Exodus 13 commentary

EXODUS 13 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
I TRODUCTIO
PETT, "Introduction
Exodus 13 Regulations Concerning the Firstborn and Unleavened Bread. The First
Details of Their Journey
The instruction that follows covers what Israel’s immediate response was to be to
what had happened on Passover night . They were to ‘sanctify the firstborn’ which
had been spared, and to ‘continue to eat unleavened bread’ until the seven day feast
was over. It then covers how both were to be commemorated in the future.
The command are not given haphazardly. They appear to be so to us because we are
not used to the chiastic pattern. ote the careful chiastic pattern in the first part of
the chapter.
a They were to sanctify the firstborn as a memorial of that first night of
deliverance through the mighty hand of God when He delivered their firstborn
(13:2).
b They were to eat unleavened bread in that day as a memorial of their coming
out of Egypt and His deliverance by the strength of His hand (13:3-4).
b This sign of unleavened bread was to be backed up in the future by the
annual keeping of the feast of unleavened bread in which their sons were to be
taught the significance of the feast (13:5-10).
a The sign of the offering of the firstborn was to be backed up by the continual
offering of all firstborn to Yahweh through which their sons were to be taught the
significance of the Passover (13:11-15).
Thus ‘a’ is expanded in its parallel, and ‘b’ the same.
As we consider this chapter we must remember the situation in mind. Israel have
just experienced the amazing deliverance of the first Passover. That terrible night
has passed and their firstborn alone have been spared of all the firstborn in Egypt.
They have now begun their journey with grateful hearts in the midst of ‘the feast of
unleavened bread’, looking with gratitude at the fact that their firstborn had been
spared. Thus they are now given brief instruction on how they are to respond to this
situation. Even in the midst of their flight they must not forget their present
responsibility towards Yahweh. This is now dealt with in Exodus 13:1-4. The
principles are then expanded on in order to tell them how they must similarly
behave once they have reached the land God has promised them, so as to be
continually reminded of it.

With regard to this second point it may be thought that the instructions were
somewhat premature, for we think in terms of a delay of forty years. But we must
consider that God wanted them right from the start to recognise that they must
perpetually remember their life changing experience.
And we must remember that they were at this stage on the point of leaving Egypt
for a journey which could, at least theoretically, have brought them to Canaan
within a moon period, depending on how long they spent at their sacrificial feast in
the wilderness and how speedily they moved on. For Canaan was theoretically only
eleven days journey from Sinai (Deuteronomy 1:2).
So it was quite reasonable that at this stage Moses should encourage the people by
indicating both what they should do immediately, the moment that they had the
opportunity, and then what they must continue to do on arrival in the land as an
indication of their dedication to Yahweh and of their gratitude for their deliverance,
connecting it with their current situation. It would be a confirmation to them that
their future was assured.
Moses would not, of course, at this point be aware of all that lay before them, nor of
the problems and delays that lay ahead. He had himself after all arrived in Egypt
from Midian fairly quickly, and he would not learn until later the very great
difference there was between that and travelling when accompanied by a huge body
of men, women and children with all their household possessions. Thus his view was
probably that ‘it will not be long’.
The chapter in English divides into five sections, the initial command concerning
what they must now do with regards to their firstborn as a result of the Passover
deliverance that had just taken place (Exodus 13:1-2), instructions concerning the
feast of unleavened bread that was now in process (Exodus 13:3-4), instruction as to
how it was to be kept in better times (Exodus 13:5-10), the detailed law of the
firstborn as it was to apply in the future (Exodus 13:11-16), and the initial first
details of their journey (Exodus 13:17-22).
Yahweh Leads His People Out Of Egypt In Triumph (Exodus 13:17 to Exodus
14:31).
The acknowledgement of Yahweh’s initial deliverance having been dealt with the
narrative now moves on to the escape from Egypt. There is again a clear chiastic
pattern:
a Yahweh leads His people out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17-19).
b The pillar of cloud and fire accompanies them (Exodus 13:20-22).
c Yahweh tells Moses that Pharaoh will think that they are at his mercy and
declares that He will get Himself honour over Pharaoh (Exodus 14:1-4).
d The Egyptians say, ‘Why have we let Israel go from slaving for us?’ (Exodus
14:5).
e Pharaoh makes ready his chariot forces and takes them forward (Exodus

14:6-7).
f Pharaoh pursues the children of Israel (Exodus 14:8).
f The Egyptians pursue the children of Israel and get them in their sights
(Exodus 14:9).
e The children of Israel lift up their eyes and see the forces of Pharaoh (Exodus
14:10).
d Israel cry out with a willingness to slave for the Egyptians (Exodus 14:11-12).
c Pharaoh will be proved wrong, the salvation of Yahweh will be revealed, the
Egyptians will be seen no more and Yahweh will get Himself honour over Pharaoh
and his forces (Exodus 14:13-18).
b The pillar of cloud and fire stands between Israel and Pharaoh as a
protection against the Egyptians while Moses opens the sea before them (Exodus
14:19-22).
a Yahweh leads Israel triumphantly out of Egypt and the forces of Pharaoh
are destroyed (Exodus 14:23-31).
The parallels are clear and powerful. In ‘a’ Yahweh leads His people out of Egypt
and in the parallel we have the vivid description of how He finally did it. In ‘b’ He
accompanies them with the pillar of cloud and fire and in the parallel it protects
them from the Egyptians. In ‘c’ Yahweh says that He will get Himself honour over
Pharaoh and in the parallel He does so. In ‘d’ the Egyptians bemoan losing their
slaves, and in the parallel the slaves in fear indicate their willingness to return, a
deliberate contrast with the triumph of the whole passage, confirming that the
deliverance was in no way due to faltering Israel. In ‘e’ Pharaoh makes ready his
chariot forces and takes them forward, and in the parallel Israel see them coming.
In ‘f’ the pursuit begins and in the parallel Pharaoh gets Israel in his sights.
Consecration of the Firstborn
1 The Lord said to Moses,
CLARKE, "The Lord spake unto Moses - The commands in this chapter appear
to have been given at Succoth, on the same day in which they left Egypt.
GILL, "And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... When he and the Israelites were at
Succoth:
saying; as follows.

HE RY, "Care is here taken to perpetuate the remembrance,
I. Of the preservation of Israel's firstborn, when the firstborn of the Egyptians were
slain. In memory of that distinguishing favour, and in gratitude for it, the firstborn, in all
ages, were to be consecrated to God, as his peculiars (Exo_13:2), and to be redeemed,
Exo_13:13. God, who by the right of creation is proprietor and sovereign of all the
creatures, here lays claim in particular to the firstborn of the Israelites, by right of
protection: Sanctify to me all the firstborn. The parents were not to look upon
themselves as interested in their firstborn, till they had first solemnly presented them to
God, recognized his title to them, and received them back, at a certain rate, from him
again. Note, 1. That which is by special distinguishing mercy spared to us should be in a
peculiar manner dedicated to God's honour; at least some grateful acknowledgment, in
works of piety and charity, should be made, when our lives, or the lives of our children,
have been given us for a prey. 2. God, who is the first and best, should have the first and
best, and to him we should resign that which is most dear to us, and most valuable. The
firstborn were the joy and hope of their families. Therefore they shall be mine, says God.
By this is will appear that we love God best (as we ought) if we are willing to part with
that to him which we love best in this world. 3. It is the church of the firstborn that is
sanctified to God, Heb_12:23. Christ it the firstborn among many brethren (Rom_
8:29), and, by virtue of their union with him, all that are born again, and born from
above, are accounted as firstborn. There is an excellency of dignity and power belonging
to them; and, if children, then heirs.
K&D, "Sanctification of the first-born, and Promulgation of the Law for the Feast of
Mazzoth. - Exo_13:1, Exo_13:2. The sanctification of the first-born was closely
connected with the Passover. By this the deliverance of the Israelitish first-born was
effected, and the object of this deliverance was their sanctification. Because Jehovah had
delivered the first-born of Israel, they were to be sanctified to Him. If the Israelites
completed their communion with Jehovah in the Passover, and celebrated the
commencement of their divine standing in the feast of unleavened bread, they gave
uninterrupted effect to their divine sonship in the sanctification of the first-born. For
this reason, probably, the sanctification of the first-born was commanded by Jehovah at
Succoth, immediately after the exodus, and contemporaneously with the institution of
the seven days' feast of Mazzoth (cf. Exo_2:15), so that the place assigned it in the
historical record is the correct one; whereas the divine appointment of the feast of
Mazzoth had been mentioned before (Exo_12:15.), and the communication of that
appointment to the people was all that remained to be mentioned here.
PETT, "Verses 1-10
Exodus 13 Regulations Concerning the Firstborn and Unleavened Bread. The First
Details of Their Journey
The instruction that follows covers what Israel’s immediate response was to be to
what had happened on Passover night . They were to ‘sanctify the firstborn’ which
had been spared, and to ‘continue to eat unleavened bread’ until the seven day feast
was over. It then covers how both were to be commemorated in the future.
The command are not given haphazardly. They appear to be so to us because we are
not used to the chiastic pattern. ote the careful chiastic pattern in the first part of

the chapter.
(Exodus 13:2).
out of Egypt and His deliverance by the strength of His hand (Exodus 13:3-4).
taught the significance of the feast (Exodus 13:5-10).
significance of the Passover (Exodus 13:11-15).
Thus ‘a’ is expanded in its parallel, and ‘b’ the same.
As we consider this chapter we must remember the situation in mind. Israel have
just experienced the amazing deliverance of the first Passover. That terrible night
has passed and their firstborn alone have been spared of all the firstborn in Egypt.
They have now begun their journey with grateful hearts in the midst of ‘the feast of
unleavened bread’, looking with gratitude at the fact that their firstborn had been
spared. Thus they are now given brief instruction on how they are to respond to this
situation. Even in the midst of their flight they must not forget their present
responsibility towards Yahweh. This is now dealt with in Exodus 13:1-4. The
principles are then expanded on in order to tell them how they must similarly
behave once they have reached the land God has promised them, so as to be
continually reminded of it.
With regard to this second point it may be thought that the instructions were
somewhat premature, for we think in terms of a delay of forty years. But we must
consider that God wanted them right from the start to recognise that they must
perpetually remember their life changing experience.
And we must remember that they were at this stage on the point of leaving Egypt
for a journey which could, at least theoretically, have brought them to Canaan
within a moon period, depending on how long they spent at their sacrificial feast in
the wilderness and how speedily they moved on. For Canaan was theoretically only
eleven days journey from Sinai (Deuteronomy 1:2).
So it was quite reasonable that at this stage Moses should encourage the people by
indicating both what they should do immediately, the moment that they had the
opportunity, and then what they must continue to do on arrival in the land as an
indication of their dedication to Yahweh and of their gratitude for their deliverance,
connecting it with their current situation. It would be a confirmation to them that
their future was assured.
Moses would not, of course, at this point be aware of all that lay before them, nor of
the problems and delays that lay ahead. He had himself after all arrived in Egypt

from Midian fairly quickly, and he would not learn until later the very great
difference there was between that and travelling when accompanied by a huge body
of men, women and children with all their household possessions. Thus his view was
probably that ‘it will not be long’.
The chapter in English divides into five sections, the initial command concerning
what they must now do with regards to their firstborn as a result of the Passover
deliverance that had just taken place (Exodus 13:1-2), instructions concerning the
feast of unleavened bread that was now in process (Exodus 13:3-4), instruction as to
how it was to be kept in better times (Exodus 13:5-10), the detailed law of the
firstborn as it was to apply in the future (Exodus 13:11-16), and the initial first
details of their journey (Exodus 13:17-22).
Yahweh Lays Claim to the Firstborn of Israel (Exodus 13:1).
The firstborn of the children of Israel had been spared by Yahweh, but now we
learn that a price has to be paid. They have, as it were, to be ‘bought back’. This is
because Yahweh had sanctified them to Himself by their deliverance ( umbers
3:13) and as a result had delivered them from His judgment and they had therefore
become ‘holy’, set apart as uniquely His, to be devoted to Him, along with the
firstborn of domestic animals. And the only way that this could be accomplished
was by death or redemption through the death of a substitute and representative.
So in order that they may once more enter into the mundane world the firstborn
sons had to redeemed by a substitutionary death, probably here by offering a lamb
in their place, after which they would still be available to serve in the Tent of
Meeting and later the Tabernacle. For the firstborn of clean domestic animals,
however, there was no alternative. They had to be offered in death. Unclean
domestic beasts had also to be redeemed by the provision of a substitute or else had
to have their necks broken.
It should be noted that the firstborn represents the whole, for they were potential
heads of their families. As such they would serve in the Tent of Meeting as
representing the whole of Israel. Thus the whole of Israel were seen as involved in
this sanctification (Exodus 19:5-6).
The Sanctifying of the Firstborns and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:1-
10)
The passage that follows is revealed to be a unity by the chiastic pattern:
(Exodus 13:2).
out of Egypt and His deliverance by the strength of His hand (Exodus 13:3-4).

taught the significance of the feast (Exodus 13:5-10).
significance of the Passover (Exodus 13:11-15).
In ‘a’ the command is given to sanctify the firstborn and in the parallel instructions
are given concerning its future observance. In ‘b’ the command is given concerning
not eating leavened bread at this time, and in the parallel instructions are given
concerning its future observance.
Exodus 13:1-2
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to me all the firstborn. Whatever
opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast, it is mine.”
So the command is now given, as a result of the deliverance of the firstborn that has
just occurred, to ‘sanctify’ them, that is, to offer them to Yahweh, to set them apart
as holy to Him. Yahweh has ‘sanctified them’ (set them apart as holy) to Himself
and now His people must make that sanctification effective. Each firstborn of both
man and beast that had been delivered was thus to be seen as ‘holy’ to Yahweh.
They were to be seen as especially Yahweh’s because as a result of His actions He
had spared them from judgment. In this context the firstborn beasts which had been
spared were now to be set aside and offered as a sacrifice to Yahweh because they
were holy to Him, with those that were unfit for sacrifice being redeemed or killed,
while the firstborn sons were to be bought back by substituting a lamb (Exodus
13:13-15). This was then to be a principle that would continue on into the future.
This sanctification of the firstborn had put the whole of Israel under obligation.
From Passover onwards (and in each Passover celebration thereafter) Israel were
Yahweh’s as never before. They had been declared to be His firstborn son (Exodus
4:22) and as such had been redeemed, now they were His redeemed people.
We are not told at what point in their opening journey this initial ‘sanctification’ of
the firstborn was to be carried out, but the instruction is recorded here so as vividly
and directly to connect it with the Passover that had just taken place. Vividly aware
that their firstborn had been spared, it was intended to bring home to them just
what had happened, and what their reaction must immediately be. It was
presumably to be carried out at the first point at which they felt that they were safe
to do so. That may have been on arrival at Sinai which was the place at which they
were to ‘serve Yahweh’ (Exodus 3:12).
The decision was not just arbitrary. The point behind it was that Israel were now
Yahweh’s people in a way that they had not even been before (compare Exodus
19:5-6), and their firstborn especially so. The firstborn were the heart of the nation,
which was why they were to serve in the Tent of Meeting (until replaced by the
Levites later). Instead of losing them by judgment, as the Egyptians had done, Israel
would be offering them as a symbol of joy, gratitude and dedication to their
covenant God, in loving worship.

ote that it is assumed that ‘males’ will be understood, (it does in fact later in the
verse say ‘man’). The ancients were to some extent all chauvinistic and just assumed
it. Compare Exodus 13:12 where ‘all that opens the womb’ is specifically qualified
by ‘the males’. In umbers 3:12 it speaks of ‘all the firstborn who open the womb’
and again ‘man’ and beast are mentioned. That it means males comes out in that it
is compared with ‘all the firstborn in the land of Egypt’ which also meant males.
umbers 3:43 confirms that this means firstborn males. Females who opened the
womb did not need to be redeemed. These firstborn were probably determined on
the strict basis mentioned earlier, the firstborns of the first wife only.
We have in this fact of the ‘sanctification’ of the firstborn a reminder that all Israel
were intended to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). God had delivered them
because He had a purpose for them, that by being His servants to the nations they
might bring the nations under His sway. They were not to live to themselves, but to
Him Who had called and chosen them.
Moses Informs the People What God Had Ordained About The Feast of Unleavened
Bread Previously Described In Exodus 12:15-20 (Exodus 13:2-10).
Here we have a chiasmus within a chiasmus.
a They were to remember this time in which they came out of Egypt (Exodus
13:3 a).
b The people were to remember that they were delivered by the strength of the
hand of Yahweh (Exodus 13:3 b).
c They were to keep this service in the month of Abib (Exodus 13:4-5).
d They were to eat unleavened bread for seven days with the seventh day a
special feast (Exodus 13:6).
d They were to eat unleavened bread for seven days throughout their tents
(Exodus 13:7).
c The keeping of this service was to be explained to their sons (Exodus 13:8).
b It was to be a memorial that Yahweh had delivered them with a strong hand
(Exodus 13:9).
a The ordinance was to be kept year by year in its season (Exodus 13:10).
It will be noted that in ‘a’ Yahweh commands that they were to remember this day
in which they came out of Egypt, while in the parallel the ordinance was to be kept
year by year in its season. In ‘b’ The people were to ‘remember’ that they were
delivered by the strength of the hand of Yahweh, while in the parallel it was to be a
memorial of His deliverance of them by a strong hand. In ‘c’ the ‘service’ was to be
kept in the month of Abib, whereas in the parallel the ‘service’ was to be explained
to their sons. In ‘d’ they were to eat unleavened bread for seven days, with the
seventh day a special feast and in the parallel they were to eat unleavened bread
throughout their tents.
COFFMA , "Verse 1-2

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the first-born,
whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of
beast: it is mine."
There were three great memorials of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian
bondage, namely: (1) The Passover; (2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread; and (3) the
Sanctification of the First-born. Each of these was uniquely associated with the
event of the deliverance and is incapable of being intelligently associated with
anything else. The Passover stressed God's PASSI G OVER the houses of the
Israelites on that fatal night; the Unleavened Bread recalled the HASTE OF THEIR
DEPARTURE and the unavailability of any leaven during those stressful days; the
Sanctification of the First-born was a PERPETUAL REMI DER that only the first-
born were slain. This triple memorial, continuously observed throughout historic
times establishes without question the historicity of the tremendous event
memorialized.
These memorials also did something else. They established an unending chain of
teaching and instruction designed to keep God's people informed throughout all
subsequent ages with reference to the events memorialized and their significance to
the children of Israel, and unto all people.
Apparently, the reason for the third of these memorials being mentioned in these
two verses ahead of the second (the unleavened bread) was that of firmly identifying
the third as connected and unified with the other two.
As to when the instructions in the chapter were given, "They were probably given to
Moses on the very day of the setting forth and, most likely, at Succoth."[1]
This setting apart of the first-born was not designed to separate a priesthood, or
anything like that, but was actually a representative thing signifying that "all
Israel" was holy unto the Lord. "Inasmuch as the first birth represented all the
births, the whole nation was to consecrate itself unto Jehovah, and present itself as a
priestly nation in the consecration of the first-born."[2] All Israel were intended to
be priests unto God, as indeed came to be the case during Messiah's times and the
ew Israel of God, which is the church. Although so intended even for the Old
Israel, this situation, due to the weakness and unwillingness of Israel, was altered,
leading to the substitution of the Levitical order of the priesthood for the whole
nation.
The triple memorial of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Consecration of the First-
born was far more than mere symbols or memorials. "They (all three) were to be
vivid visual aids by which the older generation would instruct the younger in the
ways of God."[3] Furthermore, this was designed to continue from generation to
generation throughout the ages (See Exodus 13:8-10).
PULPIT, "SA CTIFICATIO OF THE FIRSTBOR . In connection with the

deliverance from death of the Israelite first-born by the blood of the lamb, and still
further to fix the remembrance of the historical facts in the mind of the nation,
Moses was commissioned to declare all the firstborn of Israel for all future time, and
all the firstborn of their domesticated animals "holy to the Lord." There was,
perhaps, already in the minds of men a feeling that peculiar dignity attached to the
first-born in each family; and this feeling was now strengthened by the assignment
to them of a sacred character. God claimed them, and also the first-born of beasts,
as His own. The clean beasts became his by sacrifice; but the unclean ones could not
he similarly treated, and therefore had to be "redeemed" (Exodus 13:13) by the
sacrifice of clean animals in their place. The first-born of men became at the first
institution of the new ordinance God's ministers; but as this system was not
intended to continue, it was announced that they too would have to be "redeemed"
(Exodus 13:13, Exodus 13:15). The exact mode of redeeming them was left to be
settled afterwards, and will be found in umbers 3:40-51; umbers 18:16.
Exodus 13:1
On the true grammatical nexus of this verse, see note on Exodus 12:51. The
injunctions of Exodus 12:2, and probably those of 3-15—were given to Moses on the
very day of the setting-forth, most likely, at Succoth in the evening.
BI 1-2, "Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn.
The sanctification of the firstborn to the Lord
I. That the good are required to sanctify their firstborn unto the Lord. “All the
firstborn”—that is to say, the most excellent of their possessions, the most valuable, and
that which is viewed with the greatest regard.
1. This sanctification of the firstborn was required by the Divine commandment.
2. This sanctification of the firstborn was a grateful acknowledgment of the Divine
mercy in sparing the firstborn from the midnight destruction. Heaven never asks
more than it gives, or more than is consistent with the gratitude of a devout heart to
bestow.
3. This sanctification of the firstborn was to be associated with the deliverance of the
Israelites from the bondage of Egypt.
II. That the good, is sanctifying their firstborn unto the Lord, are not called upon to give
up the sole use of their property, but to redeem and to put it to a lawful use. Who would
not desire his firstborn to be the Lord’s?
III. That the good are required to connect the sanctification of their firstborn with
sacrifice. “And all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem” (Exo_
13:14). This redemption was to be by sacrifice. Parents need reminding of this duty.
1. Because they are liable to forget the service which past mercy requires of them.
2. Because they are apt to be selfish in the use of their property.
3. Because they are not sufficiently spiritually minded to see God in their property,
and therefore forget His claims.

4. Because they do not like to pay the redemption price.
IV. That the good are to teach the right of God to the firstborn, to their posterity (Exo_
13:14-15). Children are very inquisitive. They will ask questions, even about religious
matters. At such times they should be carefully and solemnly instructed in Divine truth.
The family is the best school for the young. They should early be taught the meaning of
self-sacrifice, and the moral grandeur of giving to the Lord. Even the young have their
firstborn, which they can be taught to give to the Lord; and if they grow up in the spirit
of this obligation they will in after days, impart to it a truer meaning, and give to it a
more solemn influence than before they were capable of. Lessons:
1. That the good must sanctify their best things to the Lord.
2. That this can only be done by the redemption of the Cross.
3. That the young must be early taught their obligation to the Lord. (J. S. Exell, M.
A.)
Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn
1. A command.
2. A duty.
3. A privilege.
4. A benediction.
5. A prophecy. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The man-tithe
I. Observe the first rule: “Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn of man.” As the redemption
of the firstborn of the more valuable animals was graciously commuted by the sacrifice
of less valuable ones, so there was a commutation for the firstborn of man; not indeed by
inferior substitutes as in the former case, but by his fellowman—by the institution of a
priesthood, “sanctifying,” or setting apart, the whole tribe of Levi in place of the
firstborn of all Israel. But as this arrangement had not yet transpired at the period of the
text, the explanation was deferred till then, that in the meanwhile the whole nation
might fully realize the amount and weight of their liability to God; and further, that
when Levi was sanctified, the whole Levitical priesthood—a priesthood of their brethren,
“bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh”—might symbolize the High Priesthood of
the Mediator who “was in all things made like unto His brethren,” that He too “might
also make intercession for the sins of the people.” This lies at the root of the Levitical
principle, the layagency in the church of God. Admirable is the advice of Jethro to his
son-in-law, and incidentally it bears upon this subject. “This thing,” that is, the whole
burthen of the work, “is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone .
. . Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth,
hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of
hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.” Thus the work of religion, benevolence,
and rule was divided, subdivided, and redivided still, from considerable districts down to
classes of tens, as we should desire to see the work of God among ourselves distributed
among our lay deacons and elders, district visitors, collectors and Sabbath-school

teachers, who in their respective ministries should act on the suggestion of Jethro, “The
hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.”
II. Secondly, the text presents the rule of consecrated wealth—“Sanctify unto Me all the
firstborn of beasts.” On this point there is some difficulty. “All the firstborn of cattle”
were given to the Lord by sacrifice; and yet in the forty-fifth verse of the third chapter of
Numbers the whole of the cattle of the Levites were considered as a substitute for the
firstlings of the general cattle, just as all the men of the Levites were accepted as the
substitute for all the firstborn of men from the rest of the tribes. Possibly the cattle
firstlings were redeemed, as the excess of human firstborn over the number of the
firstborn of the Levites were, by the half-shekel atonement for each, which was payable
at the census or periodical numbering of the people. It is probable that David’s omission
of this payment was the sin which incurred God’s heavy displeasure in that unseasonable
numbering of the people, which, in omitting the soul-tax for atonement, seemed
numbered for David himself, and not for God. Be this as it may, the Lord claimed all the
firstborn of their beasts, which were the staple property in the ruder forms of society.
III. The text presents its demand for consecrated time. We need not dwell upon the
Sabbath, or the Divine claim upon the sevenths of our time. Assuming we are all agreed
that this, the minimum of God’s requirement, is due from every man, we may deplore
the manner in which, for the most part, even this holy debt is discharged. The abuse of
the Sabbath and insubordination to its constantly recurring, bounden, and emphatic
law, lies at the root of the national irreligion. There is a significancy in the proportion of
the Divine demand of only a tenth of all other things, but a seventh of our time. (J. B.
Owen, M. A.)
The Divine right to the best things of man
“It is Mine.” This is the language of God in reference to each one of us. It is Mine.
I. Because I created it.
II. Because I preserved it.
III. Because I endowed it with everything that makes it valuable. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The first born, types of Christ
I. As they were God’s peculiar.
1. By common nature,
2. By common grace.
3. By a special right.
(1) In His nature, Christ is Firstborn, as Son of God.
(2) In His office, by special prerogative.
(a) For the kind, in that He was Mediator, God and Man in unity of person,
and the only Redeemer of His Church.
(b) For undertaking of His office.
(c) For the accomplishing His office, in His resurrection. He is called the

First-begotten, or Firstborn of the dead, two ways:
(i) In respect of His Father, who first begot Him from the dead;
(ii)
In regard of Himself, whose privilege it was to raise up Himself from the dead by His
own power.
II. The firstborn of Israel was the second, and next to the father of the family, yea, after
the father instead of the father. So is Christ to His family, the Church; He performs all
offices of a careful and tender father, and” takes on Him, not the affection only of a
father, but even—
1. The name of a father (Isa_9:6).
2. The office of a father.
(1) He supplies the means of spiritual life, as they of natural.
(2) He nurtures and teacheth His Church.
(3) He provides for the present, and bestows the inheritance of eternal life.
III. The firstborn had the pre-eminence among the brethren, and were chief in office
and authority, rulers in the house after their fathers, and priests in the family, before the
Levitical order was established. Herein they were special types of Jesus Christ; who in all
things must have the pre-eminence, as first in time, in order, in precedency, and in the
excellency and dignity of His person.
IV. The firstborn had a double portion in goods (Deu_21:17). Signifying—
1. The plenitude of the spirit and grace in Christ, who was anointed with oil of
gladness above His fellows.
2. The pre-eminency of Christ in His glorious inheritance, advanced in glory and
majesty incomprehensible by all creatures. Use—
(1) Out of the occasion of the law of the firstborn, learn that the more God doth
for any man, the more he ought to conceive himself to be the Lord’s, and the
more right and interest the Lord challengeth in him.
(2) If Christ be the true firstborn, of whom all they are but types, we must give
Him the honour of His birthright.
(3) Here is a ground of much consolation.
(a) In that Christ being the truth of the firstborn, from Him the birthright is
derived unto us believers, as it was from Reuben unto Judah, and we partake
of the same birthright with our head. For here is a difference between the
type and truth of the firstborn. They had all their privileges for themselves:
but Christ not for Himself but for us.
(b) Being God’s firstborn throughout, we are dear unto God.
(c) God takes notice, and avenges all wrongs done to the saints, because they
are His firstborn.
(4) Seeing in Christ the firstborn we attain the birthright; let every Christian
beware of profaneness, and passing away his birthright as Esau, who sold his
birthright for pottage (Heb_12:16).

(5) Learn to grow in conformity with our Elder Brother Christ, with whom we
cannot be equal, but like as brothers. We must be like Him in affection, like Him
in affliction, like Him in the combat, and like Him in the crown. (T. Taylor, D.
D.)
Consecrated to the Lord
When Bishop Selwyn spoke to Sir John Patteson, then a widower, of the desire of his
splendidly gifted son, Coleridge, to join him in the New Zealand Mission, the father’s
first exclamation was: “I cannot let him go!” but he immediately added, “God forbid I
should stop him!” And he closed the conversation by saying: “Mind, I give him wholly,
not with any thought of seeing him again. I will not have him thinking he must come
home to see me.”
A consecrated child
A young man was about to enter the foreign missionary work. A gentleman said to the
young man’s father, “It’s hard to give up the boy.” “Yes,” replied the father, “but it’s just
what we’ve been expecting.” “How so?” inquired the friend. “When he was a little baby,”
answered the father, “his mother and I went to a missionary meeting. An appeal, most
earnest and touching, was made for men to become missionaries. We ourselves could
not go. When we returned home the baby lay asleep in his crib. We went to the crib. His
mother stood on one side, I on the other. We together laid our hands on his forehead,
and prayed that it might be God’s will for him to become a foreign missionary. We never
spoke to him of what we did. But all through these twenty-five years we have believed
that our prayer about him would be answered, and answered it now is. Yes, it is hard to
give up the boy, but it’s what we’ve been expecting.”
2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The
first offspring of every womb among the Israelites
belongs to me, whether human or animal.”
BAR ES, "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.

CLARKE, "Sanctify unto me all the first-born - To sanctify, ‫קדש‬ kadash,
signifies to consecrate, separate, and set apart a thing or person from all secular
purposes to some religious use; and exactly answers to the import of the Greek ᅋγιαζω,
from a, privative, and γη, the earth, because every thing offered or consecrated to God
was separated from all earthly uses. Hence a holy person or saint is termed ᅋγιος, i.e., a
person separated from the earth; one who lives a holy life, entirely devoted to the service
of God. Thus the persons and animals sanctified to God were employed in the service of
the tabernacle and temple; and the animals, such as were proper, were offered in
sacrifice.
The Hindoos frequently make a vow, and devote to an idol the first-born of a goat and
of a man. The goat is permitted to run wild, as a consecrated animal. A child thus
devoted has a lock of hair separated, which at the time appointed is cut off and placed
near the idol. Hindoo women sometimes pray to Gunga (the Ganges) for children, and
promise to devote the first-born to her. Children thus devoted are cast into the Ganges,
but are generally saved by the friendly hand of some stranger - Ward’s Customs.
Whatsoever openeth the womb - That is, the first-born, if a male; for females
were not offered, nor the first male, if a female had been born previously. Again, if a man
had several wives, the first-born of each, if a male, was to be offered to God. And all this
was done to commemorate the preservation of the first-born of the Israelites, when
those of the Egyptians were destroyed.
GILL, "Sanctify unto me all the firstborn,.... That is, of males, as the Targum of
Jonathan adds, for those, and not females, were only either sacrificed or redeemed, see
Exo_13:12, and this sanctification of them to the Lord signifies the separation or
devoting of them to the service of God; if the firstborn of clean creatures they were to be
sacrificed, if unclean to be redeemed with a price, and so the firstborn of men, because it
was not lawful to sacrifice them; and the money for the redemption of them was given to
the priests, the ministers of the Lord, and so to him; who these first, born were is further
explained:
whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man
and of beast; that is, if a male; for, if a female, though it openeth the womb, was not
reckoned a firstborn, because not to be offered; nor even a male after the birth of a
female, because that openeth not the womb; and so if a man married a widow, and she
had had children by her former husband, though she should bring him a son, which was
his firstborn, yet not being her's, and not opening the womb, was not subject to this law;
but if a man married several wives one after another, or together, who had never been
married before, or had had no children; if each of them brought him a son at first birth,
they were all of them firstborn, and to be sanctified to the Lord; but the Jews say (u), if a
woman at her first birth brought forth a male and a female, the father was free from this
law of the redemption of the firstborn, because the female might come forth first: this
phrase, "among the children of Israel", shows that this law only belonged to them, and
not to the Gentiles; wherefore the Jewish doctors say (w), if a man buys cattle of an
Heathen, and sells to him, or is in partnership with him, and gives and takes of him, he
is free from the law of the firstborn; for it is said "among the Israelites", and not among
others:

it is mine: all creatures, man and beast, are the Lord's by creation; but these firstborn
were his in a peculiar manner, and which he reserved to himself, to his own use and
service; and the people of Israel were under great obligation to devote them to him, since
he had spared all their firstborn, when all the firstborn of the Egyptians, both man and
beast, were destroyed: this may denote the special and peculiar interest the Lord has in
the general assembly and church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven,
through the special, particular, and eternal choice of them in Christ, and the redemption
of them to him by the price of his blood; and who, on account both of their election of
God, and redemption by Christ, are laid under obligation to give up themselves to God, a
holy, living, and acceptable sacrifice, which is but their reasonable service.
JAMISO , "Sanctify unto me all the first-born — To “sanctify” means to
“consecrate,” to “set apart” from a common to a sacred use. The foundation of this duty
rested on the fact that the Israelites, having had their first-born preserved by a
distinguishing act of grace from the general destruction that overtook the families of the
Egyptians, were bound in token of gratitude to consider them as the Lord’s peculiar
property (compare Heb_12:23).
K&D, "Exo_13:2
Every first-born of man and beast was to be sanctified to Jehovah, i.e., given up to
Him for His service. As the expression, “all the first-born,” applied to both man and
beast, the explanation is added, “everything that opens the womb among the Israelites,
of man and beast.” ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ח‬ ֶ‫ל־ר‬ ָⅴ ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ט‬ ֶ for ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ח‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ‫ת‬ ֶ‫ט‬ ֶ ‫ל־‬ ָⅴ (Exo_13:12): ‫ּל‬ⅴ is placed like an adjective
after the noun, as in Num_8:16, ‫ּל‬ⅴ ‫ּור‬‫כ‬ ְ for ‫ּל‬ⅴ‫ּור־‬‫כ‬ ְ , διανοሏγον πᇰσαν µήτραν for πᇰν
διανοሏγον µήτραν (Exo_13:12, lxx). ‫הוּא‬ ‫י‬ ִ‫:ל‬ “it is Mine,” it belongs to Me. This right to the
first-born was not founded upon the fact, that “Jehovah was the Lord and Creator of all
things, and as every created object owed its life to Him, to Him should its life be entirely
devoted,” as Kurtz maintains, though without scriptural proof; but in Num_3:13 and
Num_8:17 the ground of the claim is expressly mentioned, viz., that on the day when
Jehovah smote all the first-born of Egypt, He sanctified to Himself all the first-born of
the Israelites, both of man and beast. Hence the sanctification of the first-born rested
not upon the deliverance of the first-born sons from the stroke of the destroyer through
the atoning blood of the paschal lamb, but upon the fact that God sanctified them for
Himself at that time, and therefore delivered them. But Jehovah sanctified the first-born
of Israel to Himself by adopting Israel as His first-born son (Exo_4:22), or as His
possession. Because Israel had been chosen as the nation of Jehovah, its first-born of
man and beast were spared, and for that reason they were henceforth to be sanctified to
Jehovah. In what way, is more clearly defined in Num_8:12.
CALVI , "2.Sanctify unto me all the first-born. This also refers to the First
Commandment, because God asserts His right over the first-born, lest the
recollection of their redemption should ever be lost. For thus were the Israelites
admonished that they must honor that God by whose grace they had escaped in
safety from the common destruction of Egypt, and, moreover, that they were
rescued by His special blessing, in order that they should consecrate themselves to
God their Deliverer. For the offering which He here requires, was a mark of
separation between them and the heathen nations. (328) The first-born is called the

opening of the womb, because it is the beginning of generation. The expression,
“among the children of Israel,” when he is speaking of brutes, as well as of their
own offspring and children, is meant to distinguish the wild beasts from the tame
and domestic animals. But although He commands only the first-born of the race of
Abraham to be offered to Him, still this must undoubtedly be extended to the
sanctification of the whole people; for whilst He says, that the first-born were His,
because they especially owed their preservation to His mercy, yet for the same
reason he signifies that all were His own.
BE SO , "Exodus 13:2. Sanctify — That is, command all the people to sanctify;
unto me — To my use and service, in a manner I shall hereafter explain; all the
firstborn — That are males, as the command is limited, Exodus 13:12; whatsoever
openeth the womb — That is, every child which is the firstborn of his mother: so
that if a man had many wives, either together or successively, his first child by every
one of these was a firstborn, and, if a male, was claimed by the Lord. But if a female
came first, and afterward a male, that male was not devoted to God, because it was
not the firstborn. Hence the parents were not to look upon themselves as having an
interest in their firstborn, if males, till they had first solemnly presented them to
God, and received them back from him again. It is mine — By special right and title,
as being by singular favour preserved from the common destruction. The firstborn
of man, if males, were claimed for the sacred ministrations of the priestly office. But
after the Jewish commonwealth was formed, the Levites were chosen to officiate in
their stead, umbers 3:12; and the firstborn were to be redeemed at a certain rate,
which was part of the priest’s maintenance, umbers 18:15-16. And of beast —
Which was to be offered to God, if a male: only an ass was to be redeemed.
ELLICOTT, "SA CTIFICATIO OF THE FIRSTBOR , A D LAW OF
REDEMPTIO .
(2) Sanctify unto me all the firstborn.—It was a reasonable demand that the existing
firstborn of Israel, spared by God when the Egyptian firstborn were destroyed,
should be regarded thenceforth as His, and set apart for His service. The extension
of the demand to existing beasts was also reasonable, since they too had been
spared. God’s further requirement, that henceforth all the future firstborn should
also be His, was intended to perpetuate the memory of the recent deliverance, and to
help to fix it in the mind of the nation. The substitution of a redemption in the case
of unclean beasts was necessitated by the circumstances of the case, since they could
not be sacrificed; and the redemption of the firstborn sons naturally followed when
the Levitical priesthood was established, and their services were no longer
necessary. (See umbers 3:40-51; umbers 18:16.) The Jews still observe the
ordinance, so far as the children are concerned, and redeem the son which has
“opened the womb” on the thirtieth day after the birth.
COKE, "Exodus 13:2. Sanctify unto me all the first-born— The Lord not only
appointed an annual festival commemorative of his redemption of Israel, and
ordained a weekly remembrance of it, Deuteronomy 5:15 but also commanded all

the first-born of the males (Exodus 13:12 and umbers 3:40.) to be sanctified; that
is, (as the word ‫קדשׁ‬ cadesh always signifies,) to be separated, or set apart, from
common and ordinary to higher and sacred uses. In this command, the reference to
God's preservation of the first-born of Israel, when he destroyed the first-born of
Egypt, is evident; see Exodus 13:15. The firstborn of man was to be dedicated to the
Lord, set apart to the sacred ministrations of the priestly office. But it appears from
umbers 3:12 that the Levites were afterwards chosen instead of the first-born, who
were to be redeemed at a certain rate, which was applied to the maintenance of the
priests, umbers 18:15-16. By this separation of the first-born is signified to us, that
God's people, who are the congregation of the first-born, (ch. Exodus 4:22. Hebrews
12:23.) and are redeemed from death by the blood of Christ, should devote
themselves as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is their reasonable
service. Romans 12:1.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "THE LAW OF THE FIRSTBOR .
Exodus 13:1-22.
Much that was said in the twelfth chapter is repeated in the thirteenth. And this
repetition is clearly due to a formal rehearsal, made when all "their hosts" had
mustered in Succoth after their first march; for Moses says, "Remember this day, in
which ye came out" (Exodus 13:3). Already it had been spoken of as a day much to
be remembered, and for its perpetuation the ordinance of the Passover had been
founded.
But now this charge is given as a fit prologue for the remarkable institution which
follows--the consecration to God of all unblemished males who are the firstborn of
their mothers--for such is the full statement of what is claimed.
In speaking to Moses the Lord says, "Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn ... it is
Mine." But Moses addressing the people advances gradually, and almost
diplomatically. First he reminds them of their deliverance, and in so doing he
employs a phrase which could only have been used at the exact stage when they
were emancipated and yet upon Egyptian soil: "By strength of hand the Lord
brought you out from this place" (Exodus 13:3). Then he charges them not to forget
their rescue, in the dangerous time of their prosperity, when the Lord shall have
brought them into the land which He swore to give them; and he repeats the
ordinance of unleavened bread. And it is only then that he proceeds to announce the
permanent consecration of all their firstborn--the abiding doctrine that these, who
naturally represent the nation, are for its unworthiness forfeited, and yet by the
grace of God redeemed.
God, Who gave all and pardons all, demands a return, not as a tax which is levied
for its own sake, but as a confession of dependence, and like the silk flag presented
to the sovereign, on the anniversaries of the two greatest of English victories, by the
descendants of the conquerors, who hold their estates upon that tenure. The
firstborn, thus dedicated, should have formed a sacred class, a powerful element in

Hebrew life enlisted on the side of God.
For these, as we have already seen, the Levites were afterwards substituted
( umbers 3:44), and there is perhaps some allusion to this change in the direction
that "all the firstborn of man thou shalt redeem" (Exodus 13:13). But yet the
demand is stated too broadly and imperatively to belong to that later modification:
it suits exactly the time to which it is attributed, before the tribe of Levi was
substituted for the firstborn of all.
"They are Mine," said Jehovah, Who needed not, that night, to remind them what
He had wrought the night before. It is for precisely the same reason, that St. Paul
claims all souls for God: "Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price;
therefore glorify God with your bodies and with your spirits, which are God's."
And besides the general claim upon us all, each of us should feel, like the firstborn,
that every special mercy is a call to special gratitude, to more earnest dedication. "I
beseech you, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice"
(Romans 12:1).
There is a tone of exultant confidence in the words of Moses, very interesting and
curious. He and his nation are breathing the free air at last. The deliverance that
has been given makes all the promise that remains secure. As one who feels his
pardon will surely not despair of heaven, so Moses twice over instructs the people
what to do when God shall have kept the oath which He swore, and brought them
into Canaan, into the land flowing with milk and honey. Then they must observe His
passover. Then they must consecrate their firstborn.
And twice over this emancipator and lawgiver, in the first flush of his success,
impresses upon them the homely duty of teaching their households what God had
done for them (Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:14; cf. Exodus 12:26).
This, accordingly, the Psalmist learned, and in his turn transmitted. He heard with
his ears and his fathers told him what God did in their days, in the days of old. And
he told the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and His strength, and His
wondrous works (Psalms 44:1, Psalms 78:4).
But it is absurd to treat these verses, as Kuenen does, as evidence that the story is
mere legend: "transmitted from mouth to mouth, it gradually lost its accuracy and
precision, and adopted all sorts of foreign elements." To prove which, we are
gravely referred to passages like this. (Religion of Israel, i. 22, Eng. Vers.) The duty
of oral instruction is still acknowledged, but this does not prove that the narrative is
still unwritten.
From the emphatic language in which Moses urged this double duty, too much
forgotten still, of remembering and showing forth the goodness of God, sprang the
curious custom of the wearing of phylacteries. But the Jews were not bidden to wear
signs and frontlets: they were bidden to let hallowed memories be unto them in the

place of such charms as they had seen the Egyptians wear, "for a sign unto thee,
upon thine hand, and for a frontlet between thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may
be in thy mouth" (Exodus 13:9). Such language is frequent in the Old Testament,
where mercy and truth should be bound around their necks; their fathers'
commandments should be tied around their necks, bound on their fingers, written
on their hearts; and Sion should clothe herself with her converts as an ornament,
and gird them upon her as a bride doth (Proverbs 3:3, Proverbs 6:21, Proverbs 7:3;
Isaiah 49:18).
But human nature still finds the letter of many a commandment easier than the
spirit, a ceremony than an obedient heart, penance than penitence, ashes on the
forehead than a contrite spirit, and a phylactery than the gratitude and
acknowledgment which ought to be unto us for a sign on the hand and a frontlet
between the eyes.
We have already observed the connection between the thirteenth verse and the
events of the previous night. But there is an interesting touch of nature in the words
"the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb." It was afterwards rightly
perceived that all unclean animals should follow the same rule; but why was only
the ass mentioned? Plainly because those humble journeyers had no other beast of
burden. Horses pursued them presently, but even the Egyptians of that period used
them only in war. The trampled Hebrews would not possess camels. And thus again,
in the tenth commandment, when the stateliest of their cattle is specified, no beast of
burden is named with it but the ass: "Thou shalt not covet ... his ox nor his ass." It
is an undesigned coincidence of real value; a phrase which would never have been
devised by legislators of a later date; a frank and unconscious evidence of the
genuineness of the story.
Some time before this, a new and fierce race, whose name declared them to be
"emigrants," had thrust itself in among the tribes of Canaan--a race which was long
to wage equal war with Israel, and not seldom to see his back turned in battle. They
now held all the south of Palestine, from the brook of Egypt to Ekron (Joshua 15:4,
Joshua 15:47). And if Moses in the flush of his success had pushed on by the straight
and easy route into the promised land, the first shock of combat with them would
have been felt in a few weeks. But "God led them not by the way of the Philistines,
though that was near, for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent them when
they see war, and they return to Egypt" (Exodus 13:17).
From this we learn two lessons. Why did not He, Who presently made strong the
hearts of the Egyptians to plunge into the bed of the sea, make the hearts of His own
people strong to defy the Philistines? The answer is a striking and solemn one.
either God in the Old Testament, nor God manifested in the flesh, is ever recorded
to have wrought any miracle of spiritual advancement or overthrow. Thus the
Egyptians were but confirmed in their own choice: their decision was carried
further. And even Saul of Tarsus was illuminated, not coerced: he might have
disobeyed the heavenly vision. He was not an insincere man suddenly coerced into
earnestness, nor a coward suddenly made brave. In the moral world, adequate

means are always employed for the securing of desired effects. Love, gratitude, the
sense of danger and of grace, are the powers which elevate characters. And persons
who live in sensuality, fraud, or falsehood, hoping to be saved some day by a sort of
miracle of grace, ought to ponder this truth, which may not be the gospel now
fashionable, but is unquestionably the statement of a Scriptural fact: in the moral
sphere, God works by means and not by miracle.
A free life, the desert air, the rejection of the unfit by many visitations, and the
growth of a new generation amid thrilling events, in a soul-stirring region, and
under the pure influences of the law,--these were necessary before Israel could cross
steel with the warlike children of the Philistines; and even then, it was not with them
that he should begin.
The other lesson we learn is the tender fidelity of God, Who will not suffer us to be
tempted above that we are able to bear. He led them aside into the desert, whither
He still in mercy leads very many who think it a heavy judgment to be there.
LA GE, "Exodus 13:1. Sanctify unto me every first-born.—“The sanctification of
the first-born is closely connected with the Passover. The Passover effects (?) the
exemption of the first-born of Israel, and the exemption has as its aim their
sanctification” (Keil). But the thing meant is sanctification in the narrower sense,
the preparation of the sacerdotal order and of the offerings; for the general
sanctification comprised the whole people. Here we have to do with sanctification
for the specific service of Jehovah. It is assumed that the first-born are
representatives and sureties of the whole race, and that therefore, without the
intervention of grace and forbearance, the first-born of Israel also would have been
slain. Accordingly, the phrase: “it is mine,” refers certainly not only to the fact that
Jehovah created the first-born, as Kurtz maintains, but still more to the right of
possession which this gracious favor establishes. Keil denies this. It refers, he says,
according to umbers 3:13; umbers 8:17, to the fact that Jehovah, on the day
when he slew the first-born of Egypt, sanctified the first-born of Israel, and
therefore spared them. An ultra-Calvinistic disposition of things, which seems to
ground the exemption on Jehovah’s caprice. While the sanctification cannot be
dissociated from the exemption, as little can the exemption be dissociated from the
creation. The election of Israel is indeed the prerequisite of the exemption of the
Israelitish first-born; but this exemption again, as an act of grace, is a condition of
the special sanctification of the first-born.
PULPIT, "Sanctify unto me. ot by any positive ceremony, but by regarding it as
"set apart unto the Lord" (Exodus 13:12)—made over to him, that is, as his own. All
the first-born. The Hebrew word used is masculine, and by its proper force limits
the command to the first-born males, who alone had been in danger from the tenth
plague. Whatever openeth the womb. This clause added definiteness, showing that
"first-born" did not contain any reference to any later Birth, and that it applied to
every case where a woman's first child was a male. It is mine. Or, "it shall be mine."
I claim it.

3 Then Moses said to the people, “Commemorate
this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the
land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out
of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing
yeast.
GILL, "And Moses said unto the people,.... 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 frequently attending the ordinance of the Lord's supper, which is instituted to bring
this amazing affair to our remembrance, and which is to be continued for that purpose
unto the second coming of Christ:
there shall no leavened bread be eaten; as they then on this very day had no other
but unleavened bread to eat, so they should eat no other on this day and the six days
following, in successive ages unto the coming of the Messiah.

HE RY, "The remembrance of their coming out of Egypt must also be perpetuated:
“Remember this day, Exo_13:3. Remember it by a good token, as the most remarkable
day of your lives, the birthday of your nation, or the day of its coming of age, to be no
longer under the rod.” Thus 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 (as Moses told the Israelites what day of
the year they were brought out of Egypt, that they might remember it yearly), but very
particularly what day of the week it was, plainly intimating that, as the more valuable
deliverance, and of greater importance, it should be remembered weekly. Remember it,
for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out. Note, The more of God and his power
appears in any deliverance, the more memorable it is. Now, that it might be
remembered,
JAMISO , "Exo_13:3-10. Memorial of the Passover.
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 (Exo_3:19).
There shall no leavened bread, etc. — 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.”
K&D, "Exo_13:3-7
The directions as to the seven days' feast of unleavened bread (Exo_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 Exo_13:3, Egypt is called a “slave-house,”
inasmuch as Israel was employed in slave-labour there, and treated as a slave population
(cf. Exo_20:2; Deu_5:6; Deu_6:12, etc.). ‫ד‬ָ‫י‬ ‫ק‬ֶ‫ּז‬‫ה‬ “strength of hand,” in Exo_13:3, Exo_
13:14, and Exo_13:16, is more emphatic than the more usual ‫ה‬ ָ‫ק‬ָ‫ז‬ ֲ‫ח‬ ‫ד‬ָ‫י‬ (Exo_3:19, etc.). -
On Exo_13:5, see Exo_3:8, and Exo_12:25. In Exo_13:6, the term “feast to Jehovah”
points to the keeping of the seventh day by a holy convocation and the suspension of
work (Exo_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.
CALVI , "3.And Moses said unto the people. He repeats what he had said more at
length in the foregoing chapter, respecting the unleavened bread, not so much to
instruct as to exhort them; for he had already expressed the matter with so much
clearness, that there was no need of further explanation; but it was useful to
stimulate them, that they might devote themselves with greater zeal to their duty,

and especially lest, after a longer lapse of time, their ardor should, as usual,
gradually abate. He therefore exhorts them, that after they cane into the land, they
should diligently observe what he had before commanded. And from the context
here, it is plain that the two commands as to the sanctifying the first-born, and
celebrating the passover, had the same object, viz., that their deliverance should
retain the elect people in the special service of the true God.
PETT, "Exodus 13:3-4
‘And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out of
Egypt, out of the house of bondmen. For by strength of hand Yahweh brought you
out from this place. There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day in the month
of Abib you go out.” ’
Moses then tells the people to remember this day in which they have been freed
from bondage and ceased to be bondmen, and to remember that it was Yahweh
Who by His strong arm has delivered them. This is what the eating of unleavened
cakes, which they are to continue for the next few days, is to remind them of, the
haste with which they have left Egypt, and the reason for that haste, their own
salvation. This emphasis on deliverance from bondage will reoccur again and again.
It was an essential part of the covenant (Exodus 20:2).
“By strength of hand.” The reference is to all the signs and wonders that He has
carried out.
“This day in the month of Abib.” Later the month would be called isan, but this is
the more ancient name for the month. It indicates ‘greenness’ or ‘ripening of corn’.
This was the ancient name in use from the time of the patriarchs, referring to the
time of ripening corn in Canaan. The first bread fully made with newly ripened
corn would then necessarily have been unleavened. It would only be by adding ‘old
dough’ that they could have leavened it, and that would spoil the picture of the
newness of the bread. So unleavened bread may have been connected with this
month from those days and here simply be given a new significance.
ELLICOTT, "(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).
COFFMA , "Verses 3-10
"And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you
out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day ye go forth in
the month of Abib. And it shall be when Jehovah shall bring thee into the land of
the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,
which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey,

that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened
bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast unto Jehovah. Unleavened bread shall
be eaten throughout the seven days; and there shall be no leavened bread. seen with
thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee, in all thy borders. And thou shalt
tell thy son in that day, saying, It is because of that which Jehovah did for me when
I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and
for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of Jehovah may be in thy mouth: for
with a strong hand hath Jehovah brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore
keep this ordinance in its season from year to year."
"And Moses said unto the people ..." o distinction is intended here as regards the
instructions that God gave to the people through Moses, from other instructions
originating solely with Moses. Despite the fact of its not being specifically stated
here that Moses had first received these instructions from God, yet that is certainly
the meaning. The omission of any direct reference in this verse to what God
commanded was due solely to the condensation of the narrative. Rawlinson affirmed
that this was to "avoid unnecessary repetition."[4]
PHYLACTERIES
The entire first sixteen verses of this chapter were divided by the Jews, with Exodus
13:1-10 as a unit and Exodus 13:11-16 as another, the same being two of the four
O.T. texts from which phylacteries were made. The other two were Deuteronomy
6:19 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. Many have described how these passages were
written upon pieces of parchment and made into compact little rolls which were
encased in tiny boxes and worn as "frontlets" between the eyes and fastened to the
left arm above the elbow (closest to the heart), in a literal interpretation of what is
commanded in these places. Esses tells us that these passages (Exodus 13:1-16) were
always the ones worn on the left arm.[5] The Jewish literalization of the command
here at last resulted in some bizarre behavior. The Pharisees of Jesus' time, having a
desire to appear righteous in the eyes of men, enlarged the size of these religious
ornaments and paraded them publicly as an exhibition of their "holiness." "But all
their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and
enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the chief places at feasts, etc."
(Matthew 23:5,6).
It may be doubted that God intended a literal construction of the words here,
because, he stated the purpose as, "that the law of Jehovah may be in thy mouth"
(Exodus 13:9), indicating that it was "in the hearts" of men that he desired his
words to be remembered and honored. Hywel R. Jones thought that the literal
construction of these words arose during "intertestamental times." Of the true
meaning, he said that, "The words are pure metaphor, standing as a further witness
of the essential inwardness of true religion in the O.T."[6]
"In the month of Abib ..." Harford identified this as an old Canaanite name of this
month[7] but it comes from Hebrew roots, and Rawlinson affirms that there is no
need whatever to suppose "a foreign derivation of the word."[8] The real

significance of "Abib" in this passage is that it establishes the author of Exodus as
living long, long before the exile, after which the month was called isan. It is this
truth that the critics wish to get rid of by the allegation that Abib is a FOREIG
term.
ote: Exodus 13:7,8 are mere repetitions of commandments given in Exodus
12:26,27. Repetition is a necessity in the teaching and instruction of men, regardless
of their age, social condition, or historical sequence. Jesus Christ himself constantly
used repetition in his revelation of the Holy Gospel, a fact that denies every
allegation of so-called "doublets" in the sacred Gospels. What the .T. critics call
"doublets" are nothing more than the usual repetition of Jesus on various occasions
of teaching already given, using exactly the same words, or very similar words. It is
further proof of this that the very same procedure is observable here.
LA GE, "Exodus 13:3. Remember this day. “In Exodus 13:3-10, the ordinance
respecting the seven days’ feast of unleavened bread ( Exodus 12:15-20), is made
known by Moses to the people on the day of the exodus at the station Succoth”
(Keil). We have already above (on Exodus 12:8) pointed out the incorrectness of this
view. It is all the more incorrect, if, with Keil and others, we find in the leaven a
symbol of sinfulness. The leaven which the Jews had heretofore had was connected
with the leaven of Egypt, and was thus fitted to serve as a symbol of the fact that
they were connected with the sinfulness of Egypt, and that this connection must be
broken off. If now they had not been, driven out so hastily, they would have had
time to produce for themselves a pure and specifically Jewish leaven, and this
perhaps seemed the more desirable thing, as the unleavened bread was not very
palatable. But for this there was no time. With this understanding of the case, we
render the last clause of Exodus 13:3, “so that nothing leavened was eaten.” [This
translation, however, is hardly possible.—Tr.].—The house of servants. Servants of
private persons they were not, it is true, but all Egypt was made for them by
Pharaoh one house of slaves.
PULPIT, "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).

4 Today, in the month of Aviv, you are leaving.
BAR ES, "Abib - April. Compare Exo_12:2. It is uncertain whether this name was
ancient or given then for the first time. It is found only in the Pentateuch, six times as
the name of the first month, twice in the sense of young wheat, hence its etymology,
namely, the month when the wheat began to ripen. The name resembles the Egyptian
Epiphi, and may possibly have been derived from it.
GILL, "This day came ye out,.... Out of Egypt, on the fifteenth of Nisan, as the
Targum of Jonathan:
in the month Abib; which signifies an ear of corn, because in this month barley was in
the ear, see Exo_9:31, the Syriac version renders it, "in the month of flowers"; when the
flowers were rising up out of the earth, being spring time, and a very fit time to travel in;
and this is observed, not only because they might not know what month it was, in such a
state of ignorance, as well as servitude, were they kept in Egypt; but as Jarchi also
intimates, to point out to them the mercy and goodness of God to them, in bringing
them out at such a seasonable time to travel in, when there were neither heat, nor cold,
nor rain. This month answers to part of o
JAMISO , "month Abib — literally, “a green ear,” and hence the month Abib is the
month of green ears, corresponding to the middle of our March. It was the best season
for undertaking a journey to the desert region of Sinai, especially with flocks and herds;
for then the winter torrents had subsided, and the wadies were covered with an early and
luxuriant verdure.
CALVI , "4.This day came ye out. He compares the day of their coming out with
the whole time of their sojourning in the land of Canaan; as if he had said that they
were redeemed not to enjoy a mere transient joy, but that they might be mindful of
their blessing throughout all ages. He proceeds to eulogize the extent and the
fertility of the land again, principally for two reasons. The first is, lest after such
glorious victories pride should possess their minds, and in the abundance of their
good things their eyes should be closed by fatness;the second, that by the very
multitude of their possessions they might be the more incited to the duty of
gratitude, and to the service of God. For it might be that the conquerors of so many
nations, and the lords of so rich and extensive a territory would wax wanton, so as
to be less devoted to God’s service, unless they had been reminded that they owed it
to God alone that they had conquered so many peoples, and had obtained dominion
over them. But Moses shews them that, in proportion to God’s goodness to them, so
would they be the more inexcusable, if they did not earnestly labor to testify heir
gratitude. With this object he repeats the names of the nations, by the destruction of
which they were to become inheritors of the land; and then adds, “a land flowing

with milk and honey,” in order to arouse them still more and more to piety by the
great profusion of the blessings which would be ever before their eyes. Those are
entirely mistaken who suppose that the month Abib (322) is the same as Ab, which
corresponds with our July. For it is evident that the Israelites came out of Egypt in
the month isan, about the vernal equinox; of which circumstance, the keeping of
Easter, handed down by tradition from our forefathers, is an unquestionable proof.
ow, since the Hebrews borrowed from the Chaldeans all the names of their
months, which were in use two thousand years after, it would be absurd in this place
to regard Abib as a proper name, especially when, in Scripture, we nowhere find the
months designated by proper names. Since, then, reason demonstrates that this
word is applied appellatively, we must inquire why it is applied to March or the
beginning of April. Those who translate A bib “ripening fruits,” have no ground for
it, since the word simply means “anything which grows;” hence it is applied to the
stalks of corn; and because in those warm climates the corn rises to its height about
the vernal equinox, from this fact, isan is called the month of stalks. It is also a
probable conjecture, (as we have already said,) that the beginning of the year was
changed, in order that the nativity of the Church might receive more distinction; as
if the world were then renewed. The opinion of some that oah came out of the ark
in the same month, so that the temperature of spring might receive him in his new
birth, as well as the other animals, I leave undecided as I have done on Genesis 8:0.
But if this opinion be accepted, there will be an anticipation (prolepsis) in the name
of the months; and in this there will be an absurdity, because it was useful for the
people to be accustomed to the rites of the Law. But I do not enter into controversy
about uncertainties.
ELLICOTT, "(4) The month Abib.—Abib means “green ears of corn,” or
“greenness;” and the month of Abib was that in which the wheat came into ear, and
the earth generally renewed its verdure. It was a “vague,” or shifting month, since it
properly began with the day of the full moon that followed next after the vernal
equinox. It retained its name until the Babylonian captivity, when the Babylonian
name isan superseded the original one ( ehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7).
PULPIT, "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, Daniel 4:14), 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.
5 When the Lord brings you into the land of the
Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and

Jebusites—the land he swore to your ancestors to
give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—
you are to observe this ceremony in this month:
BAR ES, "The Canaanites - Five nations only are named in this passage, whereas
six are named in Exo_3:8, and ten in the original promise to Abraham, Gen_15:19-21.
The first word “Canaanite” is generic, and includes all the Hamite races of Palestine.
CLARKE, "When the Lord shall bring thee into the land - Hence it is pretty
evident that the Israelites were not obliged to celebrate the Passover, or keep the feast of
unleavened bread, till they were brought into the promised land.
GILL, "And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the
Canaanites,.... Though the whole land was called the land of Canaan, yet there was one
tribe or nation of them particularly so called as here, distinct from those that follow:
and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites; there
were seven nations in all, but two are here omitted, the Girgashites and Perizzites, but
they are added in the Septuagint version, see Deu_7:1.
which he swore unto thy fathers to give thee; to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; so
that they might be assured they would be brought into it, since they had both the word
and oath of God for it; and which is the rather mentioned now for their encouragement,
since they were at this time set forward in their journey thitherwards:
a land flowing with milk and honey; See Gill on Exo_3:8,
that thou shalt keep this service in this month; the month of Abib; that is, the
following service concerning unleavened bread; it is concluded from hence by some, that
those laws concerning the passover, and eating unleavened bread, and sanctifying the
firstborn, did not oblige the Israelites, while in the wilderness, only when they came into
the land of Canaan; and it seems pretty clear that this was the case with respect to the
two latter, but not the former, since it is certain they did keep the passover in the
wilderness, and were obliged to it, Num_9:1 but then it may be observed, that there is no
mention there of their keeping the feast of unleavened bread, only of the passover, as
here no mention is made of the feast of the passover, which, though they followed one
another, were, two distinct feasts.
HE RY 5-7, " They must be sure to keep the feast of unleavened bread, Exo_13:5-7. It
was not enough that they remembered it, but they must celebrate the memorial of it in
that way which God had appointed, and use the instituted means of preserving the

remembrance of it. So, under the gospel, we must not only remember Christ, but do this
in remembrance of him. Observe, How strict the prohibition of leaven is (Exo_13:7); not
only no leaven must be eaten, but none must be seen, no, not in all their quarters.
Accordingly, the Jews' usage was, before the feast of the passover, to cast all the leavened
bread out of their houses: they burnt it, or buried it, or broke it small and scattered it in
the wind; they searched diligently with lighted candles in all the corners of their houses,
lest any leaven should remain. The care and strictness enjoined in this matter were
designed, (1.) To make the feast the more solemn, and consequently the more taken
notice of by their children, who would ask, “Why is so much ado made?” (2.) To teach us
how solicitous we should be to put away from us all sin, 1Co_5:7.
JAMISO , "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 [Num_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.
PETT, "Exodus 13:5
“And it shall be that when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and
the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite and the Jebusite which he swore to your
fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you will keep this service in
this month.”
Moses had no doubt now that somehow Yahweh would ensure that they were going
forward to freedom, to the land of plenty. Although he was not sure how He would
bring it about, for they only had permission to enter the wilderness a short way in
order to offer sacrifices. And the border posts would know where they were. But he
knew Yahweh would find a way. He was only there to obey. And possibly he
considered that the children of Israel were under no obligation to a Pharaoh who
had turned them into bondmen and constantly broken his treaties concerning them.
For the details in this verse see on Exodus 3:8.
“You will keep this service.” This means ‘observe this act of worship’.
It will be noted that only five nations are mentioned compared with the more usual
six or seven. This may because here the description is within a covenant and five is
the covenant number. Or it may be because, as we know from elsewhere, in Egypt
five was seen as a number of completeness. This would stress the early nature of this
section, being written while the influence of Egypt was still very much evident.
ote that the seeming deprivation resulting from bread being unleavened is
counteracted by the description of the blessings that will be theirs, a land flowing
with milk and honey.
BE SO , "Exodus 13:5. When the Lord shall bring you into the land, thou shalt

keep this service — Until then they were not obliged to keep the passover, without a
particular command from God. There shall no leavened bread be seen in all thy
quarters — Accordingly the Jews’ usage was, before the feast of the passover, to
cast all the leavened bread out of their houses; either they burned it, or buried it, or
broke it small, and threw it into the wind; they searched diligently with lighted
candles in all the corners of their houses, lest any leaven should remain. The
strictness enjoined in this matter was designed, 1st, To make the feast the more
solemn, and consequently the more taken notice of by the children, who would ask,
Why is so much ado made? 2d, To teach us how solicitous we should be to put away
from us all sin.
ELLICOTT, "(5) The Canaanites, and the Hittites . . . —The full number of the
Canaanitish nations was seven, five of which are here enumerated. The other two
were the Perizzites and the Girgashites, which seem to have been the least
important. The most important were the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites; and
these are consequently almost always placed first. At the time of the Exodus, and for
many centuries afterwards, the actually most powerful nation would seem to have
been that of the Hittites. (See Joshua 1:4; 1 Kings 10:29; 2 Kings 7:6; and compare
the Egyptian and Assyrian remains passim.)
A land flowing with milk and honey.—See ote on Exodus 3:8.
Thou shalt keep this service.—Kalisch concludes from this verse, and from Exodus
12:25, that there was no obligation upon the Israelites to keep the Passover until
they obtained possession of Canaan. He holds that two Passovers only were
celebrated before that event—one by Moses in the wilderness of Sinai ( umbers 9:1-
5), and the other by Joshua at Gilgal, in the plain of Jericho (Joshua 5:10-11).
COKE, "Exodus 13:5. It shall be when the Lord shall bring thee, &c. that thou shalt
keep this service in this month— Many commentators observe, that the words of
this verse prove that the Israelites were under no necessity to observe the passover,
and consecrate their first-born, till they entered into the land of Canaan.
REFLECTIO S.— 1. God demands of his people a return for his mercies in their
first-born. He claims, from his preservation of them, a right in them. ote; (1.) The
life which God has rescued from imminent danger is doubly bound to be devoted to
his service. (2.) They who truly love God will serve him with the best.
2. He bids them remember the day of their deliverance in the feast of unleavened
bread, and instruct their children after them in the meaning of the ordinance; and
very careful are they to this day to observe the letter of the precept in searching
their houses for leaven: may we be as careful to enter into the spirit of the
command, and search every corner of our hearts, that sin may be put away from us.
ote; It is a chief duty with parents to acquaint their children from earliest infancy
with the Scriptures; and Scripture histories may be made matter of as pleasing
entertainment to them as of profitable instruction.

PULPIT, "The land of the Canaanites, etc. Compare Exodus 3:8, Exodus 3:17. The
six nations of these passages are reduced here to five by the omission of the
Perizzites, one of the less important tribes. Which he sware unto thy fathers to give
thee. See Genesis 15:18; Genesis 24:7; and compare the comment on Exodus 6:8.
That thou shalt keep this service. This injunction had been already given (Exodus
12:25) almost in the same words; but on the former occasion it was delivered to the
elders only; now it is laid upon the whole people.
6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast
and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord.
GILL, "Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread,.... The Jews (y) gather from
this place, and from Deu_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 Exo_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, Deu_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 Exo_
12:16.
PETT, "Exodus 13:6
“Seven days you will eat unleavened cakes, and in the seventh day will be a feast to
Yahweh. Unleavened cakes will be eaten throughout the seven days, and no
leavened bread will be seen with you, neither will leaven be seen with you in all your
borders.”
This is a brief summary of the feast. It was spoken on the day that they left Egypt
(Exodus 13:4), which was the first day of the feast, which is why Moses does not
mention the first day as a special day. They were already observing it (a clear
indication that this was said at that time), and besides it was the day which
continued the Passover and therefore clearly special and to be observed as a
memorial into the future. It did not require further mention. What is stressed is that

the seventh day is also a special day as God had previously told Moses (Exodus
12:16).
All leaven was to be excluded from their dwellings. The word for ‘borders’ may
simply mean the ‘bounds’ within which each family dwelt. To exclude leaven within
the whole land would be very difficult as there would be traders passing through to
say nothing of foreign settlers who would not (and were not allowed to) keep the
feast of Passover. or is it expected for it is specifically said ‘with you’. If we take
‘borders’ to mean the borders of the land at any time, the ‘with you’ could still
exclude universal application to non-Israelites.
The feast was in the month of Abib which has now been designated the first month
of the year because of the deliverance from Egypt. It is possible that up to this time
the ew Year was seen as commencing in the Autumn. Thus in Exodus 12 the
emphasis is on the fact that this was now the first month (in March/April). Here it is
assumed. The author knows he has already stressed it enough. Later in Canaan
there will be a ‘new year’ celebration in the Autumn. This would arise because of
their contact with the inhabitants of the land. There are indications that there was
thereafter both an agricultural year, based on the observation by surrounding
nations among whom they dwelt, and a festal year, based on the month of the
Passover. At different times different ones would be emphasised. We should
appreciate that in their ‘primitive’ state the Israelites would not be calendar minded
and would be likely to fall in with whoever they lived among for their general
calendar, while when at their best also observing Yahweh’s instructions. Calendars
were theoretical. The Israelites were practical. The point about Abib being the first
month of the year simply indicated that it would commence the round of feasts
which it naturally continued to do. But as with many things Yahweh’s instructions
were not specifically and rigidly applied once they had settled in the land, especially
as they never actually rid the land of Canaanites.
“And in the seventh day will be a feast to Yahweh.” The whole seven days was to be
a feast. This therefore means that the seventh day was to be a special feast, a day set
apart. In the words of Yahweh it was ‘a holy assembly’ (Exodus 12:16) in which no
manner of work was to be done except what men must eat. Moses does not mention
this latter fact to the people at this point but it has to be assumed that something
made the day special as it is a feast to Yahweh, and as we shall see a rest day was
part of Israel’s tradition. Moses was at this stage only summarising what Yahweh
had said. The main aim was that the hearers who were listening to the narrative
were reminded of the gist of what had been said before (the usual reason for so-
called ‘doubletons’ which were common in ancient literature).
ELLICOTT, "(6) A feast to the Lord.—Comp. Exodus 12:16, where a “holy
convocation” is ordered for the seventh day. The Jews regard this day—the twenty-
first of Ahib—as the anniversary of the passage of the Red Sea.

7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days;
nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you,
nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your
borders.
GILL, "Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days,.... From the evening of the
fourteenth day, to the evening of the twenty first, Exo_12:18, this is very express as
before, that not only they were to abstain from leaven, but that they were obliged to eat
unleavened bread; and as for the cakes of eggs and sugar the Jews now use, these, as Leo
Modeua says (z), are for those that are dainty and of tender stomachs and such as are
sick, who eat unleavened bread also:
and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be
leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters: See Gill on Exo_12:15 and the above
mentioned writer says (a),"they begin before the passover, with all the diligence and care
they can, to put away all leaven, or anything that hath had leaven in it, out of their
houses, and out of their power; searching all their cupboards and bins, and cleansing the
whole house and whiting it all over; and they provide themselves also of new utensils for
their kitchen and table; or else they new make the old again, and scour them well; or else
they have a select number of vessels set apart for the use of the passover only, that so
they may be certainly assured that they use not anything during those eight days, that
hath had leaven in it:''and Aben Ezra upon the place says, that the sense of it is, that the
Israelites ought not to suffer any to sojourn in any place subject to them, but on this
condition, that they abstain from leavened bread at the time of the passover, and this he
takes to be the meaning of the phrase, "in all thy quarters or borders".
8 On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of
what the Lord did for me when I came out of
Egypt.’

Exodus 13 commentary

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Exodus 13 commentary