Shemot Chapter Twelve v. 1: Then God spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: v. 2: This month is your first calendar month; it s the first month of the year for you. v. 3: Speak to the entire community of Israel, and say: On the 10 th of this month, each man must take a lamb for his family: one lamb per family. v. 4: If a family is too small for a lamb, then they and their close neighbors should take a lamb home. It should be portioned out according to how much lamb each person will eat. v. 5: You must have an unblemished male lamb, one year old. You can bring it from the sheep and from the goats. v. 6: You must watch over (the lamb) until the 14 th day of this month; then all of Israel will ritually slaughter it during the evening. v. 7: Then take from the (lamb s) blood and put it on the two sides and on the top of the doorframes of the homes where they eat it. v. 8: So eat the meat this night, roasted on fire; you will eat it with matza and bitter herbs. v. 9: Do not eat it (the lamb) raw or cooked well in water, but only roasted by fire: the head, the lower legs and the insides. v. 10: And don t leave any of it over until the morning. Whatever remains by morning, burn by fire. v. 11: So eat it in this way: with your sandals strapped on your feet, and your walking sticks in your hand. You will eat it quickly; it is Passover, for the purposes of God! v. 12: And I will pass over the land of Egypt on this night, and strike dead all the first born in the land of Egypt, including those of both people and animals. I will carry out judgment against all the gods of Egypt! v. 13: So the blood on the homes will be a distinguishing sign for you where you are found; I will see this blood, then pass over you, and you won t experience the deadly plague when I strike the land of Egypt. v. 14: This particular day will be a memorial day for you; you will celebrate it as a holy day with feasting for the purposes of God throughout your generations. You will celebrate it as an eternal commandment. v. 15: You will eat matza for seven days. However, on the first day you will stop using leaven, because from the first day until the seventh day, anyone who eats a yeast product will be permanently expelled from Israel. v. 16: And the first day is a holy national meeting time; also the seventh day is a holy national meeting time for you. You will not engage in any type of
wage earning work in your midst; only food preparation for everyone is permitted for you. v. 17: You will guard over the matza, because it was actually on this day that I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. So you will guard over this very day throughout your generations as an eternal command. v. 18: In the first (month), on the 14 th day of the month in the evening, eat matza until the 21 st of the month in the evening. v. 19: For seven days no leaven is to be found in your homes, because whoever eats a yeast product will be permanently expelled from the people of Israel, both among converts or native-born citizens. v. 20: No yeast product is to be eaten in any of your communities; eat matza. v. 21: So Moses gathered all the elders of Israel, and said to them: Separate out and take a sheep for yourselves and your families, and ritually slaughter it as the Passover sacrifice. v. 22: And take a hyssop bundle, dipping it in blood from a bowl, then mark the top and the two sides of the doorframe. And you must not leave the entrance of home until morning. v. 23: So God will come through, striking the Egyptians; when He sees the blood on the top and two sides of the doorframe, God will then impute the Passover offering over the entrance. God will then pass over that entrance and will not permit the destruction to come to your houses and cause deathly harm. v. 23: The Hebrew word hamaschit,,המשחית can have a variety of understandings. Some translations state: The Destroyer, and perhaps are referring to a destructive angelic being (NIV). I translate it as a destructive force, and I do not know whether it included angels or not. Yet it is clear that God controlled this destructive force. As the Haggadah notes: Thus it is said: In that night I will pass through the land of Egypt, and I will smite every first-born in the land of Egypt, from man to beast, and I will carry out judgments against all the gods of Egypt, I the L-rd. I will pass through the land of Egypt," I and not an angel; "And I will smite every first-born in the land of Egypt," I and not a seraph; "And I will carry out judgments against all the gods of Egypt," I and not a messenger; "I- the L-rd," it is I, and none other! [From David Arnow s, The Passover Haggadah: Moses and the Human Role in Redemption, offers a concise summary of various views of the meaning of hamaschit. It can be found at: 2
http://www.ajcongress.org/site/docserver/thepassoverhaggadah.pdf?docid =2122 יהוה על הפתח al-hapetach, In v. 23, the fascinating phrase ufasach Adonay is used. I translated it God will impute the Passover offering (and its,ופסח atonement meaning) over the entrance. (This incorporates the meaning of the Passover sacrifice into how and why God passed over the entrances and homes in Goshen). Literally we have, and God will sacrifice the Passover offering over the entrance, that is, to the benefit of the given home and the family that lives in it. This translation does justice to the presence of the word ufesach,,ופסח the same word for designating the Passover offering,.קרבן לפסח pesach, the korban v. 24: Guard over this matter as a positive commandment, for yourselves and your children, forever. v. 25: Then when you come to the Land that God gave to you, just as He said, you will guard over this very (act of) worship. v. 25: The instruction is to guard over this act of worship by performing,עבודה avodah, it just as God described to them how to do it. The word used in this verse, can mean work, worship or service. I prefer worship in this verse, and look at the commandment given here as an act of national worship by the entire people. v. 26: And when your children ask you: What does this (act of) worship (mean) to you? v. 26: Another valid translation may be what does this act of worship mean for us? Although the grammar in the verse is written in the second person plural, it is possible that this verse intends to encourage children to address their elders and ask for an explanation that is inclusive of everyone in the nation. Thus, the literal for you in the verse understands that the you is speaking of everyone in Israel, inclusive of the children. The Haggadah picks up on this verbal distinction in the section of the questions asked by the children: The Torah speaks of four children: One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one does not know how to ask. The wise one, what does he say? "What are the testimonies, the statutes and the laws which the L-rd, our God, has commanded you?" You, in turn, shall instruct him in the laws of Passover, [up to] one is not to eat any dessert after the Passover lamb. The wicked one, what 3
does he say? "What is this service to you?" He says to you, but not to him! By thus excluding himself from the community he has denied that which is fundamental. You, therefore, blunt his teeth and say to him: "It is because of this that the L-rd did for me when I left Egypt"; for me but not for him! If he had been there, he would not have been redeemed!" (taken from http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/173 7/jewish/Maggid.htm From the above Haggadah reading, it is clear that children need to be taught to ask about the Passover event with inclusive intent. According to Jewish tradition, this is the proper way to inquire about it (and to understand verse 26). To disassociate oneself with the event (as the Haggadah words it, excluding himself from the community ) is certainly not the ideal. Although the literal for you is written in our verse, it is implied and understood that the entire nation is being included. v. 27: It is then you will answer, This is the Passover offering for God s purposes, when He passed over the homes of the people of Israel in Egypt, as He struck the Egyptians, yet saved our homes. And the nation bowed down, falling down prostrate to worship. v. 28: So the people of Israel went and did what God commanded Moses and Aaron: they did it exactly. v. 29: At midnight God struck down every first born in the land of Egypt, from the first born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the first born of prisoners in the prison pit, as well as every first born animal. v. 30: While it was still nighttime, Pharaoh, his officials, and all Egypt got up and there was a widespread wailing in Egypt, because there was not one home that didn t have a dead person in it. v. 30: What I translate as widespread wailing literally reads a great scream. I am rendering the literal Hebrew into modern colloquial English. v. 31: So he summoned Moses and Aaron in the night, and said: Get up, leave from my people, both of you and also the people of Israel. Now, go, worship God as you have said (that you will). v. 32: Take also your flocks and herds, as you said, and leave. You must also bless me! v. 33: So Egypt supplied the people (of Israel), and hurried them out of that land, because they said, All of us will be dead! v. 34: Then the people (of Israel) took their unleavened dough in vessels, carried up on their shoulders, wrapped in cloth. 4
v. 35: And the people of Israel did just as Moshe had said, and asked the Egyptians for their vessels of silver and gold, and clothing. v. 36: So God caused Egypt to have great favor on the people, and they requested from them, and they complied. And they took advantage of the Egyptians. v. 36: The Targum notes that, they (Israel) emptied out Egypt (of the mentioned vessels and clothes). This is an effective way of understanding this verse. There is an interesting midrash (non-literal interpretation) of this verse, taking the word vayinatslu, וינצלו (and they took advantage of the Egyptians), and using its simple verbal tense, nitslu,.ניצלו This would mean and they saved the Egyptians. The rabbis explain that Israel s departure meant that no more plagues would strike Egypt, and so by leaving, they saved Egypt from more catastrophe. (BN) v. 37: Then the people of Israel traveled from Ramses-Sukkota, 600,000 strong, on foot, with the men separate from the children. v. 37: This verse could also be translated, besides the (number of) children. Thus, it would be describing the numbers instead of the physical positioning of the men vis-à-vis their children. I favor the latter rendering, as it is more logical and truer to what we know about the later traveling positioning of the tribes. However, we have provided you above what we believe to be the more literal rendering of the translation. (BN) v. 38: Also, a large number of foreigners came up with them; as well as sheep, cattle, and lots of possessions. v. 38: Foreigners (Hebrew arev rav, רב (ערב means non-israelites; that is, foreign to Israel (not to Egypt!) Some scholars have surmised that they were the offspring of Egyptian men and Jewish women (remember that one of the Pharaohs tried to exterminate all Jewish boys). Rabbi Gunther Plaut, a famous reformed Jewish commentator, noted: The mixed multitude (arev rav) of non-jews who joined up with the Jewish people when they left Egypt are the classic example of insincere or opportunistic converts. Since they witnessed the ten plagues (which took place over the space of a whole year), it is not hard to imagine that they sided with the Jewish people out of the common human weakness for power and success, rather than a sincere devotion to truth at any cost. So there are a number of guesses as to who exactly the arev rav were. (BN) 5
v. 39: And they baked matza cakes with the dough that they took out of Egypt, since they had no leaven, because they were expelled from Egypt. Since they didn t have time to waste, they also could not prepare food. v. 40: So the residence of the people of Israel, by which they resided in Egypt, was 430 years. v. 40: Or a more modern rendition could be, The people of Israel resided in their Egyptian residences for 430 years. v. 41: So it was that after 430 years, right to the very day, that the entire army of God left the land of Egypt. יהוה Adonay, v. 41: Israel is described here as the army of God, tseva ot Himself This same word (tseva ot) is often used to describe God.צבאות Adonay tseva ot, והיה צבאות the God of the Heavenly armies. (BN) v. 42: This is a night of watchings for the purposes of God, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For all the people of Israel, it is this night for watchings for the purposes of God, for all their generations. v. 43: Then God said to Moses and Aaron: This is the instruction about the Passover offering; no foreign male is to eat from it. v. 44: But every servant that you have bought with money, and then circumcised him, may eat from it. v. 45: A transient person or hired worker cannot eat from it. v. 46: It must be eaten in one home; don t bring any meat outside from the home, and do not break any of its bones. v. 47: The entire assembly of Israel must do this. v. 48: And if a convert lives with you, and keeps Passover for the purposes of God, circumcise him, every male; only then can he come close to do it, and be like a citizen of the Land. So, no uncircumcised male can eat from it. v. 48: Logically, every male would mean every male in the convert s household or family that is with him. v. 49: There will be One Torah for the citizen, and for the convert who lives in your midst. v. 49: This verse says that there will be one Torah for all the citizens (Israelites) and all the foreigners among them. The Torah had not been given to Moshe yet on Mt. Sinai, so this could be talking about the future event there; or, it can be telling us that the basics of God s kingdom had been given to Moshe at a prior time in his life. (BD) 6
v. 50: So all the people of Israel did exactly what God commanded Moses and Aaron. That is what they did. v. 51: And it was this very day that God brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, by means of their army. v. 51: By means of their army. This idiom literally states, on their army in Hebrew. Translators have written: by their divisions (NIV, CJB), by their soldiers (the Targum), or with their legions (Chabad.org). The point being made is that the people of Israel left with the identity as the army of God. And what did armies do? In the ancient world, they were thought of as a human force that brought the will of their supreme being along with them. They both defended and attacked the enemies of their supreme being, as well. (BN) 7