- Book: [[Exodus]] - Previous chapter: [[Exodus 11]] - Next chapter: [[Exodus 13]] > [!summary] Summary > - God institutes the [[Passover]]: a lamb, blood on doorposts, and a meal eaten in haste — to be commemorated every year > - At midnight the tenth plague strikes: every firstborn in [[Egypt]] dies; [[Pharaoh]] drives [[Israel]] out > - [[Israel]] leaves after 430 years: approximately 600,000 men plus women, children, and a mixed multitude > [!info] Why is this here? > - The [[Passover]] is the founding event of [[Israel]]'s calendar and identity — "the first month of your year" > - The blood on the doorposts is the mechanism of protection: God passes over the marked houses > - The chapter establishes both the historical event and its ongoing liturgical re-enactment for all generations # Overview ## v. 1-13: [[Passover]] instructions - Month reset: this becomes the first month of [[Israel]]'s year — a new calendar begins - Each household takes a year-old male lamb on the 10th, slaughters it at twilight on the 14th - Blood put on doorposts and lintel; lamb eaten roasted with bitter herbs and unleavened bread - Eaten in haste: sandals on, cloak tucked in, staff in hand — ready to leave - "When I see the blood, I will pass over you" > [!note] The blood as sign > The blood is not for God's information but for God's covenantal action — a mark of belonging under his protection. The destroyer cannot enter a blood-marked house. This pattern will echo throughout Scripture as a type of atonement. ## v. 14-20: Festival of Unleavened Bread - Seven-day festival established as a lasting ordinance - Yeast removed from homes; eating yeast brings exclusion from [[Israel]] - Connects the annual festival to the historical moment of departure ## v. 21-28: [[Moses]] instructs the elders - Instructions passed to elders; hyssop used to apply blood - "When your children ask what this means" — the ceremony is designed to provoke and answer the question - People bow and worship; [[Israel]] obeys completely ## v. 29-36: The plague strikes and the Exodus begins - At midnight, all firstborns in [[Egypt]] die — from [[Pharaoh]]'s son to the prisoner's to the cattle - [[Pharaoh]] summons [[Moses]] and [[Aaron]] in the night: "Go! Leave!" - [[Egyptians]] urge them to hurry; [[Israel]] asks for silver, gold, and clothing — and receives it ## v. 37-42: The departure - 600,000 men on foot, plus women and children, plus a mixed multitude - Unleavened dough carried on shoulders — no time to add yeast - 430 years in [[Egypt]], to the very day - "The Lord kept vigil that night" — a night of watching by [[Yahweh]] ## v. 43-51: [[Passover]] regulations - No foreigner may eat it; circumcised male slaves may - Eaten inside the house; no bones broken - Same law for native-born and resident foreigner