Chapter 12

1 The beginning of the year is changed. 3 The passover is instituted. 11 The rite of the passover. 15 Unleavened bread. 29 The firstborn are slain. 31 The Israelites are driven out of the land. 37 They come to Succoth. 43 The ordinance of the passover.

1. The Lord spake. Regulations pertaining to the first of the so-called Mosaic institutions are recorded in this chapter. It should be noticed that neither Moses nor Aaron introduced legislation of his own, either here or later. The whole religious and civil system announced to Israel by Moses before the Exodus, and after, was revealed to him. He was not the originator of the laws in the Pentateuch that bear his name, but merely the appointed instrument through which God’s will was made known to His people.

In the land of Egypt. Since the greater part of the Mosaic legislation was given at Mt. Sinai, Moses emphasizes that this ordinance, the Passover, was instituted prior to the Exodus.

2. This month. Sometimes, as here, designated as “the first month of the year” (Ex. 40:2, 17; Lev. 23:5; etc.), also called Abib (Ex. 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deut. 16:1). Abib, generally falling in our month of April, means “ear-month,” owing to the fact that grain was then in the ear. After the captivity, Babylonian calendar names were adopted and Abib became Nisan (see Neh. 2:1; Esther 3:7). The new ordinance implies that the Israelite year had hitherto begun at a different time, probably with the month later called Tishri, which corresponds to our September or October. Henceforth two reckonings were employed, one for sacred, the other for civil, purposes, the first month of each year being the seventh month of the other, though the numbers always ran from Nisan as the first. Abib, “the month of ears,” became now the first month of the ecclesiastical year, and Tishri became its seventh, likewise honored by important feasts later instituted at Sinai. The civil year, beginning with the month of Tishri, was never abandoned by the Israelites and is still in use among the Jews today. Its existence can be traced through the entire OT period. It was perpetuated by the Jews in the belief that God created the world in the fall of the year.

3. In the tenth day. Though the lamb designated for the Passover feast was not to be slain and eaten before the 14th day of the month (v. 6), preparations for the feast were to be started 4 days in advance.

A lamb. The Hebrew word is applicable to both sheep and goats, without limit as to age. However, by enactment the age was fixed (see v. 5) at one year, and a man was free to select either a lamb or a goat (v. 5). It is interesting that the Hebrews in general preferred a lamb to a kid, and with one recorded exception (2 Chron. 35:7), seem never to have used anything else for the Passover ritual.

4. If the household. At a later time Jewish tradition fixed at ten the number of persons for whom one lamb was to be apportioned, and ruled also that all members of the family, men, women and children, must participate in the activities of the feast. The lamb, according to Jewish sources, was usually slain between the 9th hour (c. 3 p.m.) and the 11th hour (c. 5 p.m.).

Every man according to his eating. When provision was made for those who were to participate, consideration was to be given to the amount each one would be likely to eat. Children and the aged were not to be counted in the same way as men in the vigor of life. Consequently, more than two families might unite for this purpose.

5. Without blemish. Freedom from blemish and injury not only befitted the sacredness of the purpose to which the animals were to be devoted, but was a symbol of the moral integrity of the One represented by the sacrifice. A devout spirit would teach a man that the “blind,” the “lame,” and the “sick” would not be acceptable to God (Mal. 1:8). The law afterward expressly prohibited the use of imperfect animals for obligatory sacrifices, though they might be presented as freewill offerings (Lev. 22:20–25). Freedom from blemish was especially important in a victim intended to typify Christ.

A male. This requirement was made because the lamb stood in the place of the first-born male of the family.

Of the first year. The animals to be selected were probably older than 7 days (see Ex. 22:30; Lev. 22:27), but should not in any case exceed the age of 12 months.

6. The whole assembly. The head of each family was to offer the sacrifice for himself and for his family. Thus, no one outside the family intervened between it and God. This provision was in recognition of the fact that Israel was a nation of priests, as are Christians today (Rev. 1:6; 1 Peter 2:5, 9). The institution of the Levitical priesthood came at a later time (Ex. 32:26–29; Deut. 10:8).

In the evening. The Hebrew words of this phrase read, literally, “between the two evenings.” This provision has been explained in two ways. Some have said that the first “evening” begins with sunset and that the second begins with the end of twilight. The medieval Jewish scholar Eben Ezra considered that twilight lasted for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes. The command of Deut. 16:6, “Thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun,” seems to support this view. Others have regarded the first “evening” as beginning when the sun begins visibly to decline from the zenith, at about three o’clock in the afternoon, and the second evening as beginning at sunset. In support of this view various texts have been quoted, such as Lev. 23:5; Num. 9:3, which refer to the Passover as being on the 14th of the month. If the slaughtering, they say, took place after sunset, it would then fall on the 15th of Nisan, not the 14th. The prevailing custom in the time of Christ agreed with this explanation; hence, Passover lambs were slain in the late afternoon, approximately the time when the true “Lamb of God” died for guilty man on the cross (1 Cor. 5:7; Matt. 27:45–50).

Since time must necessarily be allowed for the preparation of the paschal meal, which was to be over before midnight, and since the word “evening” in Hebrew, as well as in other languages, is not limited to the time after sunset, the custom of slaying the animal in the afternoon may already have been in use long before the ecclesiastical authorities of the rabbinical age gave it their official approval. According to Josephus it was the custom in his day to offer the lamb at about three o’clock in the afternoon (Antiquities xiv. 4. 3).

7. Take of the blood. The blood represents the life (Lev. 17:11), and as the very essence of the sacrifice it was ever regarded as the special symbol of atonement, which the sacrifices typified. Since the paschal “lamb” was to redeem the “house,” which in Hebrew also means “family,” the sign of the atonement was to be conspicuously displayed.

Strike it. This was to be done by dipping a bunch of hyssop in the blood and thus sprinkling it upon the door frame (see Ex. 12:22). That this sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb was a symbol of the sacrifice and atonement made by the death of Jesus Christ is clearly implied in the NT (see 1 Peter 1:2; Rom. 5:8, 9; Heb. 9:13, 14; 13:12). It is to be noted that no blood was sprinkled on the threshold, perhaps in harmony with the thought that a man should not tread “under foot the Son of God,” nor count “the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing” (Heb. 10:29). That the sprinkling with blood was to be regarded as an act of purification is evident from the fact that a hyssop branch was used for the purpose (Ex. 12:22). Sprinkling with hyssop is prescribed only in connection with purification (Lev. 14:49–52; Num. 19:18, 19; Ps. 51:7; PP 275).

In Egypt the Israelites had no common altar, and for this reason the houses in which they assembled for the Passover were consecrated, and the individuals found in them were preserved when the destroyer passed by. Thus the sprinkling of blood on the doorposts and the lintel became a sign of deliverance. God promised to spare every house so marked through faith in this promise. After settlement in the land of Canaan the paschal lamb was to be slain and the Passover celebrated by all the people at one place, which God would choose, rather than in the various towns and villages (Deut. 16:5, 6). All males over 12 years of age were required to come to Jerusalem for this purpose. In Egypt, obviously, the Passover was celebrated under unusual circumstances. Whether the ritual of sprinkling blood at the door was perpetuated, perhaps in modified form, is not known.

8. Roast with fire. The meat of sacrificial meals was commonly boiled (1 Sam. 2:14, 15), but for the paschal lamb specific directions were given not to eat it raw or boil it, but to roast it (see Ex. 12:9). The reasons may have been that roasting was easier than boiling and that it would have been difficult to boil the “lamb” without cutting it into pieces, a procedure that seems also to have been prohibited (see Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12; John 19:36).

Unleavened bread. The roasted lamb was to be eaten with unleavened bread, for leaven produces fermentation, a natural symbol of impurity and moral corruption. For this reason leaven was also excluded from cereal sacrifices as defiling (Lev. 2:11). That Paul understood leaven in this sense is seen from his interpretation of the Passover as a type of Christ (1 Cor. 5:7, 8).

With bitter herbs. That “bitter herbs” is the correct translation of a Hebrew word meaning literally “bitter [thing]s” cannot reasonably be doubted. Though it is not known what kind of “herbs” were used in Egypt, Palestinian Jews later used two varieties of lettuce, a kind of thistle, endive, and cress. Lettuce and endive are native to Egypt and Palestine. The latter may be found from the beginning of the winter months to the end of March, and lettuce in April and May. This probably accounts for the fact that the Jews considered these plants necessary ingredients of the Passover meal. Whatever bitter herbs were used, it is obvious that they were designed to remind the participants of their bondage and bitter suffering in the land of Egypt.

9. Eat not of it raw. This injunction was necessary in view of the fact that pagan peoples often ate raw flesh at their sacrificial meals. As to the prohibition against boiling the paschal lamb, see on v. 8.

His head with his legs. Ancient Jewish expositors correctly understood this to mean that the lamb was to be roasted whole, including both head and thighs (v. 46).

The purtenance. The viscera were to be roasted along with the rest of the lamb, the former first being cleansed. The preparation of the lamb typified the fact that the body of Jesus was not to be broken (see John 19:33, 36).

10. Let nothing of it remain. All the flesh was to be consumed at one meal lest putrefaction set in. Since Christ’s body was not to see corruption (Acts 2:27, 31; 13:35–37), the symbolic lamb should not either. If the paschal lamb should prove too much for the number of participants, the remainder was to be destroyed, in order to prevent profanation of the sacred symbols of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

11. Your loins girded. Ancient representations show Semites wearing long, loose garments, still the style in many Eastern countries. For work, or travel with a load to carry, the fore part of the garment is folded up and tucked into the girdle.

Your shoes. Specifically mentioned, it not being customary to wear shoes inside the house or at meals. Some Jews have regarded these directions as of perpetual obligation. The general view, however, has been that these instructions applied to the first occasion only, when alone they served a useful purpose.

Eat it in haste. Not knowing the moment they were to set out on their journey, and having to burn the bones of the lamb before their departure, they were to complete the meal in the shortest possible time.

The Lord’s passover. With these words the significance of the meal is emphasized. The people were to realize that this was not an ordinary meal, nor was it merely a sacrificial repast such as they had known. For one thing, the lives of their first-born depended upon compliance with the regulations. It was, furthermore, the symbol of their deliverance, first, from bondage in Egypt, and second, in a wider sense they did not as yet understand, from the bondage of sin.

12. All the gods. The execution of judgment on all the gods of Egypt can best be understood when it is remembered that many animals were deified and worshiped. Some domestic animals had already suffered as a result of previous plagues, but now every first-born beast was to be slain. This plague would affect not only the sacred bull Apis, a first-born animal, but also many sacred cows, rams, crocodiles, snakes, cats, etc. Though many of these creatures were of no commercial or utilitarian value, their sudden and simultaneous death would be certain to impress the Egyptians with their own impotence (see on chs. 7:17; 8:2; see also PP 333).

13. I will pass over you. In passing through the land of Egypt to smite all the first-born of man and beast, the Lord would “pass over,”pasach, the Israelites. This word was transliterated into Greek as pascha, from which comes our English word paschal.

14. A memorial. The directions thus far given had reference, primarily, to the first celebration of the Passover, the night preceding the Exodus. Now it is announced that the observance should be commemorated annually. In the future certain other features were to be added, such as the removal from the house of all leaven, the eating of unleavened bread for seven days after the Passover, the gathering for worship on the first and last days of the feast, and the observance of these days as days of sabbatic rest.

For ever. From Фolam, a literal rendering of which would be “perpetually.” Inasmuch as Israel’s deliverance was of perpetual significance, their commemoration of the event was to be perpetual, so long as Israel should continue to be God’s chosen people. As a type, it was to remain in force until the coming of the antitype, Jesus Christ, who was to bring deliverance from sin. The duration of “for ever,” Фolam, is conditional upon the nature of that to which it is applied. It may refer to that which is without either beginning or end, as, for example, God Himself, or to time which has a beginning but no end, like the eternal life of the redeemed, or it may signify a shorter period of time which has both a beginning and an end. Here, it has the latter meaning. Instituted at the time of the Exodus, the Passover remained in force until the crucifixion.

15. Seven days. The first of these seven days was the 15th of the first month (Lev. 23:6; Num. 28:17), or from the evening following the 14th day to the evening following the 21st day of the first month (Ex. 12:18).

Cut off. There are 36 instances in which an individual who had neglected some particular religious duty, is threatened with being “cut off” from the chosen people. What actually happened in such a case is not known, for no specific instance of such an occurrence is on record, nor were instructions given as to how the threat was to be carried out. Some have thought it meant a violent death, a premature death, or perhaps eternal death. In all probability it simply meant separation from the rights and privileges belonging to an Israelite. After being “cut off” the man was considered a stranger, with no share whatever in the blessings of the covenant.

Though perhaps unknown to others, a man’s misdeed would be known to God, and future compliance with the provisions of ceremonial and moral law would not of itself atone for past sins of omission or commission. The person was disfellowshiped, but whether the act was to be performed by man or by God is not clear. This “cutting off” is probably what Paul makes reference to in Rom. 9:3 (see on Gen. 17:14).

16. An holy convocation. On the 15th of Abib, or Nisan, the first of the seven days of unleavened bread following the night of the paschal meal, the people were to assemble for worship. This is the first instance in the Scriptures in which mention is made of an assembly called for such a purpose. “Holy convocation” is an exact and appropriate translation of the Hebrew term here used, and signifies an assembly called by the express command of God for the promotion of holiness.

In the seventh day. The 21st of Abib, the last of the seven days of unleavened bread, was likewise distinguished from those that intervened, as a day for “holy convocation” (see also Lev. 23:4–8). Only one other Israelite festival, the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:39–42), was of so long duration.

No manner of work. In all countries feast days were occasions when people abstained from those ordinary pursuits of life which would interfere with performance of the religious rites or duties of the day. Only among the Hebrews, however, was absolute cessation from all regular work strictly enjoined. The seventh day of the feast was a day of rest from all labor and was therefore called a “sabbath” (see Lev. 23:15), for “sabbath” means “rest.”

May be done. No “servile work” (Lev. 23:7) was permitted. But God did not intend that His people should suffer by being deprived of food, for those days were to be periods of joy and gladness of heart. Permission was therefore given to perform such duties as are necessary to the normal maintenance of life and health.

17. Your armies. More accurately, “your hosts” (RSV). Israel left Egypt unarmed and unprepared for war (PP 282). For the various expressions used and regulations mentioned in vs. 17–20, see on vs. 14–16.

19. A stranger. The non-Israelite, who lived either temporarily or permanently among the Hebrew people, but without accepting their religious beliefs and practices. The regulation prohibiting the use of leavened bread was equally binding upon these “strangers.”

Born in the land. An Israelite. “The land” must refer to Canaan, which was regarded as the true home of Israel from the time it was assigned by God to the posterity of Abraham (Gen. 15:18). The term “born in the land” was applied to natural-born Israelites, although all those living in the time of Moses were in reality born in Egypt. They were descendants of Isaac and Jacob, who were born in the land of Canaan and had received it from God as a permanent home.

21. The elders. See on ch. 3:16.

Draw out. This probably refers to the custom of shepherds and shearers of drawing a sheep from the flock by catching its leg with a shepherd’s crook. As to the lamb, see on v. 3.

22. Hyssop. The Biblical hyssop, most authorities agree, is the gray-green marjoram, Origanum maru, now known in Palestine as zaФtar. This little plant with a pungent, fragrant smell, a taste something like peppermint, and masses of tiny white flowers, grows commonly on rocks and terrace walls. It has thick, hairy leaves and branches well adapted to holding liquids. It is used today as a spice or condiment and has some repute as a medicine. The Samaritans still use a bunch of zaФtar at their Passover ceremonies to smear the blood of the paschal lamb upon the door frames of their houses.

In addition to its use in the Passover ritual, hyssop was employed on the day of the cleansing of a leper or a house (Lev. 14:6, 49), or one defiled by the dead, in connection with the offering of the red heifer (Num. 19:6, 17). Moreover, Moses used hyssop when he “sprinkled both the book, and all the people” at the ratification of the covenant (Heb. 9:19). Hyssop thus became symbolic of cleansing (Ps. 51:7). See also on v. 7.

None of you shall go out. In this night of judgment there would be no safety anywhere except behind the bloodstained door. As for the Hebrew there was no assurance of safety beyond the protection of the blood of the lamb, so for the Christian there is no other salvation than the blood of Jesus Christ, the true “Lamb of God” (John 1:36; Acts 4:12).

23. For vs. 23 and 24 see on vs. 12–14.

26. What mean ye? Moses assumed that the paschal ceremonies would arouse curiosity, and that each generation in succession would wish to know their origin and meaning. The ceremony is called a “service,” or task, inasmuch as it was performed in fulfillment of a divine command.

27. Worshipped. Upon hearing these instructions the people, in the person of their elders (see v. 21,) “bowed,” literally, “made obeisance.” Thus they expressed their faith and manifested gratitude for the deliverance they were soon to experience.

28. So did they. The long series of miracles wrought by Moses and Aaron had so impressed the people that they obeyed immediately and unquestioningly. Inasmuch as the command was issued prior to the 10th of Abib (v. 3,) and the paschal lamb was not to be slain before the 14th, several days of preparation are covered by v. 28.

29. At midnight. Literally, in “the half of the night.” The day, though known to the Israelites, had not been announced to the king, and this uncertainty must have added to his anxiety. When Moses had left the obstinate king every courtier was no doubt frightened at the prospect of losing his first-born. However, when several days passed by without the fulfillment of the threat, many people, perhaps even the king himself, may have thought that nothing was likely to happen. There must ever have been present, though, the fear that Moses’ word might come true.

The firstborn of Pharaoh. If Amenhotep II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus (see Introduction), it was his eldest son, the brother of his successor, Thutmose IV, who was slain during that night of horror. No non-Biblical records of this event are extant; in fact, the ancient Egyptians customarily passed over in silence any humiliating experience. Nevertheless, Thutmose IV left inferential evidence of the unexpected death of his brother and his own elevation to the status of crown prince. The stele of the Sphinx at Giza records that he had the sand removed from that ancient monument in gratitude for the divine appointment he unexpectedly received in its shadow. In the inscription he tells of hunting near the Sphinx on a certain day. While he was taking his siesta in its shade, this “great god” (the Sphinx) appeared to him in a vision and spoke to him as a father addresses a son, revealing that he was to be the future king of Egypt. The fact that this incident is recorded on a stone monument shows that Thutmose IV had not originally been designated crown prince, nor had he expected to become king. It reveals also that he attributed his accession to the throne to divine interposition. Although his elder brother, the original crown prince, is not mentioned, there is no doubt among those acquainted with Egyptian inscriptions that something unusual happened to this unmentioned eldest son of Amenhotep II.

We cannot expect a satisfactory answer from Egyptian records as to what happened to the young man. But on the assumption that Amenhotep II was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, the death of his eldest son under the tenth plague would result in the elevation of the younger son, later Thutmose IV, to heir apparent to the throne. To avoid attributing his elevation to a disaster the God of the Hebrews brought on the country, Thutmose IV could have invented and published the story of a supposed heavenly vision. Irregular regal succession was customarily explained as such a divine interference on the part of the great Egyptian gods. When Hatshepsut followed her father on the throne, the announcement was made that the god Amen had begotten her and commanded her to be the ruler of Egypt. When Thutmose III, without legal right to the throne, was pronounced king during a temple revolt, a specific decree of the god Amen was published by way of authority for his irregular succession.

The firstborn of the captive. This phrase is parallel to that of ch. 11:5, “The firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill.” In both cases the general meaning is that all classes of people suffered, from highest to lowest. However, it is also true that captives were in some cases employed as mill workers (see Judges 16:21).

All the firstborn of cattle. The word here translated “cattle” includes also “beasts” in general, as in Lev. 11:2, where the same Hebrew word has more accurately been rendered “beasts.” The plague was not limited to domestic animals. See also on ch. 11:5.

30. Pharaoh rose up. The visit of the angel of death to the host of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35) seems not to have been suspected until the survivors arose the next morning. In Egypt, however, every household was apparently aroused from sleep at midnight, when the first-born suddenly fell ill and died.

A great cry. See on Ex. 11:6, of which this was the fulfillment. The general cry that arose throughout the length and breadth of Egypt at that midnight hour was accompanied by urgent insistence that the Israelites should depart at once (v. 33). By now the Egyptians were no doubt fearful that they would all die should the Israelites remain.

31. He called for Moses and Aaron. The “cry” of the people had no doubt been heard in the palace, and the king was aware of the popular demand that the Israelites be sent out of the land. The entire country now suffered to the limit of endurance because of the stubbornness of its monarch. Realizing that he must act at once in order to avert more severe judgments, Pharaoh sent his chief officers (see ch. 11:8) while it was still night to summon the hated leaders of the Hebrews, whom he had refused to see again (ch. 10:28).

32. Bless me also. Pharaoh’s surrender was now complete. Not only did he command them to leave the country at once and take their possessions with them, but he placed a request before the two brothers that they could scarcely have expected. Their words had brought a curse upon him; it might be that their words could also bring blessing. There is no record of how his request was received, but that it should have been made at all is a striking indication of how far his pride was humbled.

33. The Egyptians were urgent. The popular demand, first blended with the cry of lament (v. 30), quickly became general and insistent. The Hebrews were not only to leave, but to leave immediately. The cry, “We be all dead men,” reveals the fear that judgment might not stop with the death of the first-born, but that the entire population might be slain and the land taken over by the Hebrews.

34. Took their dough. This reflects the urgency of the Egyptians. The Israelites were probably about to bake bread for their journey. Though warned by Moses several days earlier, the people seem not to have expected so hurried a departure, and their preparations were not as yet complete. Though they had been told that for seven days after partaking of the paschal lamb they should eat unleavened bread (v. 15), many had either not taken this injunction to heart or had planned to bake leavened bread for the days that would follow the seven days of unleavened bread. However, the pressure of necessity obliged them to be content with unleavened bread, or as it is called in Deut. 16:3, “the bread of affliction.”

35. They borrowed. Literally, “asked.” On the translation of the Hebrew word shaХal, rendered in the KJV as “borrowed,” see on ch. 3:22. The word shaХal means “to ask” or “to require,” but not “to borrow.”

36. They lent. As the word “borrowed” is a mistranslation, so is the word “lent.” The Hebrew word in question is a passive form of the same verb shaХal, which means in its active form “to ask.” The passive form conveys the meaning not only of being asked but also of granting a request. The thought of the text is this: “The Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked” (RSV).

They spoiled the Egyptians. See on ch. 3:22.

37. From Rameses. That “Rameses” here is the same city as the “Rameses” of ch. 1:11 can hardly be doubted, since the Hebrew words differ only in their vocalization, which was inserted in the Hebrew Bible about the 7th century of the Christian Era. Rameses was the city for the building of which Israelite slave labor had largely been used. As stated in the comment on ch. 1:11, the name given here is probably a later name for the city of Tanis (Avaris). Two hundred years after the Exodus, Tanis received the name Rameses, bestowed by its great renovator, Ramses II. The ruins of this city are known today under the Arabic name San elРHagar. It lies in the northeastern Delta, about 27 mi. northwest of the city of El Qantara on the Suez Canal.

To Succoth. Earlier commentators incorrectly identified this, the first halting place of the Israelites after their departure from Rameses, with Pithom. Scholars are now generally agreed that the Hebrew name here given is a transliteration of the Egyptian Tjeku, mentioned in Egyptian documents as a border station. This place has been identified with Tell elРMaskhuta in the eastern part of the Wadi Tumilat, about 32 mi. southeast of Tanis or Rameses (see above).

Six hundred thousand. Commentators point to certain difficulties in the number here given. Seeing that only males above 20 years of age were included (Num. 1:3–43), the total population might be computed at several million. The problem is, how could so many people, with their untold thousands of animals, pass through the narrow valleys of the Sinai Peninsula without stretching out for hundreds of miles, to say nothing of finding even one camping place large enough to accommodate them?

Some cite Biblical evidence that Israel was relatively small and weak—too few to occupy the land if it were opened to them in one year (Ex. 23:29, 30; Num. 13:28–33; Deut. 1:26–30; 7:7, 17–22).

Others explain that numbers in the Hebrew original may have been confusing. For example, are the numerals for 100 and 1,000 together to be understood as 100 times 1,000 or as 100 plus 1,000? (See Vol. III, p. 123.)

Some suggest that we may not understand accurately the Hebrew word translated “thousand,” Хlph, or Хeleph. The word Хeleph can also mean “family,” as used in Judges 6:15. In other places it seems to mean “family” or “clan” (1 Sam. 10:19; 23:23; Micah 5:2). Furthermore, Хaluph, a word having the same consonants as Хeleph, but different vowels, means “friend” or “tribal chief.” Some say therefore that the phrase traditionally rendered “six hundred thousand” actually means “six hundred families”; that it is more probable that the 12 families who entered Egypt with Jacob should increase to 600 families in 215 years than that the 69 males (see on Gen. 46:26, 27), should increase to 600,000 men in four generations (Gen. 15:16).

Some have explained that 600,000 men could have resulted from natural increase if every son, like Jacob, had had 12 sons. Against this theoretical solution is the fact that not one of Jacob’s descendants whose sons are recorded had that many sons.

Another meaning of Хeleph is given as “military unit” (Num. 31:5, 14, etc.). Therefore some say that the Israelite forces consisted of 600 army units, each from a clan or tribal division.

Ellen G. White’s reference to “more than two million souls” and “millions” who came out of Egypt and died in the wilderness (PP 334, 410) harmonizes with the rendering of the words for 600,000 as translated in the English versions here and in other texts such as ch. 38:25, 26.

38. A mixed multitude. Various attempts have been made to identify the “mixed multitude.” Some have thought them to be native Egyptians who, impressed by the power of the God of the Hebrews, sought a share in the blessings of those who served Him, and who desired at the same time to escape the tyranny of the king. Others have taken them to be remnants of the Hyksos or other Semites who had been detained by the Pharaohs, and who seized this opportunity to leave Egypt. Some, at least, were the descendants of Hebrews who had intermarried with the Egyptians (1 SP 243). Although we do not know the identity of these non-Israelites who joined the triumphant Hebrews in this hour of opportunity, they appear again later in the narrative. They were always first to regret their departure from Egypt and to lust after its delicacies (Num. 11:4, 5).

39. They baked. The Israelites paused briefly at Succoth to make final preparations for the long desert journey. The length of their stay here is not mentioned, but was long enough for them to bake the bread they would need for the days immediately ahead.

40. Four hundred and thirty years. The discussion on Gen. 15:13 points out that Paul’s statement in Gal. 3:17 and other evidence make it clear that this 430 years includes the period from Abraham’s call to leave Haran to Jacob’s actual descent into Egypt 215 years later, and that the interval between Jacob’s entry into Egypt and the Exodus was another 215 years. Since in the time of Moses, Palestine was considered a part of the Egyptian empire, it is not strange to find an author of that period including Canaan in the term “Egypt.” Not being familiar with the political situation in Moses’ time, but feeling that the 430 years included the patriarchal sojourn in Canaan, the translators of the LXX specifically included within this period the time of their sojourn “in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan.” The prophecy that the fourth generation of those who had entered Egypt would leave it (Gen. 15:16), and its recorded fulfillment (Ex. 6:16–20), make impossible any other explanation of the 430-year period.

42. This is that night. That is, the night of the eating of the Passover meal, concerning which directions had already been given (see vs. 6-11, 14). Its mingled horror and rejoicing could never be erased from the memory of a people who owed their birth as a nation to that memorable night.

43. This is the ordinance. Certain additional regulations concerning the Passover were given at Succoth. These were rendered necessary because of the many non-Israelites who had joined the Hebrews, and deal mainly with these “strangers.” Provision was made whereby they might participate in the paschal feast and share its blessings.

No stranger. That is, one of an alien race who wished to retain his status as a foreigner and to remain uncircumcised. Since the Passover was significant as the festival commemorating Israel’s birth as a nation, it would naturally be inappropriate for a foreigner to participate in it.

44. When thou hast circumcised him. It was not through natural descent but by virtue of a divine call that Israel had become the people of the Lord. Being destined, in that capacity, to be a blessing to all nations, Israel was not to assume an exclusive attitude toward foreigners. They were to welcome those who desired to join them in the worship and service of God. Being incorporated politically and economically, these “strangers” were also to be accepted religiously through the rite of circumcision. Thus they became one with God’s people and were permitted to participate in the Passover ritual (see v. 48).

45. A foreigner and an hired servant. Temporary residents and servants working for wages were not to eat of the Passover, for their relationship to Israel might be dissolved at any time.

46. Neither shall ye break a bone thereof. This precept shows clearly that the Passover lamb was a type of Christ, and that it was understood as such in the early Christian church is clear from John 19:33, 36. Although the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world was crucified as a common criminal, none of His bones were broken, in spite of the fact that it was the usual custom to do so. This was done to His two companions. Just as the crucified Antitype was treated differently from other crucified men, so was the Passover lamb prepared differently. The bones of other lambs eaten during the year might be broken to extract the marrow.

48. When a stranger. This injunction dealing with proselytes is similar to the one given in v. 44.

51. It came to pass. This verse belongs to the narrative of the next chapter, to which it forms the introduction.

Ellen G. White comments

1-51PP 274-282

5     CD 20; CH 68; DA 50; GC 473; PK 489; PP 274, 352; SL 23; 5T 541

7     PP 274; 5T 505

8     PP 274, 278

11   DA 77, 653

11-14PP 274

12   6T 195

13   AH 325; TM 157; 4T 21; 5T 505

15   DA 77

15, 19, 22        PP 278

22, 23  MH 403; 5T 505

22-246T 195

26, 27  DA 77

27   PP 274, 279

29   4T 20

29-311T 265; 5T 119

29-33PP 280

29-36SR 119

30, 31  4T 21

31   DA 77

31, 32  PK 369

37-39PP 281

38   PP 315; SR 120

40, 41  PP 282

41   DA 32

46   PP 277

49   PP 507

51   PP 282