Keluaran 12:1

The Institution of the Passover

12:1 ¹ The Lord said ²  to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ³ 

Keluaran 12:23

12:23 For the Lord will pass through to strike Egypt, and when he sees ⁴  the blood on the top of the doorframe and the two side posts, then the Lord will pass over the door, and he will not permit the destroyer ⁵  to enter your houses to strike you. ⁶ 

Keluaran 12:39

12:39 They baked cakes of bread without yeast using the dough they had brought from Egypt, for it was made without yeast – because they were thrust out ⁷  of Egypt and were not able to delay, they ⁸  could not prepare ⁹  food for themselves either.

[12:1]  ¹ sn Chapter 12 details the culmination of the ten plagues on Egypt and the beginning of the actual deliverance from bondage. Moreover, the celebration of this festival of Passover was to become a central part of the holy calendar of Israel. The contents of this chapter have significance for NT studies as well, since the Passover was a type of the death of Jesus. The structure of this section before the crossing of the sea is as follows: the institution of the Passover (12:1-28), the night of farewell and departure (12:29-42), slaves and strangers (12:43-51), and the laws of the firstborn (13:1-16). In this immediate section there is the institution of the Passover itself (12:1-13), then the Unleavened Bread (12:14-20), and then the report of the response of the people (12:21-28).

[12:1]  ² tn Heb “and Yahweh said.”

[12:1]  ³ tn Heb “saying.”

[12:23]  ⁴ tn The first of the two clauses begun with perfects and vav consecutives may be subordinated to form a temporal clause: “and he will see…and he will pass over,” becomes “when he sees…he will pass over.”

[12:23]  ⁵ tn Here the form is the Hiphil participle with the definite article. Gesenius says this is now to be explained as “the destroyer” although some take it to mean “destruction” (GKC 406 §126.m, n. 1).

[12:23]  ⁶ tn “you” has been supplied.

[12:39]  ⁷ sn For the use of this word in developing the motif, see Exod 2:17, 22; 6:1; and 11:1.

[12:39]  ⁸ tn Heb “and also.”

[12:39]  ⁹ tn The verb is עָשׂוּ (’asu, “they made”); here, with a potential nuance, it is rendered “they could [not] prepare.”