Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 12:42

It [is] a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this [is] that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

42. The night is to be observed in perpetuity as a night of watching, or of vigil, unto Jehovah; cf. Isa 30:29. Both the margins are preferable to the text. , however, cannot mean for (i.e., apparently, in return for), though it might mean with regard to; but its natural meaning here would be in order to; hence Bu. B. may be right in rendering, A night of watching was it for Yahweh to bring them out, &c.; Jehovah Himself was on the watch that night to protect His people from the destroyer, and to bring them safely out of Egypt: v. 41b will then be a later addition, transforming the night of vigil kept by Jehovah, into a night of vigil kept to Him (cf. Nowack, Arch. ii. 149).

throughout your generations. See on v. 14.

43 51 (P). Regulations respecting the Passover, supplementary to those in vv. 1 13, and intended principally to define what persons were or were not authorised to eat it. No foreigner, temporary ‘settler,’ or (foreign) hired servant is to eat of it: a slave, and a ‘sojourner,’ i.e. a protected foreigner, when they have been circumcised, may eat of it ( vv. 43 45, 48 f.).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Exo 12:42

A night to be much observed unto the Lord.

The Passover

I. The Passover the appointed means of a great deliverance. The destruction of the firstborn secured Israels freedom; the rite itself saved Israels firstborn.

1. Wrath was averted.

2. Individual faith and action were required.

3. Perfect safety was thus obtained.

II. The Passover as ordained feast of remembrance.

1. Not a formal service, but gratefully rendered, and intelligently observed; the father instructing the child as to its meaning (Exo 12:26-27).

2. To be kept by all the people (Exo 12:4). The redemption to be celebrated by all the redeemed.

3. In each successive generation. A perpetual witness of Jehovahs delivering mercy; an unfailing type; a constant test and measure of religious life. Kept by Moses (Num 9:1-23.); by Joshua (chap. 5.); revived by Josiah; in Nehemiahs time (Ezr 6:1-22.); in our Lords time widely observed.

4. Every detail was divinely ordered.

5. The lamb was eaten with special accompaniments Bitter herbs denoted penitence; unleavened bread, sincerity. Godly sorrow chastens Christian joy. True consecration marks the believers praise.

6. In a pilgrim spirit. Loins girded, shoes on feet, staff in hand. Christs service here is not the Christians rest. His eye is fixed on heaven; and, while he works and praises, his true cry ever is, Come, Lord Jesus. (W. S. Bruce, M. A.)

Freedom and discipline

I. Scholars have said that the old Greeks were the fathers of freedom; and there have been other people in the worlds history who have made glorious and successful struggles to throw off their tyrants and be free. But liberty is of a far older and nobler house. It was born on the first Easter night, when God Himself stooped from heaven to set the oppressed free.

II. The history of the Jews is the history of the whole Church and of every nation in Christendom. The Jews had to wander forty years in the wilderness, and Christendom has had to wander too, in strange and bloodstained paths, for eighteen hundred years and more. For as the Israelites were not worthy to enter at once into rest, no more have the nation of Christs Church been worthy. As the new generation sprang up in the wilderness, trained under Moses stern law, to the fear of God, so for eighteen hundred years have the generations of Christendom, by the training of the Church and the light of the gospel, been growing in wisdom and knowledge, growing in morality and humanity, in that true discipline and loyalty which are the yokefellows of freedom and independence. (C. Kingsley, M. A.)

A holy celebration

It is the night of our regeneration; it is the night of our conversion (night or day, it matters not which); the time in which we actually received salvation, and were made partakers of this Passover, that we would just now admonish you to remember. At that particular time important events transpired for us. The most important events, to us, that ever occurred in our history, happened on that occasion. There was a point in our life up to which we were dead: then we were made alive. There was a point up to which we were condemned: then, in an instant, we were acquitted. Now, what events transpired on that occasion?

1. Well, the first was, it pleased God then to show us the blood of Jesus, and to apply it to our souls. That night, too, or that day, whichever it may have been, we do remember that we enjoyed a feast upon our Saviour. The blood was sprinkled, and so we were saved; and then we sat down at the table, and began at once to feast upon the precious things stored up in the person of Christ.

2. And then it was that for the first time in your life you felt that you were free. You were free; but finding yourself free, you also discovered, for the first time, that you were a pilgrim; for the Israelites, as they ate that paschal supper, had to do so with their loins girl and staves in their hands, like men that were to leave that country. You found that now you were a stranger. If you had an unconverted parent, you could not talk to him or her about your soul. If you had old companions, you felt you must bid them farewell, for they would not understand you; if you did not know you were a pilgrim before, you found it out the very next day, when you began to talk with them. O! it was a time to be remembered, and I want you to remember it now–those blessed days when we began to live!

3. Important results will flow to you from the preservation of this memorial. It will humble you and foster the grace of humility. Have you become an old experienced Christian, my brother? Go back to the hole of the pit whence you were digged. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 42. A night to be much observed] A night to be held in everlasting remembrance, because of the peculiar display of the power and goodness of God, the observance of which annually was to be considered a religious precept while the Jewish nation should continue.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord,…. Or “a night of observations” t, in which many things are to be observed to the honour and glory of God, as done by him, wherein his power, wisdom, goodness, truth and faithfulness, are displayed; partly by the destruction of the Egyptian firstborn, and particularly

for bringing them, the children of Israel,

out from the land of Egypt: with the leave, and even pressing importunity of the Egyptians, and with so much wealth and riches, having found great favour in their sight, which was from the Lord:

this is that night of the Lord to be much observed of all the children of Israel in their generations in successive ages unto the coming of the Messiah, for the reasons before given; and the selfsame night is worthy the remembrance of all the spiritual Israel of God, of all true believers in Christ; for that very night after Christ had ate the passover with his disciples, he was betrayed by one of them; and to perpetuate the memory of this, and of his sufferings and death, an ordinance is appointed to be observed until his second coming, see

1Co 11:23, and the ancient Jews themselves have had some notion of the appearance of the Messiah at this time; for they not only expect his coming at the time of the passover, and speak of their redemption by him in the month of Nisan, as before observed on Ex 12:14, but of this very night, among the four observable things in it, the fourth they say is, Moses shall go out of the midst of the wilderness, and the King Messiah out of Rome; so it is said in the Jerusalem Targum on the place.

t “nox observantiarum”, Munster, Fagius, Vatablus, so Drusius, Piscator, Cartwright, Ainsworth.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

42. It is a night to be much observed. He shows that the Israelites have good cause for sacrificing to God with a solemn ceremony year by year for ever, and for celebrating the memory of that night; and that the Passover was instituted in token of their gratitude. But this admonition was very useful, in order that the Israelites should retain the legitimate use of this solemn feast-day, and that it might not grow into a mere cold ceremony, as is often the case; but that rather they might profitably, and to the advancement of their piety, exercise themselves in this emblem of their redemption. At the same time, he teaches that this so inestimable a benefit was not to be celebrated in one, or two, or three generations, but that as long as the people should remain it was worthy of eternal remembrance, and that it might never be forgotten, the Passover was to be sacredly observed.

Moreover we must remark, that the generations of the ancient people were brought to an end by the coming of Christ; because the shadows of the Law ceased when the state of the Church was renewed, and the Gentiles were gathered into the same body.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

42. Observed of all the children of Israel in their generations Israel was long ago scattered among the Gentiles; all the Levitical sacrifices have for centuries “ceased to be offered;” tabernacle and temple vanished ages ago; yet wherever in his wanderings a Jew retains to-day one shred of his ancestral religion he keeps the passover .

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Mixed Multitude, And Those Who Will, Can Enter God’s Covenant and Share the Passover ( Exo 12:42-50 ).

The extra instructions that follow were partly necessary because of the mixed multitude that had joined up with them, and they are thus introduced at this point. But they are also important as indicating the make up of ‘the children of Israel’. They are seen as including genuine descendants of Jacob and his sons, descendants of all family servants in their households who had been circumcised and their descendants, and all resident aliens who sought to enter the covenant through circumcision. It was in fact open to almost anyone to become one of the ‘children of Israel’ as long as they were willing to be committed to Yahweh.

a The ordinance of the Passover is now spoken of so that instructions can be given concerning it (Exo 12:43 a)

b No resident alien is to eat of it, but a man’s servant bought with money may eat of it once he has been circumcised and thus brought within the covenant (Exo 12:43-44)

c A foreign settler or foreign hired worker shall not eat of it (Exo 12:45).

d It must be eaten within the one house. No part of the flesh may be take out of the house, and no bone of it may be broken (Exo 12:46).

e All the congregation of Israel shall keep it (Exo 12:47)

d A foreigner who resides with them permanently and wishes, with his family, to keep the Passover must first be circumcised with all the males of the family, and then they may then eat of it. He will then be as one born in the land (Exo 12:48 a).

c No uncircumcised person may eat of it (Exo 12:48 b).

b There will be one law for the homeborn and for the resident alien who dwells among them (Exo 12:49).

a Thus did all the children of Israel as Yahweh commanded Moses, and so it came about that that selfsame day Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts (Exo 12:50).

With regard to ‘a’, the ordinance of the Passover was the ordinance of deliverance, thus in the parallel to keep it was to celebrate the bringing of the children of Israel out of Egypt by their hosts. In ‘b’ a resident alien who had not committed himself by being circumcised may not eat of it while a circumcised bought-in servant may, the parallel indicating that all will receive complete fairness of treatment, all will be treated the same according to these regulations, whether homeborn or foreign. The whole question of acceptability rests on whether they are willing to be circumcised into the covenant. In ‘c’ no foreigner may eat of it, nor in the parallel may any uncircumcised person. In ‘d’ it may not be taken outside the house nor may any bone of it be broken. It is a holy meal. It must be eaten entire within the household so that its holiness may be maintained. And in the parallel a household of foreigners may, as long as all the males are circumcised, partake of the holy meal, for then they will be as the homeborn and the holiness of the meal will be protected. Both ordinance are concerned to protect the holiness of the meal. And finally and centrally all the congregation of Israel must keep the Passover.

Exo 12:42-45

‘And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No alien shall eat of it. But every man’s servant who is bought for money, once you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. A foreign settler and a hired servant shall not eat of it.” ’

When the Passover was kept those who partook could only be those who had entered the covenant community of ‘the children of Israel’. Thus a purchased man, once he was circumcised, could enter the covenant, and then belonged and could partake, because he was permanently among them. But those who were just passing through, such as a hired man who would one day leave, or a sojourner who was temporary (compare Exo 12:48), could not eat of the Passover because they were not members of the covenant. They were not committed to Yahweh. But in verse 48 provision is made for them to enter the covenant if they were willing to become permanently committed by being circumcised.

“No alien shall eat of it.” That is, one who is outside the covenant (see Exo 12:48). He will be a worshipper of other gods and belongs to another community.

“A foreign settler.” Someone who settles among them on a temporary basis. (The one who wishes to become permanent and enter the covenant can do so (Exo 12:48)).

Exo 12:46-47

“It shall be eaten in one house. You shall not carry out any of the flesh outside from the house, nor shall you break a bone of it. All the congregation of Israel shall do it.”

Stress is laid on the fact that nothing of the Passover lamb may be taken out of the house in which it was killed. It must be burned inside (Exo 12:10). Furthermore no bone of it must be broken. This was because the flesh and body were seen as holy and perfect, and as belonging to Yahweh, and must be kept perfect. These sacrificial animals were His gift to His people but they remained His. They may eat of them in the place commanded but they were not to be seen as just ordinary food. They were sacrificial food in a way that other sacrifices eaten by the people, which did not all have to be eaten on the same day, were not, demonstrating that the people who partook were set apart for Him and unified with Him. That this is stressed again (compare Exo 12:10) with the new addition of the preservation of the bones demonstrates how important it was seen to be. There must be no blemish even after death. (Compare Joh 19:6 where John applies this same idea to the death of Jesus. He was offered up in His perfection as God’s Passover Lamb and not a bone of Him was broken). The purpose in mentioning this here is to indicate why only those within the covenant may eat of it. It is especially holy, and it belongs to God.

“All the congregation of Israel shall do it.” There were to be no exemptions for the children of Israel. All of them must partake wherever possible. Like circumcision into the covenant the Passover was the sign of those who were His. ‘The congregation’. That is, all those who gather to worship Him because they are circumcised into the covenant and have submitted to Yahweh.

Exo 12:48-49

“And when a stranger sojourns with you and wants to keep the Passover to Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised and then let him come near and keep it. And he shall be as one born in the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One law shall be to him that is homeborn and to him that sojourns among you.”

But anyone who wished to enter into the privileges of Yahweh’s covenant with the fathers and eat the Passover might do so by commitment and circumcision. By this they would be declaring their intent to become ‘children of Israel’, and must be welcomed on equal terms. They could now partake of the holy meal because they had been made a part of the holy people, and were thus themselves holy to Yahweh. This is why the ‘mixed multitude’ (verse 38) could join the covenant, become members of the children of Israel, and keep the Passover. But in order to do so they must be committed to being circumcised.

“As one born in the land.” God is looking forward to that time when they have reached the land He has promised them (Exo 3:8 compare Exo 13:5). It is then that strangers will regularly come among them and be faced with the choice described.

The importance of these words for our understanding of how the church fits in with Israel cannot be overemphasised. Jesus’ Apostles and the all Jewish church went out to call men to follow Jesus and join the community of the true Israel, ‘the true vine’ (Joh 15:1-6), and soon learned that Gentiles too could be welcomed into ‘the church of Christ’ (Mat 16:18), which was built on the Apostles of Jerusalem not on the church of Rome. Indeed Rome could not have been in mind for the idea was to build a new ‘congregation (ekklesia) of Israel’, and this had to be founded on believing Jews. Believing Gentiles were thus grafted into the olive tree and became part of the Israel of God (Rom 11:17; Gal 6:16; Eph 2:12-22), while unbelieving Jews were ‘cut off’. The church was seen as the renewed Israel, the genuine continuation of the Israel of God confirmed at Sinai. When Paul argued that they did not need to be circumcised it was not on the grounds that they were not entering Israel, it was on the grounds that they were already circumcised with the circumcision of Christ (Col 2:11; Col 2:13).

Exo 12:49

‘Thus did all the children of Israel. As Yahweh commanded Moses and Aaron so they did.’

Most probably this is a comment on the whole chapter stressing the obedience of Israel to God’s commandments through Moses, as verse 50 might be seen as confirming. Alternately, but less likely, it may connect only with the last section confirming that Israel later carried out Yahweh’s requirements concerning the Passover.

In the latter case it might be seen as confirming that the mixed multitude, who were now recognised as being potential children of Israel, did agree to fulfil God’s requirement and gave their commitment to be circumcised under the aegis of the ‘homeborn’. In the event it would have to await a suitable occasion when they could have time to recover, but the intention would be there and would be accepted. The impression given elsewhere is in fact that circumcision was not carried out in the wilderness, even for the children of the ‘homeborn’, something which had to be remedied when they arrived in the land (Jos 5:2-9). But it would certainly seem that the mixed multitude were included at the covenant ceremony at Sinai. There is no suggestion anywhere that they were not.

Exo 12:50

‘And it came about the selfsame day that Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.’

This relates back to ‘the self same day’ in Exo 12:41 confirming that the words of Yahweh to Moses and Aaron in Exo 12:43-49 were given that day, and to Exo 12:14 where it is the day of the Passover, and stressing that the deliverance began on the day that Yahweh had chosen. It is a triumphant declaration that Yahweh did what He had promised with none to thwart Him. This was what the celebration of the Passover was all about, the deliverance of their firstborn through the shedding of blood, and their own deliverance from Pharaoh through the power of Yahweh.

Note for Christians.

We can imagine the joy of the Israelites as they streamed from the places where they had lived for so long, and had found themselves in bondage, to a new life. They knew little of what lay before them. All they knew was that because of the power of Yahweh Pharaoh had had to let them go, and they were free. Every true Christian has experienced that deliverance, although in our case the Passover was of Christ the Passover lamb sacrificed for us (Joh 1:29; 1Co 5:7), and the freedom was from the bondage of the guilt of sin. And we too have commenced our pilgrim journey (1Pe 2:11). But the difference between us and them is that their trek leader was Moses, and while he was a great man of God, he was a man of like passions as they were, while our Trek Leader is the Lord Jesus Christ, made into a perfect Trek Leader through His own sufferings (Heb 2:10), and able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him because of His continual heavenly intercession for us. Do you sometimes begin to feel alone? Never forget that there is One Who always sees you, and continually makes intercession for you without ceasing (Heb 7:25).

End of note.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett