Bible Commentaries
Exodus 12

Introduction

CHAP. XII.

The institution of the passover: the death of the first-born: the departure of the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

Before Christ 1491.

Verse 2

Exodus 12:2. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months— The Jews, like most other nations, began their year, before this event, about the autumnal equinox, in the month Tisri, after their harvest and vintage: but that which was their first month, now became their seventh; as the month Abib, which answers principally to our March, was, by God's appointment, and in commemoration of this their deliverance, constituted the first month of their sacred year. Abib signifies the green corn; and the month was so named, because the corn in those countries began to ripen about this time. See ch. Exodus 13:4.

Verse 3

Exodus 12:3. In the tenth day of this month— It appears from Exo 12:6 that the passover was to be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month. In after-times they did not begin their preparation till the thirteenth, or the day before the passover: but now, they are ordered to prepare on the tenth day of the month; not only because this being the first time of the celebration of the passover, they might require more time to prepare for a ceremony entirely new; but because, being to depart from Egypt suddenly, and in great haste, they might be perfectly ready, and have no hindrance from a neglect of any part of the duty enjoined. It is plain, from Exo 12:5 that the animal to be sacrificed might either be a lamb or a kid: accordingly, the word rendered lamb, signifies either, as you may observe it rendered in the margin of our Bibles. Lambs were, however, more generally chosen than kids. Some have observed, that this appointment of a lamb or kid to sacrifice, was partly in opposition to the Egyptian worship of the ram; which they began this day (the tenth of the month Abib) with a sacrifice to a real ram, the representative of the constellation Aries. The Egyptians worshipped Jupiter Ammon in the likeness of a ram or a goat; therefore they never sacrifice these creatures: and, consequently, the Israelites' sacrifice of them was an abomination to the Egyptians. A lamb for an house, signifies a lamb for each family, Genesis 7:1. The Jewish writers tell us, that there were not to be fewer than ten, nor more than twenty persons to the eating of one lamb. Men, women, and children, masters, and servants, (all but uncircumcised males,) were, without discrimination, entertained at this sacred repast.

Verse 5

Exodus 12:5. Your lamb shall be without blemish— It was an indispensable qualification in sacrifices, to be perfect, as the Hebrew has it, or without blemish. See Leviticus 20:24. This was not peculiar to the sacrifices offered to the true God. The heathens were no less careful in this respect. As the paschal lamb was a lively and expressive type of Jesus Christ, there is no doubt but the perfection of that Lamb of God was signified by this circumstance, 1Pe 1:19 while, at the same time, that moral purity and sincerity, without which no act of worship can be pleasing to the Deity, and the entire consecration of our whole man to God, might also be figured out by it. The lamb was not only to be perfect, but a male. Leviticus 3:10. Many of the nations, in contradiction to this, (as some have observed,) held the sacrifice of the female sex, as the more proper: Though Herodotus informs us, that the Egyptians counted it unlawful to offer any other but male animals in sacrifice to the gods, Herod. l. ii. c. 41. Indeed, in the ritual of the Hebrews, it appears to have been indifferent which sex was offered in peace-offerings or eucharistical sacrifices, Leviticus 3:1.Numbers 19:2; Numbers 19:2.Deuteronomy 21:3; Deuteronomy 21:3. Freedom from blemish was required in every sacrifice; but the limitation of sex seemed to have been fixed to those which were more immediately typical of the great expiation. The lamb was to be not only perfect, and a male, but of the first year: Hebrew, a son of the year, i.e. not exceeding the first year in age. They were counted unfit for sacrifice after the first year; because, according to Bochart's remark, they then were not so proper to be emblems of purity and innocence. And, as they were not to be offered after the first year, so were they not to be offered before they were eight days old; see ch. Exodus 22:30. Lev 22:27 before which time they were scarcely supposed to have attained the perfection of animal life, or to have been sufficiently purified. Pliny says, Pecoris foetus die octavo purus est, the young of cattle are pure on the eighth day.

Verse 6

Exodus 12:6. And ye shall keep it up, &c.— Keep it up apart from the flock. And the whole assembly shall kill it, i.e. any person of the whole assembly of Israel shall have liberty to kill it: the slaying of the passover was not appropriated to the priesthood, as the offering of the blood was. See Leviticus 2:5. It was to be killed in the evening; according to the Hebrew, between the two evenings. The first evening with the Hebrews, or, as we call it, afternoon, was calculated from the time of the sun's passing the meridian to his setting; when the second evening began, and lasted till night, i.e. till the twilight was gone. Between these two evenings was the passover offered; i.e. according to Maimonides, about half an hour after three, when the daily evening sacrifice, and all belonging to it, was over, then the paschal sacrifice began, and continued till sun-setting. It should be observed, that, about this time of the day, JESUS CHRIST, the true Passover, was sacrificed on the cross. He also suffered at this time of the year; and there was a tradition among the Jews, that, as they were redeemed from Egypt on the fifteenth day of Abib, or Nisan, so they should on the same day be redeemed by the Messiah.

Verse 7

Exodus 12:7. They shall take of the blood, &c.— It appears, from Exo 12:22 that this ceremony was to be performed by dipping a bunch of hyssop into the blood of the lamb. It was peculiar to this first passover: and the reason of it is given in the 23rd verse. In after-times, when the children of Israel were settled, the passover was to be sacrificed only in the appointed place of public worship, when the blood was sprinkled by the priest on the altar, Deuteronomy 5:7. Leviticus 17:6. 2 Chronicles 35:11. This was an emblem of the virtue of the blood of Christ, who delivers us from the destroying angel, and saves us from the wrath of GOD.

Verse 8

Exodus 12:8. They shall eat the flesh in that night— That is to say, the night following the fourteenth, and beginning the fifteenth day; for we must not forget, that the Hebrew day commenced from the setting of the sun. The lamb was to be sacrificed the fourteenth, between three and six; but it was eaten on the fifteenth, i.e. in the beginning of it: whence the passover is said to be offered sometimes on the fourteenth, and sometimes on the fifteenth day: a remark, which may serve to reconcile some seemingly contrary passages of Scripture. It was to be eaten roast with fire; as not only the most expeditious and convenient method, but as generally supposed to be a fitter type of HIM, who endured the fierceness of Divine wrath for us. See Lamentations 1:13. It was to be eaten with unleavened bread; partly to commemorate their hasty deliverance, which did not allow them to leaven it, as we learn from Exo 12:39 and partly to remind them of their hardships in Egypt: unleavened bread being more heavy and unsavoury than leavened; nay, and expressly called, in allusion to this event, the bread of affliction, Deuteronomy 16:3. It was designed, most probably, to remind them further of that sincerity, which is an indispensable requisite in every act of religious duty. St. Paul, at least, leads us to this idea, when, 1Co 5:8 he says, let us keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth; see Gal 5:9 and Mat 16:6 accordingly, the original word for unleavened, signifies pure, unmixed, uncorrupted, for leaven is a kind of corruption. Plutarch tells us, that the use of leaven was forbidden to the priests of Jupiter; because, being itself bred of corruption, it corrupts the mass with which it is mixed. To remind the Israelites also of that hard bondage in Egypt which made their lives bitter, ch. Exo 1:14 they were to eat the lamb with, or upon bitter herbs. The original expresses no species of herbs; literally it is, with bitterness: with bitter things or ingredients.

Verse 9

Exodus 12:9. Eat not of it raw, &c.— Particular caution is here given, that the lamb should be roasted with fire; that he should be roasted whole: his head, with his legs, and all which pertains to him. It was not to be eaten raw; that is rare, or half-roasted: it was to be thoroughly done, none of the blood remaining in it; in opposition (as Spencer thinks) to what the Egyptians did in the worship of Bacchus, i.e. Osiris, when they ate raw flesh: nor sodden with water, as they used in their sacrifices, says he, to their god Hori. It is particularly expressed, that it was to be roasted with fire; in opposition, as some think, to the custom of roasting their sacrifices in the sun; which was usual among some heathen nations. And it was to be roasted whole with its entrails; in opposition to the superstitious custom of the pagans, who used to consult the entrails of the victims; and to teach the Jews, that, in the paschal lamb, all was sacred, and to be considered as such.

Verse 10

Exodus 12:10. Ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning— If the guests were not sufficient to eat up the whole lamb, what remained in the morning was then to be consumed in the fire. The verse might be rendered, ye shall let nothing it remain until the morning; but if any shall happen to remain, ye shall burn it with fire: an order, which seems to have been given, to prevent things sacred from being corrupted, or being esteemed as common: and, probably, in opposition to the practices of those idolaters, who used to preserve relics of the sacrifices for superstitious and abominable uses. See ch. Exodus 29:34.

Verse 11

Exodus 12:11. Thus shall ye eat it— The reason of these peculiar ceremonies is abundantly evident: and they were to be kept in perpetual commemoration of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and of their redemption, when the Lord passed through the land: and, in a moral and spiritual view, they serve well to signify to us, that readiness of soul, wherewith we, as strangers and pilgrims, should eat of the true passover, and await the Lord's command to leave the land of our bondage, and go out towards the spiritual Canaan. The girded loins, refers to the loose kind of garments which were worn in the Eastern countries, and which it was necessary to gird about their loins when they travelled. The shoes and staff equally refer to their preparation for a journey. In Egypt, and in the Eastern countries, the people did not commonly wear shoes. See Matthew 10:10. Mark 6:9.

Verse 12

Exodus 12:12. Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment— The original word here rendered gods, is אלהי alei; which, in the margin of our Bibles, is rendered princes; as the word aleim sometimes signifies: and Wall is strongly of opinion that this is its true meaning. But the generality of interpreters understand the idol-gods of Egypt to be here meant. And to this they think, Isa 19:1 and Jer 43:13 refer; as, indeed, seems very probable.

Verse 13

Exodus 12:13. I will pass over you— Here the reason of the name passover is given: and, to the believing Israelites, it must have been a source of continual comfort. An ordinance for ever, at the end of the 14th verse, means an ordinance which shall be observed so long as the Jewish church subsists; or till Christ, who is the Fulfiller of the law, shall come.

Verse 15

Exodus 12:15. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread— In consequence of this command, the Jews searched with the utmost diligence the evening before the passover, that there might not be the least leaven, or leavened bread, remaining in their houses. They were to continue in the use of unleavened bread seven days; because it is computed, that their deliverance was completed on the seventh day after their exit from Egypt, when Pharaoh and his host were drowned in the Red-sea; see ch. Exodus 14:30. Of these days, the first and the seventh were to be held peculiarly sacred; there was to be a holy convocation on them; that is, a calling together, or assembling, for the purposes of Divine worship, Numbers 2:10.

Be cut off from Israel— That is, (as some suppose,) shall no longer be esteemed an Israelite, or be admitted into the privileges of my covenant with this people, (Exodus 12:10.) whether he be a native-born Israelite, or a stranger, who, by the reception of circumcision, has been proselyted to the Jewish religion. See Genesis 17:14.

Verse 17

Exodus 12:17. I have brought out— This translation may be proper, as God may truly be said to have done what he has fully proposed and decreed to do. But perhaps it might have been as well rendered, in agreement with several of the versions, I will bring out, or I am about to bring out.

REFLECTIONS.—The deliverance of Israel advances. Orders are issued out concerning their departure, and the preparations for it. As they are now to begin new lives, they are to count from this day the new year. Note; That is emphatically our birth-day, and the beginning of years, in which we begin to escape from sin, and live to God.

1. The passover is instituted, with particular directions for present and future use; and the days of unleavened bread are to follow, in memory of this great event, their escape from the house of their prison. We must begin with God, whatever haste of business is upon our hands.
2. Observe God's visitation upon Egypt and her idols. All the vain confidence of sinners must perish with them
3. The respect these ordinances have to us in these gospel-times. (1.) Christ is our Passover; a lamb without blemish, appointed and set apart by God to be slain; enduring the fiercest fire of Divine wrath, and sacrificed for all his spiritual Israel. (2.) His blood must by faith be sprinkled on our consciences. Wherever it is found, there is no condemnation; and we must never be ashamed to profess our open dependance upon him. (3.) The Lamb of God is to be fed upon as our spiritual strength and nourishment. As the time is short, we must make haste to draw near to him. The bitter herbs of repentance should attend the feast, and give a greater relish to the food; and, as those who remember how near their departure is, we should be ready, not only to leave our sins behind, but our bodies in the dust, whenever he calls us away to his blessed Self. (4.) With these dispositions, we shall keep the feast with holy joy, as pardoned sinners; with fervent affection, as those who are going to possess the same land; with sincerity and truth, renouncing the leaven of malice and wickedness; and thus persevering, till we come to sit down in the true Canaan, the kingdom of eternal glory.

Verse 21

Exodus 12:21. Draw out and take—and kill the passover.— The word משׁכו mishecu signifies, properly, as we have rendered it, to draw out or take from a number; as if it was said, choose out now, and take you a lamb. It deserves particularly to be remembered, that Moses here calls the paschal lamb by the name of the passover. Kill the passover; i.e. the paschal lamb: a mode of speaking very frequent, both in the Old and New Testament: a little attention to which would have prevented many strange opinions and disputes. Thus Christ calls the bread and wine his body and blood, Mark 14:22; Mark 14:24. Thus St. Paul calls Christ our Passover, 1 Corinthians 5:7. So circumcision is called the covenant, Genesis 17:13.

Verse 22

Exodus 12:22. Ye shall take a bunch of hyssop— This herb was to be used in the cleansing of the leprous person and the leprous house, as well as on other occasions. See Leviticus 14:6; Leviticus 7:38. Numbers 6:18. In allusion to this, David, praying for purification from the leprosy of sin, says, purge me with hyssop, Psalms 51:7. Le Clerc is of opinion, that it is used as emblematical of purification; for it is a cathartic herb: and Parkhurst observes, that it has its name in the Hebrew, from its detersive and purgative qualities. Porphyry observes, that the Egyptians attributed a cleansing quality to the hyssop; whence their priests did not eat bread, unless it was cut together with hyssop. Some have thought, that the hyssop is emblematical of that faith, by which the purifying blood of Christ is applied to the heart, Hebrews 11:28. Acts 15:9.

None of you shall go out at the door of his house— This was a command peculiar to the first passover, and seems to have been designed to signify to the Egyptians, that Jehovah alone was the dreadful agent of their calamities; and that none of the people were at all concerned with Him, or appointed by Him, as instruments of inflicting them. See Isaiah 63:3.

REFLECTIONS.—Moses enjoins, and Israel humbly obeys. The lamb is killed, the lintels sprinkled with blood. No man must go out, lest he die. Note; The soul which trusts on any other hope than the blood of sprinkling, perishes with the Egyptians.

Their children too hereafter must be taught the meaning of the ordinance. When children ask, (and it is pleasing indeed to see them inquisitive in matters relating to God,) we should take delight to speak to them about the dear Lamb which was slain, and his amazing love to mankind, but especially to his faithful people.

Verse 29

Exodus 12:29. And it came to pass, that at midnight, &c.— See ch. Exodus 11:4-5. If the common interpretation of the words in Exo 12:12 the gods of Egypt be embraced; we may reasonably suppose, that the first-born of beasts is here so particularly specified, on account of the veneration which the Egyptians paid to the beasts; those, especially, which were held and worshipped as emblematical of their gods. Herodotus informs us, lib. ii. c. 36. that the Egyptians lived promiscuously with their cattle. The word בכור becor, rendered the first-born, comes from the verb בכר bacer, to precede, go before, &c. and so may signify, those which had the pre-eminence; the chief and most distinguished, Exodus 4:22.Psalms 89:27; Psalms 89:27. Micah 6:7. Wis 18:12.

Verse 31

Exodus 12:31. And he called for Moses and Aaron, &c.— See note on ch. Exodus 10:29. Hence we see, how vain it is to contend against the Almighty. Sooner or later the most obstinate must submit before him; and even an obdurate Pharaoh prays for a blessing from him.

Verse 32

Exodus 12:32. And bless me also— That is, not only freely depart, but pray for a blessing upon me and my people, at this dreadful hour of destruction; and intreat the Lord to deliver us from the imminent danger of this plague.

Verse 34

Exodus 12:34. The people took their dough before it was leavened— Or, more properly, not yet leavened, or which had not yet been leavened; i.e. their dough unleavened, according to the immediate order of God; the vessels in which they were used to knead their dough being hastily bound up in their garments, and cast over their shoulders. The word which we render dough, בצק batzek, according to Parkhurst, means meal moistened with water; paste, or dough unleavened. This dough, we are told, was carried away by the Israelites in their kneading-troughs on their shoulders. Now an honest thoughtful countryman, who knows how cumbersome our kneading-troughs are, and how much less important than many other utensils, may be led to wonder at this, and find a difficulty in accounting for it. But his wonder perhaps may cease, when he comes to understand, that the vessels which the Arabs of that country make use of for kneading the unleavened cakes that they prepare for those who travel in this very desert, are only small wooden bowls; and that they seem to use no other in their own tents for that purpose or any other: these bowls being used by them for kneading their bread, and afterwards for serving up their provisions when cooked: for then it will appear, that nothing could be more convenient than kneading-troughs of this sort for the Israelites in their journey. I am, however, a little doubtful, whether these were the things which Moses meant by the word which our version renders kneading-troughs; since it seems to me, that the Israelites had made a provision of corn sufficient for their consumption for about a month, and that they were preparing to bake all this at once: now, their own little bowls, in which they were accustomed daily to knead the bread they wanted for a single day, could not contain all this dough; nor could they well carry a number of these things, procured from the Egyptians for the present occasion, with them. That they had furnished themselves with corn sufficient for a month, appears from their not wanting bread till they came into the wilderness of Sin. That the Eastern people commonly bake their bread every day as they want it, appears from the history of the patriarch Abraham: and that they were preparing to bake bread sufficient for this journey at once, seems most probable from the universal hurry they were in, and from the much greater conveniences for baking in Egypt than in the wilderness; which are such, that, though Dr. Shaw's attendants sometimes baked in the desert, he thought fit, notwithstanding, to carry biscuit with him; and Thevenot mentions his doing the same. The Israelites then could not well carry such a quantity of dough in those wooden bowls, which they used for kneading their bread in common. And what is still a further proof, Dr. Pococke tells us, in his account of the diet and utensils of the inhabitants of Egypt, that the Arabs actually carry their dough in something else; for, after having spoken of their copper dishes put one within another, and of their wooden bowls, in which they make their bread, and which complete the kitchen-furniture of an Arab, even where he is settled; he gives us a description of a round leather coverlid, which they lay upon the ground, and which serves them to eat off. It has, says he, hooks round it, by which it is drawn together with a chain, which has a hook fastened to it to hang it up by. This, he observes, is drawn together; and that sometimes they carry in it their meal, made into dough; in this manner they bring it full of bread; and when the repast is over, carry it away at once, with all that is left. Whether this utensil is rather to be understood by the word translated kneading-troughs, than the Arab wooden bowl, is left with the reader to determine. I would only remark, that there is nothing in the other three passages, in which the word occurs, to contradict this explanation. These passages are, Exo 8:3 and Deu 5:17 in the two last of which places it is translated store. Observations.

In their clothes upon their shoulders— These clothes were slight thin garments, resembling those which the Arabs at this day wear, and which they call hykes. "These hykes," says Dr. Shaw, "are of various sizes, and of different qualities and fineness. The usual size of them is six yards long, and five or six broad, serving the Kabyle and Arab for a complete dress in the day: and, as they sleep in their raiments, as the Israelites did of old, Deu 24:13 it serves likewise for their bed and covering by night. It is a loose but troublesome garment, being frequently disconcerted and falling upon the ground: so that the person who wears it, is continually obliged to tuck it up, and fold it anew about his body. This shews the great use there is of a girdle, whenever they are concerned in any active employment; and, in consequence thereof, the force of the Scripture injunction, alluding thereunto, of having our loins girded, in order to set about it. The method of wearing these garments, with the use they are at other times put to, in serving for coverlids to their beds, might induce us to take the finer sorts of them, at least such as are worn by the ladies and persons of distinction, to be the peplus of the ancients. Ruth's veil, which held six measures of barley, (Ruth 3:15.) might be of the like fashion, and have served extraordinarily for the same use: as were also the clothes (τα ιματια, the upper garments) of the Israelites, mentioned in this verse, wherein they folded up their kneading-troughs; as the Moors, Arabs, and Kabyles do, to this day, things of the like burden and incumbrance in their hykes. It is very probable likewise, that the loose folding garment, the toga of the Romans, was of this kind: for, if the drapery of their statues is to instruct us, this is actually no other than the dress of the Arabs, when they appear in their hykes. The plaid of the Highlanders in Scotland is the very same." Travels, p. 225.

Verse 35

Exodus 12:35. They borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, &c.— This was the immediate command of God himself, ch. Exo 3:22 and, therefore, we might reasonably conclude, could not be any act of injustice, as proceeding from the great Fountain of right and truth: and, perhaps, the only reason which has caused such a suspicion, is the giving the improper idea of borrowing to the original word, שׁאל sheal, which strictly and properly signifies to ask, demand, or require, as the best expositors have fully shewn: and it appears, that the temper of the Egyptians was such at the time of the departure of the Israelites, that they were very ready to grant their requests, and to comply with all their demands; which, their own consciences must have assured them, were just and equitable; as the Israelites had the fairest claim to a full retribution for all the hardships they had suffered, and for all the services they had done in Egypt for the space of a hundred and forty years. It has been observed, that this passage of Scripture, thus rightly understood, reflects a beauty on the Divine conduct, and is a proof of the sacred inspiration of the Pentateuch; for, it being evident that the people did not borrow the jewels, but asked the Egyptians to give them, and did accordingly receive them as presents; this particularly manifests the glory and goodness of Jehovah, who gives his own people favour in the eyes of their greatest enemies, and causes them to receive the most generous instances of respect from a people, among whom they had been so long enslaved and so ill treated. The original word, which we render jewels, would be rendered more properly vessels.

Verse 36

Exodus 12:36. They spoiled the Egyptians— So long ago as in the time of Abraham, this event had been foretold, Genesis 15:14. See Psalms 105:37. See also Waterland's Scripture vindicated, par. 2: p. 9.

REFLECTIONS.—Observe,

1. Heavy the dreadful stroke descends. At midnight the destroyer comes: one awful groan awakens every family, and one united dolorous cry echoes through the land. What guilty sinner need not tremble at the thought of such a dread surprise? He that closes his eyes each night upon his bed in unrepented sin, is in danger of lifting them up before morning in the torments of hell.
2. Pharaoh hastens to thrust them out. Death is at his door: he trembles for himself; at midnight they must be gone; he cannot rest till they have departed: and now he seeks their blessing, whom late with imprecations he had driven from his presence on pain of death. Note; The day is coming, when men will value the prayers of those whom once they reviled. Pharaoh's people are in the same mind. The death which had begun, strikes them with a panic, lest it should be universal. Note; Nothing shocks a sinner so much, as near views of death: but whether they see it or no, every impenitent sinner is a dead man.

3. To get rid of their company, the Egyptians are glad to part with their gold, their jewels, and vessels. When life is at stake, our goods appear insignificant things. Israel thus, as servants, receive their wages; and, as conquerors, divide the spoil. It was a high act of justice from God, and they had his special order for their proceedings.

Verse 37

Exodus 12:37. From Rameses to Succoth— In Genesis 47:11. Goshen is called the land of Rameses; and therefore it is most reasonable to suppose, that no particular city is here meant, but the land of Goshen in general: though some have thought that Rameses was the chief city of the land of Goshen, and that the Israelites had their general rendezvous there: from whence they travelled to a place, named from their first encampment there, Succoth, that is, tents or booths. See Exodus 13:17-18. Genesis 33:17.

About six hundred thousand on foot that were men— That is, of an age fit for war; twenty years old and upwards: see Num 1:45-46 whence it appears, that when they were numbered with more exactness, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel, from twenty years old and upward, were six hundred thousand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty, besides the Levites, old men, women, and children, who must be computed, at least, to have amounted to twice as many more. So mightily did the Lord increase his people; and so exactly did he verify his promise. See the note on ch. Exodus 1:7.

Verse 38

Exodus 12:38. A mixed multitude went up—with them— A great mixture of people of other nations, but more particularly of the Egyptians. These are thought to have been proselytes to the Jewish religion. See Numbers 11:4.

Verse 40

Exodus 12:40. The sojourning of the children of Israel, &c.— That the children or descendants of Israel did not sojourn or dwell four hundred and thirty years in Egypt, may be easily and has been frequently demonstrated, says Dr. Kennicott: some therefore would fancy, that, by Egypt, are to be understood here, both Egypt and Canaan: but this greater latitude of place will not do the business, since the children of Israel, including Israel their father, did not sojourn four hundred and thirty years in both countries, before their departure out of Egypt: others, therefore, sensible of a deficiency still remaining, would not only have Egypt to signify Egypt and Canaan; but would have the children of Israel to signify Israel's children, and Israel their father, and Isaac the father of Israel, and part of the life of Abraham the father of Isaac. Thus, indeed, we arrive at the exact sum: and, by this method, we might arrive at any thing except truth; which, we may presume, was never thus conveyed by an inspired writer. The Samaritan text appears to give us the true reading; for there, the verse runs thus: now the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan, and in the land of Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. This same sum is given by St. Paul, Gal 3:17 who reckons from the promise made to Abraham, when God commanded him to go into Canaan, to the giving of the law, which soon followed the Exodus of the Israelites: and this apostolical chronology is exactly concordant with the Samaritan Pentateuch: for, from Abraham's entering Canaan to the birth of Isaac, was twenty-five years, Isaac was sixty years old at the birth of Jacob, and Jacob was a hundred and thirty at his going down into Egypt; which three numbers make two hundred and fifteen years: and then, Jacob and his children having continued in Egypt two hundred and fifteen years more, the whole sum of four hundred and thirty is regularly completed. Thus Josephus says expressly, b. 2 Chronicles 15:0 that the departure out of Egypt was four hundred and thirty years after Abraham came into Canaan, and two hundred and fifteen years after Jacob's descent into Egypt. Thus also the Greek version (Alex. & Ald. Edit.) reads, but the sojourning of the children of Israel, which they sojourned in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, they and their fathers, was four hundred and thirty years: And thus, St. Augustin, in his forty-seventh question on Exodus. See State of printed Hebrew text, p. 396. Mr. Locke explains this passage agreeably to the interpretation given in the Samaritan text; and the learned reader will find Dr. Kennicott's Criticism, at large, in Houbigant's Prolegomena, p. 68.

Verse 41

Exodus 12:41. Even the self-same day—all the hosts of the Lord— Archbishop Usher supposes, that as this day of their Exodus was Abib 15th, or May 5th, of this year, so Abraham's coming out of Charran was Abib 15th of that year.

REFLECTIONS.—1. Moses embraces the favourable moment. The people march immediately, an immense body; besides a mixed multitude, who, from curiosity, or a conviction of the truth, went out with them. Note; In the church there is a mixed multitude of professors, but there are many Egyptians among them. 2. Observe the memorable night: just four hundred and thirty years from the date of the promise to Abraham. The Egyptians remembered this night to their sorrow, the Israelites with unspeakable joy in their future generations. If temporal deliverances are so worthy a memorial, how should we be affected with that eternal redemption, which Jesus has obtained for his faithful people, from a servitude more intolerable than Egyptian, into a country infinitely superior to Canaan!

Verse 46

Exodus 12:46. Neither shall ye break a bone thereof— No other comment can be necessary on these words, than a reference to the completion of the type, John 19:33; John 19:36.

Verse 51

Exodus 12:51. The self-same day— See Exodus 12:41. Thus the Lord wonderfully delivered his people, and appointed a solemn festival to perpetuate the memory of this great event: some traces of which, however corrupted and imperfect, were preserved in the most distant nations. Strabo, in particular, says, there was a report that the Jews were descended from the Egyptians; and that Moses was an Egyptian priest, who possessed a certain part of that country; but, being dissatisfied with the present state of things, he forsook it; and many worshippers of the Deity followed him, &c. See Strab. geog. lib. 16: Justin, lib. 36: cap. 2 and Tacit. lib. 5: cap. 3.

Reflections on the ordinance of the passover as typical of Christ.

The fatal night was now arrived, when the destroying angel was to smite all the first-born of Egypt, and the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham. This last and sorest plague shall break the unrelenting heart of Pharaoh, and dismiss the oppressed Israelites from his cruel yoke. But mark the goodness of their God, in providing for their safety amid the general devastation! They are directed to sprinkle on their door-posts the blood of a lamb, whose qualities, the manner of its death, and the rites wherewith they were to eat its flesh, are left on record for the generations to come. The messenger of death, they were assured, would not presume to enter these hallowed doors, though a thousand fell at their side, and ten thousand on their right hand. Then it was that the Egyptian idols felt also the vengeance of the true God: and so memorable was the night, that the month in which it fell, was, in succeeding ages, to be the beginning of months. A ceremony indeed it was, which seemed but weak, unmeaning, and unprofitable; but, penetrating the outward vail, let us try to discern the hidden mystery, by that same faith, through which Moses kept the passover and the sprinkling of blood. Its meaning we are not now left to explore merely by our own understanding; for, that it was a prophetical type, and very expressive of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, an apostle gives us to know, by telling us, that "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," l Cor. Exodus 5:7.

A Lamb was chosen out of the flock: Emblem of him who was taken from among men, and raised up from among his brethren, and, like that lovely creature, did injury to none.—It was a male of the flock, of a year old; for Christ is a Son given unto us, and suffered in the flower of his age; but without blemish and without spot. Though descended from an impure race of ancestors, he brought no stain of sin into the world with him; and though he long conversed with sinful men, and grappled with strong temptations, he contracted not the smallest taint. Even Judas and Pilate attested, that he was just and upright; the last, before he condemned; and the first, after he betrayed him.—On the tenth day of the month Abib, the lamb was fetched from the field, and, on the fourteenth day at even, it was killed. Even so he, of whom these things were spoken, went up to Jerusalem five days before the passover, where, with wicked hands, he was taken, crucified, and slain.—The lamb was roasted with fire. It was the fire of the Father's wrath, O immaculate Lamb of God, which forced thee to complain, "My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd: my tongue cleaveth to my jaws," Psalms 22:14-15.—A bone of the lamb was not to be broken, and none of it was to be left till the morning. To accomplish the first, the soldiers brake not his legs as usual; and, to fulfil the last, he was taken down from the cross the same evening on which he died.—In vain had the Israelites killed the lamb, if they had not also sprinkled its blood with the hyssop upon the door-posts: and Christ is to us dead in vain, unless applied by faith to the conscience. His blood must not be sprinkled behind the door, for we must publicly profess that we are not ashamed of the cross of Christ; nor below the door, for it must not be trodden under foot: but above, and on every side, on all that we are, on all that we have, and on all that we do. Indeed, by his all-penetrating eye, the doors of the house and heart are seen with equal clearness. Had a presumptuous Israelite despised this ordinance of God, and neglected to sprinkle his doors with blood, he would not have been within the limits of the Divine protection; yea, had he ventured abroad in that perilous night, the angel was not bound to spare him. So when the arrows of destruction are flying thick and fast, the blood of Jesus is our only sanctuary. Of this alone can we say, "Behold, O God, our shield," Psalms 84:9. We are guilty of death, this is the sacrifice which thou requirest: accept this blood; which we sprinkle by thy command, instead of our own, which deserves to reek upon our door-posts. O Jesus, we are indebted to thy atoning blood for blessings that far transcend deliverance from Egyptian bondage, or from temporal death. By thy blood we are delivered from the wrath which is to come. Thou art our Hiding-place. Under this covert of thy blood, we shall not be afraid of sudden fear, nor of the desolation of the wicked; but shall dwell in peaceable habitations, sure dwellings, and quiet resting-places, nigh which no plague shall come.—Many a time the haughty tyrant of Egypt was frighted by the awful prodigies wrought by Moses; but never was he thoroughly subdued, till the blood was sprinkled. Then the prey was taken from the mighty. In vain he pursues after them, for never more shall they wear his chain. So many a time, the prophecies of Christ might fright the black prince of hell, but never was he thoroughly subdued, till on the cross the Great Messiah spoiled principalities and powers, and made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Even so his faithful people are said to overcome the enemy of their salvation by the blood of the lamb. By this same blood, the idols are abolished. As in that night of desolation, the temples of Egypt were not spared more than the palaces; so in the days of the Messiah, shall a man cast his idols of silver and gold, which he made for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his Majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Well may this happy period be unto us the beginning of months. If the beginning of the year was changed to the Israelites, and the seventh became the first month, much more may the beginning of the week be altered to the Christians, and the seventh day be exchanged for the first, for a Sabbath unto the Lord; for on that day a much more glorious work was finished, than when he brought Israel out of Egypt, or even than when he finished the heavens and all their host, and laid the foundation of the earth.

We have seen how the blood of the lamb was sprinkled, and the happy consequences of this symbolical action. Let us now observe, how its flesh was to be eaten, and how we are made partakers of Christ, who is at once our Shield to protect us from danger, and our Food to preserve our soul in life. It was eaten roasted; for Christ is savoury to faith. A bone must not be broken; and mysteries must not be too curiously pryed into. A whole lamb must be eaten in every house; and a whole Christ received by every believing soul. It must be eaten in haste; and whatsoever our hand findeth, should be done with all our might. The bitter herbs may signify the bitterness of contrition for sin, and of the tribulation we shall have in this world. Unleavened bread represents sincerity and truth. The loins girt, and feet shod, signify the girding up the loins of the mind, and the preparation of the Gospel of peace, or a readiness to every good work. The staff in the hand might signify, that here we have no continuing city. Here let us end, adoring that condescending love, which has appeared towards us sinners of the Gentiles. At the first passover we were uncircumcised and unclean, by reason of death; we were afar off, and without God in the world. But us hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; and in Jesus Christ we, who sometime were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Therefore let us keep the feast; for even Christ our second, our best passover is sacrificed for us.