Exodus 13:3

13:1-10 In remembrance of the destruction of the first-born of Egypt, both of man and of beast, and the deliverance of the Israelites out of bondage, the first-born males of the Israelites were set apart to the Lord. By this was set before them, that their lives were preserved through the ransom of the atonement, which in due time was to be made for sin. They were also to consider their lives, thus ransomed from death, as now to be consecrated to the service of God. The parents were not to look upon themselves as having any right in their first-born, till they solemnly presented them to God, and allowed his title to them. That which is, by special mercy, spared to us, should be applied to God's honour; at least, some grateful acknowledgment, in works of piety and charity, should be made. The remembrance of their coming out of Egypt must be kept up every year. The day of Christ's resurrection is to be remembered, for in it we were raised up with Christ out of death's house of bondage. The Scripture tells us not expressly what day of the year Christ rose, but it states particularly what day of the week it was; as the more valuable deliverance, it should be remembered weekly. The Israelites must keep the feast of unleavened bread. Under the gospel, we must not only remember Christ, but observe his holy supper. Do this in remembrance of him. Also care must be taken to teach children the knowledge of God. Here is an old law for catechising.

After the Lord had spoken to him, and said the above things: remember this day in which ye came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; or "of servants" (x) where they had been servants to the Egyptians, by whom they had been made to serve with rigour, and their lives made bitter with hard bondage; that country had been like a prison house unto them, where they had been detained captives, and treated in a very cruel manner; but now they were come out of this place and state of servitude, even that very day, the fifteenth of Nisan; and which therefore it became them to remember, they and theirs, in all succeeding generations, as the Lord had directed, and which is afterwards repeated to impress it the more upon their, minds and memories: for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place; it was not by their own might and strength that they were redeemed from their state of bondage, but by the mighty hand of the Lord who wrought such signs and wonders before Pharaoh and his servants, and inflicted such plagues upon them, which none but an omnipotent hand could do, which obliged them at last to let them go: and if the Israelites were under obligation, on account of this redemption, to remember the day when it was in this wonderful manner wrought out, much, more reason have we to remember the redemption by Christ the mighty Redeemer, whose own arm wrought salvation for us, and delivered us out of the hands of our spiritual enemies, that were stronger than we, by f

(3) Remember this day. —Remembrance was secured in four ways:—(1) By the month being made to commence the ecclesiastical year; (2) by the institution of the Passover; (3) by the seven days of unleavened bread; and (4) by the redemption, and the inquiries it would necessitate ( Exodus 13:14-15 ).

And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of {a} bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be {b} eaten. (a) Where they were in most cruel slavery. (b) To signify that they did not have time to leaven their bread.

Sanctify unto me - The command is addressed to Moses. It was to declare the will of God that all firstborn were to be consecrated to Him, set apart from all other creatures. The command is expressly based upon the Passover. The firstborn exempt from the destruction became in a new and special sense the exclusive property of the Lord: the firstborn of man as His ministers, the firstborn of cattle as victims. In lieu of the firstborn of men the Levites were devoted to the temple services.

Verse 3. - And Moses said . Without relating the directions given to Moses any further, the author passes to the directions given by him. He thus, here and elsewhere, avoids unnecessary repetition. Remember this day . The injunction came with great force at the close of the first day's journey, when the good-will of the Egyptians had been shown, and the people had been helped and speeded on their way, and felt that they were actually quitting the house of their bondage, and setting out for Canaan. By strength of hand the Lord brought you out - i.e. ., "by His powerful protection has God brought you on your way thus far." Therefore, "Remember this day, and remember that nothing leavened is to be eaten on it" (see Exodus 12:15-20 ). Ver 4. - In the month Abib . The name of the month had not been previously mentioned. Some have derived it from the Egyptian Epiphi. As, however, ab means "greenness" in Hebrew, and abib "green ears of corn," while ibba meant "fruit" in Chaldee ( Daniel 4:12, 14 ), and abbon means "green herbs" in Arabic, there is no need of a foreign derivation for the word. The month of "greenness," or of "green ears of corn," would be both appropriate and intelligible. Exodus 13:3

3 . this day ] i.e. the 15th of Abib. house of bondage (lit. of bondmen or slaves )] so v. 14, Exodus 20:2 ; and hence often in Dt. ( Deuteronomy 5:6 [= Deuteronomy 20:2 ], Deuteronomy 6:12 , Deuteronomy 7:8 , Deuteronomy 8:14 , Deuteronomy 13:5 ; Deuteronomy 13:10 ), and Joshua 24:17 (D2[135]); also Micah 6:4 †. The expression means a place in which slaves are confined (Lat. ergastulum ), such as Egypt was to the Hebrews in bondage. [135] Deuteronomic passages in Josh., Jud., Kings. strength of hand ] so vv. 14, 16†. The usual expression is a strong hand ( v. 9): see on Exodus 6:1 . 3–4 . No leavened bread to be eaten on the day of the Exodus. 3–16 . Moses’ promulgation to the people of directions respecting ( a ) Maẓẓoth , vv. 3–10, and ( b ) the sanctity of the firstborn, vv. 11–16. Both passages approximate in style and tone to Deuteronomy (cf. on Exodus 12:25-27 a); and it is probable that they are both parenetic expansions, by the compiler of JE, of a simpler original in J, contained perhaps in vv. 3a (to people ), 4, 6–7, 10, 12–13. ( a ) 3–10. Maẓẓoth .

Regulations respecting Maẓẓoth have already been given to Moses by Jehovah in Exodus 12:14-20 (P); but the differences, both material (no mention of a ‘holy convocation,’ with restrictions from work, on the 1st and 7th days; different name, ‘Abib,’ for the month; the 7th, not the 1st day, the ‘pilgrimage’) and linguistic, shew that the regulations found here cannot be by the same writer, but that they have been taken by the compiler from the source J. Cf. the note on Exodus 12:21-27 .

Ex 13:3-10. Memorial of the Passover. 3. Moses said unto the people, Remember this day—The day that gave them a national existence and introduced them into the privileges of independence and freedom, deserved to live in the memories of the Hebrews and their posterity; and, considering the signal interposition of God displayed in it, to be held not only in perpetual, but devout remembrance. house of bondage—literally, "house of slaves"—that is, a servile and degrading condition. for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place—The emancipation of Israel would never have been obtained except it had been wrung from the Egyptian tyrant by the appalling judgments of God, as had been at the outset of his mission announced to Moses (Ex 3:19). There shall no leavened bread, &c.—The words are elliptical, and the meaning of the clause may be paraphrased thus:—"For by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place, in such haste that there could or should be no leavened bread eaten."