Moses, typically associated with law-giving and obedience, here uniquely orchestrates a protective ritual involving sacrificial blood—one of only two passages where he directly commands ritual sacrifice for divine protection.
Exodus 12
Institution of the Passover
1The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2“This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.
3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household;
4and if the household is too little for a lamb, then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take one according to the number of the souls. You shall make your count for the lamb according to what everyone can eat.
5Your lamb shall be without defect, a male a year old. You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats.
6You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at evening.
7They shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two door posts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they shall eat it.
8They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
9Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts.
10You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.
11This is how you shall eat it: with your belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s Passover.
12For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.
13The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
14This day shall be a memorial for you. You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD. You shall keep it as a feast throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
15“‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
16In the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no kind of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, only that may be done by you.
17You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
18In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening.
19There shall be no yeast found in your houses for seven days, for whoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a foreigner, or one who is born in the land.
20You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
21Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Draw out, and take lambs according to your families, and kill the Passover.
22You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.
23For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.
24You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever.
25It shall happen when you have come to the land which the LORD will give you, as he has promised, that you shall keep this service.
26It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
27that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’” The people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28The children of Israel went and did so; as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
The Tenth Plague and the Exodus
29At midnight, the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.
30Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31He called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as you have said!
32Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!”
33The Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We are all dead men.”
34The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35The children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing.
36The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. They plundered the Egyptians.
37The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, in addition to children.
38A mixed multitude went up also with them, with flocks, herds, and even very much livestock.
39They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought out of Egypt; for it wasn’t leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and couldn’t wait, and they had not prepared any food for themselves.
40Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.
41At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the day, all of the LORD’s armies went out from the land of Egypt.
42It is a night to be much observed to the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, to be much observed by all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
Passover Regulations
43The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it,
44but every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.
45A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it.
46It must be eaten in one house. You shall not carry any of the meat outside of the house. Do not break any of its bones.
47All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48When a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, and would like to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. He shall be as one who is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.
49One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.”
50All the children of Israel did so. As the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
51That same day, the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
Font Size 17pt
Line Spacing
Theme
God institutes the Passover ritual as the final plague approaches, commanding Israel to sacrifice unblemished lambs and mark their doorposts with blood for protection. At midnight, the Lord strikes down all Egyptian firstborn while passing over the marked Israelite homes, prompting Pharaoh to finally release the people. God establishes detailed regulations for the annual observance of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as perpetual memorials of Israel's deliverance from Egypt.
Context
This pivotal chapter follows nine previous plagues and leads directly to Israel's wilderness journey, marking the climactic moment of deliverance that transforms them from slaves into God's covenant people.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-13 Institution of the Passover God commands Moses and Aaron to establish the Passover ritual with specific instructions for selecting, sacrificing, and eating the lamb, and marking doorposts with blood for protection from the coming plague.
- 14-20 Feast of Unleavened Bread Regulations God establishes the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread as a perpetual memorial, with strict requirements to remove all yeast and observe holy convocations.
- 21-28 Moses Instructs the Elders Moses relays God's commands to Israel's elders, emphasizing the protective power of the blood and the importance of teaching future generations about this deliverance.
- 29-36 The Tenth Plague and Release At midnight God strikes all Egyptian firstborn, leading Pharaoh to urgently expel the Israelites, who depart with silver, gold, and clothing from their neighbors.
- 37-42 The Exodus Begins Six hundred thousand Israelite men plus families journey from Rameses to Succoth, ending 430 years in Egypt on this night of divine watching.
- 43-51 Additional Passover Laws God provides supplementary regulations governing who may participate in the Passover, requiring circumcision for foreigners and establishing it as a statute for all Israel.
Institution of the Passover
12:1–12:28 law instruction solemn
God institutes the Passover through Moses and Aaron, commanding the Israelites to sacrifice lambs and mark their doorposts with blood for protection from the final plague. This establishes a perpetual memorial of God's deliverance and marks a new beginning for Israel's calendar.
person_contrast
Moses, typically associated with law-giving and obedience, here uniquely orchestrates a protective ritual involving sacrificial blood—one of only two passages where he directly commands ritual sacrifice for divine protection.
The Tenth Plague and the Exodus
12:29–12:42 narrative narration triumphant
The LORD strikes down all firstborn in Egypt, prompting Pharaoh to release the Israelites who then depart Egypt after 430 years of bondage. This climactic plague leads to the immediate exodus of approximately 600,000 Israelite men plus their families.
person_contrast
Moses, typically associated with law-giving and obedience, here witnesses God's sovereign judgment as death sweeps through Egypt, marking a rare convergence of his mediatorial role with divine wrath.
Passover Regulations
12:43–12:51 law instruction solemn
The LORD establishes regulations for Passover observance, specifying who may participate based on circumcision and membership in the covenant community. These laws define the boundaries of participation in Israel's most significant commemorative feast.
quotation_chain
The prohibition against breaking the Passover lamb's bones (v. 46) creates a prophetic thread that John's Gospel explicitly connects to Jesus' unbroken bones at crucifixion.
Insights
Moses, typically associated with law-giving and obedience, here witnesses God's sovereign judgment as death sweeps through Egypt, marking a rare convergence of his mediatorial role with divine wrath.
The prohibition against breaking the Passover lamb's bones (v. 46) creates a prophetic thread that John's Gospel explicitly connects to Jesus' unbroken bones at crucifixion.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Exodus 12:5 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 15:11 Lexical
Thus it shall be done for each bull, for each ram, for each of the male lambs, or of the young goats.
Leviticus 22:19 Lexical
that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats.
Leviticus 4:23 Lexical
if his sin in which he has sinned is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without defect.
Leviticus 1:10 Lexical
“‘If his offering is from the flock, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male witho…
Leviticus 9:3 Lexical
You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, both a y…
Exodus 12:6 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 9:3 Lexical
On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you shall keep it in its appointed season. You shall keep it according…
Leviticus 23:5 Lexical
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is the LORD’s Passover.
Numbers 9:11 Lexical
In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bi…
Numbers 9:5 Lexical
They kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. Ac…
2 Chronicles 35:1 Lexical
Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem. They killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
Exodus 12:8 3 references
Lexicals 3
Isaiah 44:16 Lexical
He burns part of it in the fire. With part of it, he eats meat. He roasts a roast and is satisfied. Yes, he warms himsel…
Judges 6:21 Lexical
Then the LORD’s angel stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened c…
Numbers 9:11 Lexical
In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bi…
Exodus 12:10 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 29:34 Lexical
If anything of the meat of the consecration, or of the bread, remains to the morning, then you shall burn the remainder…
Leviticus 19:6 Lexical
It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the next day. If anything remains until the third day, it shall be b…
Leviticus 7:17 Lexical
but what remains of the meat of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire.
Joshua 11:11 Lexical
They struck all the souls who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was no one left who…
Leviticus 8:32 Lexical
What remains of the meat and of the bread you shall burn with fire.
Exodus 12:11 3 references
Lexicals 3
Deuteronomy 25:9 Lexical
then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his sandal from off his foot, and spi…
1 Kings 2:5 Lexical
“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Is…
Isaiah 20:2 Lexical
at that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loosen the sackcloth from off your waist, and ta…
Exodus 12:14 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 23:41 Lexical
You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. Yo…
Numbers 10:8 Lexical
“The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. This shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your gen…
Leviticus 7:36 Lexical
which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them. It is their porti…
Leviticus 23:31 Lexical
You shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Numbers 15:15 Lexical
For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who lives as a foreigner, a statute forever th…
Exodus 12:15 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 13:7 Lexical
Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you. No yeast shall…
Leviticus 23:39 Lexical
“‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the fea…
Deuteronomy 16:3 Lexical
You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction…
Deuteronomy 16:4 Lexical
No yeast shall be seen with you in all your borders seven days; neither shall any of the meat, which you sacrifice the f…
Exodus 13:6 Lexical
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.
Exodus 12:16 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 28:25 Lexical
On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
Numbers 29:1 Lexical
“‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no regular work.…
Numbers 29:12 Lexical
“‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. You shall k…
Numbers 29:7 Lexical
“‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls. You shall do n…
Leviticus 23:3 Lexical
“‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no k…
Exodus 12:17 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 23:21 Lexical
You shall make proclamation on the same day that there shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall do no regular work.…
Leviticus 23:14 Lexical
You must not eat bread, or roasted grain, or fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of yo…
Numbers 10:8 Lexical
“The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. This shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your gen…
Leviticus 23:41 Lexical
You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. Yo…
Leviticus 7:36 Lexical
which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them. It is their porti…
Exodus 12:18 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 9:11 Lexical
In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bi…
Ezekiel 45:21 Lexical
“‘“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavene…
Numbers 9:5 Lexical
They kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. Ac…
Leviticus 23:5 Lexical
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is the LORD’s Passover.
Joshua 5:10 Lexical
The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the p…
Exodus 12:19 2 references
Exodus 12:22 4 references
Lexicals 4
Numbers 19:18 Lexical
A clean person shall take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons w…
Leviticus 14:51 Lexical
He shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird,…
Leviticus 14:6 Lexical
As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living…
Judges 19:27 Lexical
Her lord rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and behold, the woman his…
Exodus 12:29 2 references
Exodus 12:34 1 reference
Exodus 12:35 3 references
Lexicals 3
Exodus 3:22 Lexical
But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, and of her who visits her house, jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and clothi…
2 Samuel 8:10 Lexical
then Toi sent Joram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and str…
Exodus 11:2 Lexical
Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man ask of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of s…
Exodus 12:37 2 references
Exodus 12:38 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 9:3 Lexical
behold, the LORD’s hand is on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on th…
Job 1:3 Lexical
His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female do…
2 Chronicles 32:29 Lexical
Moreover he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him abundan…
Genesis 13:2 Lexical
Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
Genesis 46:32 Lexical
These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, a…
Exodus 12:39 1 reference
Exodus 12:44 4 references
Lexicals 4
Genesis 17:23 Lexical
Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money: every male among t…
Genesis 17:27 Lexical
All the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with h…
Genesis 17:13 Lexical
He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant shall be in your fl…
Genesis 17:12 Lexical
He who is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the h…
Exodus 12:45 3 references
Lexicals 3
Leviticus 22:10 Lexical
“‘No stranger shall eat of the holy thing: a foreigner living with the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the…
Leviticus 25:6 Lexical
The Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for yourself, for your servant, for your maid, for your hired servant…
Leviticus 25:40 Lexical
As a hired servant, and as a temporary resident, he shall be with you; he shall serve with you until the Year of Jubilee…
Exodus 12:46 2 references
Exodus 12:48 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 9:14 Lexical
“‘If a foreigner lives among you and desires to keep the Passover to the LORD, then he shall do so according to the stat…
Genesis 17:14 Lexical
The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people.…
Ezekiel 47:22 Lexical
You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children amon…
Leviticus 19:34 Lexical
The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as y…
Numbers 15:29 Lexical
You shall have one law for him who does anything unwittingly, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel, a…
Exodus 12:49 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 15:29 Lexical
You shall have one law for him who does anything unwittingly, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel, a…
Leviticus 16:29 Lexical
“It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls…
Leviticus 18:26 Lexical
You therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any of these abominations; neither the native-b…
Ezekiel 47:22 Lexical
You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who will father children amon…
Numbers 9:14 Lexical
“‘If a foreigner lives among you and desires to keep the Passover to the LORD, then he shall do so according to the stat…
Interlinear
Word-by-word original language
v. 1
v. 2
v. 3
v. 4
v. 5
v. 6
v. 7
v. 8
v. 9
v. 10
v. 11
v. 12
v. 13
v. 14
v. 15
v. 16
v. 17
v. 18
v. 19
v. 20
v. 21
v. 22
v. 23
v. 24
v. 25
v. 26
v. 27
v. 28
v. 29
v. 30
v. 31
v. 32
v. 33
v. 34
v. 35
v. 36
v. 37
v. 38
v. 39
v. 40
v. 41
v. 42
v. 43
v. 44
v. 45
v. 46
v. 47
v. 48
v. 49
v. 50
v. 51
Lemma
Morphology
Semantic Range
Theological Significance
Translation Notes
Key Passages
Historical Context
Places and events in this chapter
Loading map...
Timeline
Exodus
c. 1446 BCIsrael's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery under Moses' leadership, including the ten plagues and Red Sea crossing. This foundational event established Israel as God's chosen nation.
The Passover institution provides divine protection through lamb's blood, enabling Israel's exodus from Egypt.
Institution of the PassoverExodus
c. 1446 BCIsrael's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery under Moses' leadership, including the ten plagues and Red Sea crossing. This foundational event established Israel as God's chosen nation.
The tenth plague directly causes Pharaoh to release Israel, initiating their departure from Egypt.
The Tenth Plague and the ExodusExodus
c. 1446 BCIsrael's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery under Moses' leadership, including the ten plagues and Red Sea crossing. This foundational event established Israel as God's chosen nation.
Passover regulations commemorate the night God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage through the exodus.
Passover Regulations