Exodus 11

Exodus 11:3

3.—a lamb] The Hebrew word signifies a kid as well as a lamb, Numb. xv. 11; Deut. xiv. 4. They might take either for this sacrifice, ver. 5; but commonly they made choice of a lamb. Bp. Patrick.

Many of the ceremonial laws of the Hebrews have reference to the idolatrous opinions of the neighbouring nations and their corresponding rites; for they were given in opposition to them: and therefore they derive light from the knowledge of those rites and opinions. The passover was a memorial of the deliverance of the Israelites. But many circumstances of it were in opposition to Egyptian superstitions. Among them, “a lamb or kid” was not sacrificed, but venerated: “A male” was worshipped as a symbol of Hammond; female sacrifices were always preferred: “Eat no part raw,” as was usual in solemn festivals: “Not carried forth,” as was also usual: “No bone broken,” as pulled asunder in enthusiasm: “Not sodden,” as in solemn and magical rites: “Roasted with fire,” not by the beat of the sun: “To be eaten with its purtenance,” the intestines, which were reserved for divination: “No part to remain, but the fragments to be burnt,” which were usually kept for charms and superstitious purposes. Dean Spencer.

Exodus 11:6

6.—in the evening.] The Hebrew expression is, “Between the two evenings.” Among the Jews there was a former and a latter evening. The first began at noon, as soon as the sun began to decline: the second began from sunset. Thus the time “between the two evenings,” when the passover was slain, was about three o’clock in the afternoon: and this was the very time of the day, when Christ, the true passover, was sacrificed upon the cross. Bps. Patrick and Kidder, Pyle. There is a strong resemblance between the passover as a sacrifice, and the death of Jesus Christ. In the month Abib, the people of Israel were to take, “every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house.” And if the household were too little for the