2 Chronicles 35:13

And they roasted the passover with fire, according to the ordinance,.... Of the Lord by Moses, Exodus 12:8 . but the other holy offerings; which were the peace offerings: sod they in pots, and in cauldrons, and pans; which was forbid to be done with the passover lamb, but might with the other sacrifices, which were to be eaten, Exodus 12:9. and divided them speedily among all the people; the parts which belonged to the offerer, who was the king; but he gave his part to the people, and therefore the Levites delivered them to them as soon as they could.

35:1-19 The destruction Josiah made of idolatry, was more largely related in the book of Kings. His solemnizing the passover is related here. The Lord's supper resembles the passover more than any other of the Jewish festivals; and the due observance of that ordinance, is a proof of growing piety and devotion. God alone can truly make our hearts holy, and prepare them for his holy services; but there are duties belonging to us, in doing which we obtain this blessing from the Lord.

2 Chronicles 35:13-14 . But the other holy offerings sod they in pots — Those from which the burnt-offerings were removed, ( 2 Chronicles 35:12 ,) namely, the peace- offerings, part of which fell to the share of the offerer, who was Josiah, and, by his gift, to the people. Afterward they made ready — To wit, the paschal lambs, and their part of the peace-offerings.

13 . the ordinance ] Exodus 12:9 . but the other holy offerings] R.V. and the holy offerings . The bullocks mentioned in 2 Chronicles 35:7-9 . They would not be slain on the Passover day itself, but on the days which immediately followed. divided them speedily among all the people ] R.V. carried them quickly to all the children of the people .

Verse 13. - Roasted . (For the emphatic and repeated command to roast, see Exodus 12:8, 9 ; Deuteronomy 16:7 .) Sod . The sodden or boiled offerings, peace offerings, were ordinarily eaten on the days of unleavened bread, and then particularly on the first and seventh ( Leviticus 23:4-8 , etc.). Divided them speedily among all the people. The marginal rendering of the original, and the Revised Version rendering, carried them quickly , may be noted; nevertheless attention is invited, probably not so much to the speed or quickness in question, but to the fact that "all the people" were carefully attended to. 2 Chronicles 35:13

(13) According to the ordinance. — Exodus 12:8-9 . Boasted with fire.—Cooked in the fire. But the other holy offerings sod they . . . pans.—And the consecrated things they cooked in the pots, and in the caldrons, and in the pans.—“The consecrated things” are the oxen (2Chronicles 29:33). Their flesh was boiled or fried, and handed with all due haste by the Levites to the laity. The author tells us here not only what was done on the evening of the fourteenth Nisan, the Passover proper, but also during the seven following days of the Feast of Mazzoth, or Unleavened Bread. On the Passover evening only the paschal lambs and kids would be eaten; the oxen were slain as peace offerings during the subsequent festivities (Deuteronomy 16:1-8), and furnished forth the sacrificial meals. And divided them speedily . . . the people.—And brought them quickly to all the sons of the people, so that the meat did not get cold. (Comp. Genesis 41:14.) This little touch of realism calls up a picture. We see the whole busy scene, the different groups of the people scattered here and there about the sacred court, and the Levites bringing them their portions of the savoury meat.

13. they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance—(See Ex 12:7-9). This mode of preparation was prescribed by the law exclusively for the paschal lamb; the other offerings and thank offerings were cooked in pots, kettles, and pans (1Sa 2:14). divided them speedily among the people—The haste was either owing to the multiplicity of the priests' business, or because the heat and flavor of the viands would have been otherwise diminished. Hence it appears that the meal consisted not of the paschal lambs alone, but of the meat of the thank offerings—for part of the flesh fell to the portion of the offerer, who, being in this instance, the king and the princes, were by them made over to the people, who were recommended to eat them the day they were offered, though not absolutely forbidden to do so on the next (Le 7:15-18).

The passover, i.e., the flesh of the paschal lamb, they roasted (בּאשׁ בּשּׁל, to make ready upon the fire, i.e., roast; see on Exodus 12:9 ), according to the ordinance (as the law appointed); and "the sanctified (as they called the slaughtered oxen, cf. 2 Chronicles 29:33 ) they sod (שּׁלוּ, sc. במּים, cf. Exodus 12:9 ) in pots, caldrons, and pans, and brought it speedily to the sons of the people," i.e., the laymen. From this Bertheau draws the conclusion, "that with the paschal lambs the oxen were also offered as thank-offerings; and the sacrificial meal consisted not merely of the paschal lamb, but also of the flesh of the thank-offerings: for these must have been consumed on the same day as they were offered, though the eating of them on the following day was not strictly forbidden, Leviticus 7:15-18 ." But this conclusion is shown to be incorrect even by this fact, that there is no word to hint that the roasting of the paschal lambs and the cooking of the flesh of the oxen which were offered as thank-offerings took place simultaneously on the evening of the 14th Nisan. This is implied neither in the לבּקר וכן, nor in the statement in 2 Chronicles 35:14 , that the priests were busied until night in offering the עלה and the חלבים. According to 2 Chronicles 35:17 , the Israelites held on that day, not only the passover, but also the Mazzoth-feast, seven days.

The description of the offering and preparation of the sacrifices, partly for the altar and partly for the meal, 2 Chronicles 35:13-15 , refers, therefore, not only to the passover in its more restricted sense, but also to the seven days' Mazzoth festival, without its being expressly stated; because both from the law and from the practice it was sufficiently well known that at the פּסח meal only צאן (lambs or goats) were roasted and eaten; while on the seven following days of the Mazzoth, besides the daily burnt-offering, thank-offerings were brought and sacrificial meals were held; see on Deuteronomy 16:1-8 . The connecting, or rather the mingling, of the sacrificial meal prepared from the roasted lambs with the eating of the sodden flesh of oxen, would have been too great an offence against the legal prescriptions for the paschal meal, to be attributed either to King Josiah, to the priesthood, or to the author of the Chronicle, since the latter expressly remarks that the celebration was carried out according to the prescription of the law of Moses, and according to the "right."