5 Your lamb shall be without defect, a male a year old. You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats.
6 You 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.
7 They 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.
8 They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
9 Don’t eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; with its head, its legs and its inner parts.
10 You shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.
11 This 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 Yahweh’s Passover.
12 For 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 Yahweh.
13 The 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.
14 This day shall be a memorial for you. You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh. 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.
16 In 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.
17 You 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.
18 In 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.
19 There 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.
20 You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
21 Then 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.
22 You 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.
23 For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you.
24 You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever.
25 It shall happen when you have come to the land which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, that you shall keep this service.
26 It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’
27 that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’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.
28 The children of Israel went and did so; as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
29 At midnight, Yahweh 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.
30 Pharaoh 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.
31 He 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 Yahweh, as you have said!
32 Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also!”
33 The Egyptians were urgent with the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We are all dead men.”
34 The people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.
35 The 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.
36 Yahweh gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. They plundered the Egyptians.
37 The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, in addition to children.
38 A mixed multitude went up also with them, with flocks, herds, and even very much livestock.
39 They 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.
40 Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.
41 At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the day, all of Yahweh’s armies went out from the land of Egypt.
8 passages from writers of 2 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
Reading as
Questions they answer differently
On verse
Oldest first.
Josephus37–c. 100JewishAntiquities of the Jews · on Exodus 12:21–36Accordingly, he having got the Hebrews ready for their departure, and having sorted the people into tribes, he kept them together in one place: but when the fourteenth day was come, and all were ready to depart they offered the sacrifice, and purified their houses with the blood, using bunches of hyssop for that purpose; and when they had supped, they burnt the remainder of the flesh, as just ready to depart. Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha which signifies the feast of the passover; because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of the first-born came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of the Egyptians who lived near the king's palace, persuaded Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. … They also honored the Hebrews with gifts; some, in order to get them to depart quickly, and others on account of their neighborhood, and the friendship they had with them.
Accordingly, he having got the Hebrews ready for their departure, and having sorted the people into tribes, he kept them together in one place: but when the fourteenth day was come, and all were ready to depart they offered the sacrifice, and purified their houses with the blood, using bunches of hyssop for that purpose; and when they had supped, they burnt the remainder of the flesh, as just ready to depart. Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha which signifies the feast of the passover; because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of the first-born came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of the Egyptians who lived near the king's palace, persuaded Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. … They also honored the Hebrews with gifts; some, in order to get them to depart quickly, and others on account of their neighborhood, and the friendship they had with them.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Antiquities 2.14.6; translated by William Whiston (1737); the text of Project Gutenberg. The edition
A Jewish priest from Jerusalem who fought Rome in the war of 66–70 and afterwards wrote the history of his people for Greek readers.
Rashi1040–1105JewishCommentary on the Torah · on Exodus 12:8–13He commanded them to eat something bitter as a reminder of: (Exodus 1:14) “And they made their lives bitter” (Pesachim 116b). … IT IS THE PASSOVER OF THE LORD — The offering is called פסח in allusion to the springing and passing over — because the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the houses of the Israelites in between the houses of the Egyptians and sprang from Egyptian to Egyptian, whilst the Israelite who was between them escaped. … AND THE BLOOD SHALL BE UNTO YOU FOR A SIGN — it shall be to you for a sign, and not to others for a sign (Mekhilta). From this we may learn that they put the blood only inside their houses. … AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD — But surely everything is manifest to Him and He therefore did not need to look whether the blood had been put on the door-posts? But the meaning is: God says, I will set My eye (my attention) to take notice of the fact that you are engaged in the performance of My commands — then will I pass over you (Mekhilta).
He commanded them to eat something bitter as a reminder of: (Exodus 1:14) “And they made their lives bitter” (Pesachim 116b). … IT IS THE PASSOVER OF THE LORD — The offering is called פסח in allusion to the springing and passing over — because the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the houses of the Israelites in between the houses of the Egyptians and sprang from Egyptian to Egyptian, whilst the Israelite who was between them escaped. … AND THE BLOOD SHALL BE UNTO YOU FOR A SIGN — it shall be to you for a sign, and not to others for a sign (Mekhilta). From this we may learn that they put the blood only inside their houses. … AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD — But surely everything is manifest to Him and He therefore did not need to look whether the blood had been put on the door-posts? But the meaning is: God says, I will set My eye (my attention) to take notice of the fact that you are engaged in the performance of My commands — then will I pass over you (Mekhilta).
Rashi, Commentary on the Torah, on 12:8, 12:11 and 12:13; translated by M. Rosenbaum and A. M. Silbermann (London: Genesis 1929, Exodus 1930). The edition
Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki of Troyes, in France, whose commentary on the Torah is still the first that Jewish readers turn to.
Rashi1040–1105JewishCommentary on the Torah · on Exodus 12:36–40AND THEY HANDED THEM OVER — Even what they did not ask of them did they give to them: “You say “one” — take “two”, but only go!” (Mekhilta). … A MIXED MULTITUDE — a mingling of various nations who had become proselytes. … NEITHER HAD THEY MADE FOR THEMSELVES ANY PROVISION for the journey. This is stated to tell how praiseworthy Israel was: that they did not say, “How can we go forth into the wilderness without provisions?” But they had faith and set forth. … FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS — Altogether from the birth of Isaac until now were 400 years, and we must reckon from that event, for only from the time when Abraham had offspring from Sarah could the prophecy (Genesis 15:13) “Thy offspring shall be a stranger” be fulfilled; and there had been 30 years since that decree made at “the convenant between the parts” until the birth of Isaac. … And only if you reckon the 400 years from the birth of Isaac will you find that from the time they came into Egypt until the time they left it, was 210 years (as alluded to in Genesis 15:13).
AND THEY HANDED THEM OVER — Even what they did not ask of them did they give to them: “You say “one” — take “two”, but only go!” (Mekhilta). … A MIXED MULTITUDE — a mingling of various nations who had become proselytes. … NEITHER HAD THEY MADE FOR THEMSELVES ANY PROVISION for the journey. This is stated to tell how praiseworthy Israel was: that they did not say, “How can we go forth into the wilderness without provisions?” But they had faith and set forth. … FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS — Altogether from the birth of Isaac until now were 400 years, and we must reckon from that event, for only from the time when Abraham had offspring from Sarah could the prophecy (Genesis 15:13) “Thy offspring shall be a stranger” be fulfilled; and there had been 30 years since that decree made at “the convenant between the parts” until the birth of Isaac. … And only if you reckon the 400 years from the birth of Isaac will you find that from the time they came into Egypt until the time they left it, was 210 years (as alluded to in Genesis 15:13).
Rashi, Commentary on the Torah, on 12:36–40; translated by M. Rosenbaum and A. M. Silbermann (London: Genesis 1929, Exodus 1930). The edition
Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki of Troyes, in France, whose commentary on the Torah is still the first that Jewish readers turn to.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Exodus 12:5–13For the protection of Israel from this plague they were ordered to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts, their doing which would be accepted as an instance of their faith in the divine warnings and their obedience to the divine precepts. … Now, without doubt, there was much of the gospel in this ordinance … 1. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our Passover, Co1 5:7. (1.) It was to be a lamb; and Christ is the Lamb of God (Joh 1:29), often in the Revelation called the Lamb, meek and innocent as a lamb … (3.) It was to be without blemish (Exo 12:5), denoting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a Lamb without spot, Pe1 1:19. … 2. The sprinkling of the blood was typical. (1.) It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, denoting the application of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Rom 5:11. … (5.) The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was.
For the protection of Israel from this plague they were ordered to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts, their doing which would be accepted as an instance of their faith in the divine warnings and their obedience to the divine precepts. … Now, without doubt, there was much of the gospel in this ordinance … 1. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our Passover, Co1 5:7. (1.) It was to be a lamb; and Christ is the Lamb of God (Joh 1:29), often in the Revelation called the Lamb, meek and innocent as a lamb … (3.) It was to be without blemish (Exo 12:5), denoting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a Lamb without spot, Pe1 1:19. … 2. The sprinkling of the blood was typical. (1.) It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, denoting the application of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Rom 5:11. … (5.) The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 12:1–20; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
John Gill1697–1771BaptistAn Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on Exodus 12:26–27Now in this they were to instruct their children in successive generations, that the memory of it might be kept up, and a sense of the goodness of God continued, and his name glorified. Maimonides … says,"it is a command to make this known to children, even though they do not ask it … According to the son's knowledge, his father teaches him; how if he is a little one or foolish? he says to him, my son, all of us were servants, as this handmaid, or this servant, in Egypt; and on this night the holy blessed God redeemed us, and brought us into liberty: and if the son is grown up, and a wise man, he makes known to him what happened to us in Egypt, and the wonders which were done for us by the hand of Moses our master, all according to the capacity of his son; and it is necessary to make a repetition on this night, that the children may see, and ask, and say, how different is this night from all other nights! until he replies and says to them, so and so it happened, and thus and thus it was:"
Now in this they were to instruct their children in successive generations, that the memory of it might be kept up, and a sense of the goodness of God continued, and his name glorified. Maimonides … says,"it is a command to make this known to children, even though they do not ask it … According to the son's knowledge, his father teaches him; how if he is a little one or foolish? he says to him, my son, all of us were servants, as this handmaid, or this servant, in Egypt; and on this night the holy blessed God redeemed us, and brought us into liberty: and if the son is grown up, and a wise man, he makes known to him what happened to us in Egypt, and the wonders which were done for us by the hand of Moses our master, all according to the capacity of his son; and it is necessary to make a repetition on this night, that the children may see, and ask, and say, how different is this night from all other nights! until he replies and says to them, so and so it happened, and thus and thus it was:"
John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, on 12:27; 1746–1763; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Baptist pastor in London and a scholar of Hebrew and the rabbis, who wrote a verse-by-verse commentary on the whole Bible.
Adam Clarkec. 1760–1832MethodistCommentary on the Holy Bible · on Exodus 12:11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded - As in the eastern countries they wear long loose garments, whenever they travel they tuck up the fore parts of their garments in the girdle which they wear round their loins. Your shoes on your feet - This seems particularly mentioned because not customary. "The easterns throw off their shoes when they eat, because it would be troublesome," says Sir J. Chardin, "to keep their shoes upon their feet, they sitting cross-legged on the floor … they throw off their shoes when they enter their apartments, lest they should soil those beautiful pieces of furniture." On the contrary the Israelites were to have their shoes on, because now about to commence their journey. … Your staff in your hand - The same writer observes that the eastern people universally make use of a staff when they travel on foot. Ye shall eat it in haste - Because they were suddenly to take their departure: the destroying angel was at hand, their enemies were coming against them, and they had not a moment to lose.
And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded - As in the eastern countries they wear long loose garments, whenever they travel they tuck up the fore parts of their garments in the girdle which they wear round their loins. Your shoes on your feet - This seems particularly mentioned because not customary. "The easterns throw off their shoes when they eat, because it would be troublesome," says Sir J. Chardin, "to keep their shoes upon their feet, they sitting cross-legged on the floor … they throw off their shoes when they enter their apartments, lest they should soil those beautiful pieces of furniture." On the contrary the Israelites were to have their shoes on, because now about to commence their journey. … Your staff in your hand - The same writer observes that the eastern people universally make use of a staff when they travel on foot. Ye shall eat it in haste - Because they were suddenly to take their departure: the destroying angel was at hand, their enemies were coming against them, and they had not a moment to lose.
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible, on 12:11; 1810–1826; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
A Methodist preacher and scholar from Ulster, whose commentary on the whole Bible took him nearly forty years.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brownpublished 1871Presbyterian and AnglicanA Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments · on Exodus 12:35–40children of Israel borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver-- … But borrow conveys a wrong meaning. The word rendered borrow signifies properly to ask, demand, require. The Israelites had been kept in great poverty, having received little or no wages. They now insisted on full remuneration for all their labor, and it was paid in light and valuable articles adapted for convenient carriage. … a mixed multitude went with them-- … slaves, persons in the lowest grades of society, partly natives and partly foreigners, bound close to them as companions in misery, and gladly availing themselves of the opportunity to escape in the crowd. … The Septuagint renders it thus: "The sojourning of the children and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt." These additions are important, for the period of sojourn in Egypt did not exceed two hundred fifteen years; but if we reckon from the time that Abraham entered Canaan and the promise was made in which the sojourn of his posterity in Egypt was announced, this makes up the time to four hundred thirty years.
children of Israel borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver-- … But borrow conveys a wrong meaning. The word rendered borrow signifies properly to ask, demand, require. The Israelites had been kept in great poverty, having received little or no wages. They now insisted on full remuneration for all their labor, and it was paid in light and valuable articles adapted for convenient carriage. … a mixed multitude went with them-- … slaves, persons in the lowest grades of society, partly natives and partly foreigners, bound close to them as companions in misery, and gladly availing themselves of the opportunity to escape in the crowd. … The Septuagint renders it thus: "The sojourning of the children and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt." These additions are important, for the period of sojourn in Egypt did not exceed two hundred fifteen years; but if we reckon from the time that Abraham entered Canaan and the promise was made in which the sojourn of his posterity in Egypt was announced, this makes up the time to four hundred thirty years.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, on 12:35, 12:38 and 12:40; 1871; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Three ministers, two Scottish Presbyterians and an Irish Anglican, whose commentary on the whole Bible was written to be short and plain.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Exodus 12:40–41The sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt had lasted 430 years. This number is not critically doubtful, nor are the 430 years to be reduced to 215 by an arbitrary interpolation, such as we find in the lxx … This chronological statement, the genuineness of which is placed beyond all doubt by Onkelos, the Syriac, Vulgate, and other versions, is not only in harmony with the prediction in Gen 15:13, where the round number 400 is employed in prophetic style, but may be reconciled with the different genealogical lists, if we only bear in mind that the genealogies do not always contain a complete enumeration of all the separate links, but very frequently intermediate links of little historical importance are omitted … The view held by the Seventy became traditional in the synagogue, and the Apostle Paul followed it in Gal 3:17, where he reckoned the interval between the promise to Abraham and the giving of the law as 430 years, the question of chronological exactness having no bearing upon his subject at the time.
The sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt had lasted 430 years. This number is not critically doubtful, nor are the 430 years to be reduced to 215 by an arbitrary interpolation, such as we find in the lxx … This chronological statement, the genuineness of which is placed beyond all doubt by Onkelos, the Syriac, Vulgate, and other versions, is not only in harmony with the prediction in Gen 15:13, where the round number 400 is employed in prophetic style, but may be reconciled with the different genealogical lists, if we only bear in mind that the genealogies do not always contain a complete enumeration of all the separate links, but very frequently intermediate links of little historical importance are omitted … The view held by the Seventy became traditional in the synagogue, and the Apostle Paul followed it in Gal 3:17, where he reckoned the interval between the promise to Abraham and the giving of the law as 430 years, the question of chronological exactness having no bearing upon his subject at the time.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 12:40–41; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.
Exodus 12
Exodus 12:5–41, World English Bible
Exodus 12 in the Bible · Told in the Story: Chapter 5, The Passover
What others have written
8 passages from writers of 2 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
Oldest first.
Josephus37–c. 100JewishAntiquities of the Jews · on Exodus 12:21–36Accordingly, he having got the Hebrews ready for their departure, and having sorted the people into tribes, he kept them together in one place: but when the fourteenth day was come, and all were ready to depart they offered the sacrifice, and purified their houses with the blood, using bunches of hyssop for that purpose; and when they had supped, they burnt the remainder of the flesh, as just ready to depart. Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha which signifies the feast of the passover; because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of the first-born came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of the Egyptians who lived near the king's palace, persuaded Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. … They also honored the Hebrews with gifts; some, in order to get them to depart quickly, and others on account of their neighborhood, and the friendship they had with them.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Antiquities 2.14.6; translated by William Whiston (1737); the text of Project Gutenberg. The edition
A Jewish priest from Jerusalem who fought Rome in the war of 66–70 and afterwards wrote the history of his people for Greek readers.
Rashi1040–1105JewishCommentary on the Torah · on Exodus 12:8–13He commanded them to eat something bitter as a reminder of: (Exodus 1:14) “And they made their lives bitter” (Pesachim 116b). … IT IS THE PASSOVER OF THE LORD — The offering is called פסח in allusion to the springing and passing over — because the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the houses of the Israelites in between the houses of the Egyptians and sprang from Egyptian to Egyptian, whilst the Israelite who was between them escaped. … AND THE BLOOD SHALL BE UNTO YOU FOR A SIGN — it shall be to you for a sign, and not to others for a sign (Mekhilta). From this we may learn that they put the blood only inside their houses. … AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD — But surely everything is manifest to Him and He therefore did not need to look whether the blood had been put on the door-posts? But the meaning is: God says, I will set My eye (my attention) to take notice of the fact that you are engaged in the performance of My commands — then will I pass over you (Mekhilta).
Rashi, Commentary on the Torah, on 12:8, 12:11 and 12:13; translated by M. Rosenbaum and A. M. Silbermann (London: Genesis 1929, Exodus 1930). The edition
Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki of Troyes, in France, whose commentary on the Torah is still the first that Jewish readers turn to.
Rashi1040–1105JewishCommentary on the Torah · on Exodus 12:36–40AND THEY HANDED THEM OVER — Even what they did not ask of them did they give to them: “You say “one” — take “two”, but only go!” (Mekhilta). … A MIXED MULTITUDE — a mingling of various nations who had become proselytes. … NEITHER HAD THEY MADE FOR THEMSELVES ANY PROVISION for the journey. This is stated to tell how praiseworthy Israel was: that they did not say, “How can we go forth into the wilderness without provisions?” But they had faith and set forth. … FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS — Altogether from the birth of Isaac until now were 400 years, and we must reckon from that event, for only from the time when Abraham had offspring from Sarah could the prophecy (Genesis 15:13) “Thy offspring shall be a stranger” be fulfilled; and there had been 30 years since that decree made at “the convenant between the parts” until the birth of Isaac. … And only if you reckon the 400 years from the birth of Isaac will you find that from the time they came into Egypt until the time they left it, was 210 years (as alluded to in Genesis 15:13).
Rashi, Commentary on the Torah, on 12:36–40; translated by M. Rosenbaum and A. M. Silbermann (London: Genesis 1929, Exodus 1930). The edition
Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki of Troyes, in France, whose commentary on the Torah is still the first that Jewish readers turn to.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Exodus 12:5–13For the protection of Israel from this plague they were ordered to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts, their doing which would be accepted as an instance of their faith in the divine warnings and their obedience to the divine precepts. … Now, without doubt, there was much of the gospel in this ordinance … 1. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our Passover, Co1 5:7. (1.) It was to be a lamb; and Christ is the Lamb of God (Joh 1:29), often in the Revelation called the Lamb, meek and innocent as a lamb … (3.) It was to be without blemish (Exo 12:5), denoting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a Lamb without spot, Pe1 1:19. … 2. The sprinkling of the blood was typical. (1.) It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, denoting the application of the merits of Christ's death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Rom 5:11. … (5.) The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 12:1–20; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
John Gill1697–1771BaptistAn Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on Exodus 12:26–27Now in this they were to instruct their children in successive generations, that the memory of it might be kept up, and a sense of the goodness of God continued, and his name glorified. Maimonides … says,"it is a command to make this known to children, even though they do not ask it … According to the son's knowledge, his father teaches him; how if he is a little one or foolish? he says to him, my son, all of us were servants, as this handmaid, or this servant, in Egypt; and on this night the holy blessed God redeemed us, and brought us into liberty: and if the son is grown up, and a wise man, he makes known to him what happened to us in Egypt, and the wonders which were done for us by the hand of Moses our master, all according to the capacity of his son; and it is necessary to make a repetition on this night, that the children may see, and ask, and say, how different is this night from all other nights! until he replies and says to them, so and so it happened, and thus and thus it was:"
John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, on 12:27; 1746–1763; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Baptist pastor in London and a scholar of Hebrew and the rabbis, who wrote a verse-by-verse commentary on the whole Bible.
Adam Clarkec. 1760–1832MethodistCommentary on the Holy Bible · on Exodus 12:11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded - As in the eastern countries they wear long loose garments, whenever they travel they tuck up the fore parts of their garments in the girdle which they wear round their loins. Your shoes on your feet - This seems particularly mentioned because not customary. "The easterns throw off their shoes when they eat, because it would be troublesome," says Sir J. Chardin, "to keep their shoes upon their feet, they sitting cross-legged on the floor … they throw off their shoes when they enter their apartments, lest they should soil those beautiful pieces of furniture." On the contrary the Israelites were to have their shoes on, because now about to commence their journey. … Your staff in your hand - The same writer observes that the eastern people universally make use of a staff when they travel on foot. Ye shall eat it in haste - Because they were suddenly to take their departure: the destroying angel was at hand, their enemies were coming against them, and they had not a moment to lose.
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible, on 12:11; 1810–1826; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
A Methodist preacher and scholar from Ulster, whose commentary on the whole Bible took him nearly forty years.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brownpublished 1871Presbyterian and AnglicanA Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments · on Exodus 12:35–40children of Israel borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver-- … But borrow conveys a wrong meaning. The word rendered borrow signifies properly to ask, demand, require. The Israelites had been kept in great poverty, having received little or no wages. They now insisted on full remuneration for all their labor, and it was paid in light and valuable articles adapted for convenient carriage. … a mixed multitude went with them-- … slaves, persons in the lowest grades of society, partly natives and partly foreigners, bound close to them as companions in misery, and gladly availing themselves of the opportunity to escape in the crowd. … The Septuagint renders it thus: "The sojourning of the children and of their fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt." These additions are important, for the period of sojourn in Egypt did not exceed two hundred fifteen years; but if we reckon from the time that Abraham entered Canaan and the promise was made in which the sojourn of his posterity in Egypt was announced, this makes up the time to four hundred thirty years.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, on 12:35, 12:38 and 12:40; 1871; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Three ministers, two Scottish Presbyterians and an Irish Anglican, whose commentary on the whole Bible was written to be short and plain.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Exodus 12:40–41The sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt had lasted 430 years. This number is not critically doubtful, nor are the 430 years to be reduced to 215 by an arbitrary interpolation, such as we find in the lxx … This chronological statement, the genuineness of which is placed beyond all doubt by Onkelos, the Syriac, Vulgate, and other versions, is not only in harmony with the prediction in Gen 15:13, where the round number 400 is employed in prophetic style, but may be reconciled with the different genealogical lists, if we only bear in mind that the genealogies do not always contain a complete enumeration of all the separate links, but very frequently intermediate links of little historical importance are omitted … The view held by the Seventy became traditional in the synagogue, and the Apostle Paul followed it in Gal 3:17, where he reckoned the interval between the promise to Abraham and the giving of the law as 430 years, the question of chronological exactness having no bearing upon his subject at the time.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 12:40–41; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.