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122 exoDus 12:16
of Israel, and use
the
Bible’s major
it was on this very day that
first day through the sev enth
th must be cut off Bread, be cause
from Is ra el. 16 On the first day hold a sa cred events
I brought your di vi sions out of Egypt. Cel e
as sem bly, and an oth er one
ne on the sev enth
day. Do no work at all on these
se days, except
ex cept
to pre pare food for ev ery one to eat; that is
all you may do.
17 “Cel e brate the Fes ti val of Un leav
avened
ened
MOSES
ERA 3
nce for the
brate this day as a last ing or di nance
gen er a tions to come. 18 In the first month
nth you
are to eat bread made with out yeast,
ast, from the
eve ning of the four teenth
enth day until
un til the eve
ning of the twen ty first day. 19 For seven
sev en days
THE PASSOVER
Exodus 12:1–14
SYNOPSIS
The Passover
Deuteronomy 16:1–8
Rules regarding the
celebration of Passover
Observe it in the month of Aviv
Sacrifice an animal at the place God
chooses
Eat unleavened bread for seven days
Don’t keep any yeast in your
possession
Don’t leave any of the meat from
the sacrifice until morning
Sacrifice the Passover
in the evening
The meal should
be roasted
Hold an assembly
on the seventh day
Work is forbidden
The last of the plagues directed against
Pharaoh and the Egyptians was the
death of firstborn males. To protect the
Hebrews, God prescribed a special cer-
emony: Each household was to kill a lamb
and spread its blood on the door frame of
the house. The Lord would then pass over
those marked houses, sparing the He-
brew firstborn who were sheltered inside.
BACKGROUND
Though the first nine plagues were cata-
strophic (see article “Ten Plagues,” p.
xxxx), Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and
he would not let the Hebrews go. Then God
told Moses (see article, p. xxxx) He was
sending the most heartbreaking plague of
all, the death of firstborn males in every
household that didn’t have the blood on
the doorposts. 1
SUMMARY
According to God’s instructions, Moses
told each Israelite household to select a
one- year- old, unblemished, male lamb
and to kill it at twilight on the fourteenth
day of the month of Nisan. Then, blood
from the lamb was to be put on the door-
frames of the houses as a sign to the
Lord. When He moved through Egypt on
His dreadful mission, killing all the first-
born, He would “pass over” the homes
marked with blood. The lamb was to be
roasted and eaten in haste by the Isra-
elites, who were to be dressed for quick
departure.
At each point the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s commandments, and the event came to pass
as had been foretold. The Lord passed over those homes that were covered by the blood,
but took the lives of the firstborn in all of Egypt, including even the livestock. A great cry
of lament went up from all those in Egypt, and Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Israelites
go (Exodus 12:29–32).
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