Exodus 13:6

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.

Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread,.... The Jews (y) gather from this place, and from Deuteronomy 16:8 , that the obligation to eat unleavened bread lasted no longer than the first night of the seven days, but on the rest it was enough if they abstained from leavened bread, and it was lawful for them to eat of other food as they pleased; see Gill on Exodus 12:15 , but the words are very express in both places, and so in the following verse, for eating unleavened bread, as well as abstaining from leavened; and, indeed, otherwise it would not be so clear and plain a commemoration of their case and circumstances, in which they were when they came out of Egypt; this bread of affliction, as it is called, Deuteronomy 16:3 being what would put them in mind thereof: and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord; an holy convocation, in which no work was to be done, except what was necessary for preparing food to eat, see Exodus 12:16. (y) In Siphre apud Manasseh Ben lsrael. Conciliat. in loc.

6 . Unleavened cakes to be eaten for 7 days ( Exodus 12:15 ), with a ḥag on the 7th day. In P the ḥag is on the first day, and there is a ‘holy convocation,’ with restrictions from work, on the 1st and 7th days: Exodus 12:14 ; Exodus 12:16 , Leviticus 23:6-8 . On the use of unleavened cakes in general, see on Exodus 12:8 ; on their use in this observance, see pp. 241, 242.

5-7. when the Lord shall bring thee—The passover is here instituted as a permanent festival of the Israelites. It was, however, only a prospective observance; we read of only one celebration of the passover during the protracted sojourn in the wilderness [Nu 9:5]; but on their settlement in the promised land, the season was hallowed as a sacred anniversary [Jos 5:10], in conformity with the directions here given.

The directions as to the seven days' feast of unleavened bread ( Exodus 12:15-20 ) were made known by Moses to the people on the day of the exodus, at the first station, namely, Succoth; but in the account of this, only the most important points are repeated, and the yearly commemoration is enjoined. In Exodus 13:3 , Egypt is called a "slave-house," inasmuch as Israel was employed in slave-labour there, and treated as a slave population (cf. Exodus 20:2 ; Deuteronomy 5:6 ; Deuteronomy 6:12 , etc.). יד הזק "strength of hand," in Exodus 13:3 , Exodus 13:14 , and Exodus 13:16 , is more emphatic than the more usual חזקה יד ( Exodus 3:19 , etc.). - On Exodus 13:5 , see Exodus 3:8 , and Exodus 12:25 . In Exodus 13:6 , the term "feast to Jehovah" points to the keeping of the seventh day by a holy convocation and the suspension of work ( Exodus 12:16 ). It is only of the seventh day that this is expressly stated, because it was understood as a matter of course, that the first was a feast of Jehovah.

[Bible] 13:4. This day you go forth in the month of new corn. 13:5. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he would give thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, thou shalt celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month. 13:6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be the solemnity of the Lord. 13:7. Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not be seen any thing leavened with thee, nor in all thy coasts. 13:8. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: This is what the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt. 13:9. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial before thy eyes; and that the law of the Lord be always in thy mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt. 13:10. Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days to days. 13:11. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall give it thee: 13:12. Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord. 13:13. The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: and if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every firstborn of men thou shalt redeem with a price. 13:14. And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What is this? thou shalt answer him: With a strong hand did the Lord bring us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 13:15. For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beasts: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb of the male sex, and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.