly that number. Thus, from Abraham’s entrance into the promised land to the birth of Isaac was 25 years; Jacob was 130 at his going into Egypt; Isaac was 60 at the birth of Jacob; add 215 years more; making in the whole 430 where he and his children continued. See Kennicott’s Dissertation on Hebrew Text. —Bagster.