1Und Jehovah redete zu Mose und sprach: 2Heilige Mir alle Erstgeburt; alles, was die Mutter bricht bei den Söhnen Israels, bei Mensch und bei Vieh, Mein ist es. 3Und Mose sprach zu dem Volk: Gedenket dieses Tages, da ihr aus Ägypten, aus dem Hause der Knechte ausgegangen seid; denn mit starker Hand hat euch Jehovah von da herausgebracht; und nichts Gesäuertes soll gegessen werden. 4Heute gehet ihr aus im Monat Abib. 5Und soll geschehen, wenn dich Jehovah in das Land der Kanaaniter und der Chethiter und der Amoriter und der Chiviter und der Jebusiter, das Er deinen Vätern geschworen, dir zu geben, hineinbringen wird, in ein Land, da Milch und Honig fließt, so sollst du diesen Dienst in diesem Monat dienen. 6Sieben Tage sollst du Ungesäuertes essen, und am siebenten Tage ist ein Fest dem Jeho- vah. 7Ungesäuertes esse man die sieben Tage. Und nichts Gesäuertes soll man bei dir sehen, und kein Sauerteig soll in deiner ganzen Grenze bei dir zu sehen sein. 8Und sage an deinem Sohn an diesem Tage und sprich: Darum ist es, daß Jehovah dies mir getan, da ich aus Ägypten ausging. 9Und es sei dir zum Zeichen auf deiner Hand und zum Andenken zwischen deinen Augen, auf daß Jehovahs Gesetz in deinem Munde sei; denn mit starker Hand hat Jehovah dich aus Ägypten herausgebracht. 10Und du sollst halten diese Satzung zur bestimmten Zeit von Jahr zu Jahr. 11Und soll geschehen, wenn dich Jehovah ins Land der Kanaaniter hereingebracht, wie Er dir und deinen Vätern geschworen und dir es gegeben hat: 12Und alles, was die Mutter bricht, soll an Jehovah übergehen und alle Erstgeburt vom Wurf des Viehs, sei Jehovahs. 13Und alle Erstgeburt vom Esel sollst du mit einem Lamme einlösen, und lösest du es nicht ein, so brich ihr das Genick; aber alle Erstgeburt vom Menschen unter deinen Söhnen sollst du einlösen. 14Und es wird geschehen, daß dich dein Sohn morgen fragt und sagt: Was soll das? und du sagst ihm: Mit starker Hand hat uns Jehovah aus Ägypten, der Knechte Haus, herausgebracht. 15Und es geschah, da Pharao sich verhärtete, uns zu entlassen, da erwürgte Jehovah alle Erstgeburt im Land Ägypten, von der Erstgeburt des Menschen bis zur Erstgeburt des Viehs; darum opfere ich Jehovah alles Männliche, das die Mutter bricht, und löse alle Erstgeburt meiner Söhne ein. 16Und es sei zum Zeichen auf deiner Hand und zum Stirnband zwischen deinen Augen, daß mit starker Hand Jehovah uns aus Ägypten herausgebracht. 17Und es geschah, als Pharao das Volk entließ, daß Gott sie nicht auf dem Weg zu der Philister Land, weil er nahe war, führte; denn Gott sprach: Das Volk möchte sich es gereuen lassen, wenn es Streit sieht, und wieder nach Ägypten zurückkehren. 18Und Gott ließ das Volk herumziehen, auf dem Weg der Wüste nach dem Schilfmeer, und kampfgerüstet zogen die Söhne Israels herauf aus dem Lande Ägypten. 19Und Mose hatte die Gebeine Josephs mit sich genommen; denn der hatte die Söhne Israels einen Eid schwören lassen, und gesprochen: Gewißlich wird euch Gott heimsuchen , und ihr sollt meine Gebeine von da mit euch hinaufbringen. 20Und sie brachen von Sukkoth auf und lagerten in Etham, am Ende der Wüste. 21Und Jehovah ging vor ihnen her, bei Tag in einer Wolkensäule, um sie den Weg zu führen, und bei Nacht in einer Feuersäule, um ihnen zu leuchten, auf daß sie bei Tag und bei Nacht gehen könnten. 22Nicht wich die Wolkensäule bei Tag, noch die Feuersäule bei Nacht, vor dem Volke.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 THE FIRST-BORN SANCTIFIED. (
Exod 13:1-
Exod 13:2)
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).
3 MEMORIAL OF THE PASSOVER. (
Exod 13:3-
Exod 13:10)
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 (
Exod 3:19).
There shall no leavened bread, &c.--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."
4 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.
5 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 [
Josh 5:10], in conformity with the directions here given.
8 thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying--The establishment of this and the other sacred festivals presented the best opportunities of instructing the young in a knowledge of His gracious doings to their ancestors in Egypt.
9 it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, &c.--There is no reason to believe that the Oriental tattooing--the custom of staining the hands with the powder of Hennah, as Eastern females now do--is here referred to. Nor is it probable that either this practice or the phylacteries of the Pharisees--parchment scrolls, which were worn on their wrists and foreheads--had so early an existence. The words are to be considered only as a figurative mode of expression.
that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth, &c.--that is, that it may be the subject of frequent conversation and familiar knowledge among the people.
12 FIRSTLINGS OF BEASTS. (
Exod 13:11-
Exod 13:16)
every firstling, &c.--the injunction respecting the consecration of the first-born, as here repeated, with some additional circumstances. The firstlings of clean beasts, such as lambs, kids, and calves, if males, were to be devoted to God and employed in sacrifice. Those unclean beasts, as the ass's colt, being unfit for sacrifice, were to be redeemed (
Num 18:15).
17 JOURNEY FROM EGYPT. (
Exod 13:17-
Exod 13:21)
God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, &c.--The shortest and most direct route from Egypt to Palestine was the usual caravan road that leads by Belbeis, El-Arish, to Ascalon and Gaza. The Philistines, who then possessed the latter, would have been sure to dispute their passage, for between them and the Israelites there was a hereditary feud (
1Chr 7:21-22); and so early a commencement of hostilities would have discouraged or dismayed the unwarlike band which Moses led. Their faith was to be exercised and strengthened, and from the commencement of their travels we observe the same careful proportion of burdens and trials to their character and state, as the gracious Lord shows to His people still in that spiritual journey of which the former was typical.
18 God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, &c.--This wondrous expanse of water is a gulf of the Indian ocean. It was called in Hebrew "the weedy sea," from the forest of marine plants with which it abounds. But the name of the Red Sea is not so easily traced. Some think it was given from its contiguity to the countries of Edom ("red"); others derive it from its coral rocks; while a third class ascribe the origin of the name to an extremely red appearance of the water in some parts, caused by a numberless multitude of very small mollusca. This sea, at its northern extremity, separates into two smaller inlets--the eastern called anciently the Elanitic gulf, now the gulf of Akaba; and the western the Heroopolite gulf, now the gulf of Suez, which, there can be no doubt, extended much more to the north anciently than it does now. It was toward the latter the Israelites marched.
went up harnessed--that is, girded, equipped for a long journey. (See
Ps 105:37). The Margin renders it "five in a rank," meaning obviously five large divisions, under five presiding officers, according to the usages of all caravans; and a spectacle of such a mighty and motley multitude must have presented an imposing appearance, and its orderly progress could have been effected only by the superintending influence of God.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him--in fulfilment of the oath he exacted from his brethren (
Gen 50:25-
Gen 50:26). The remains of the other patriarchs (not noticed from their obscurity) were also carried out of Egypt (
Acts 7:15-
Acts 7:16); and there would be no difficulty as to the means of conveyance--a few camels bearing these precious relics would give a true picture of Oriental customs, such as is still to be seen in the immense pilgrimages to Mecca.
20 encamped in Etham--This place is supposed by the most intelligent travellers to be the modern Ajrud, where is a watering-place, and which is the third stage of the pilgrim-caravans to Mecca. "It is remarkable that either of the different routes eastward from Heliopolis, or southward from Heroopolis, equally admit of Ajrud being Etham. It is twelve miles northwest from Suez, and is literally on the edge of the desert" [Pictorial Bible].
21 the Lord went before them--by a visible token of His presence, the Shekinah, in a majestic cloud (
Ps 78:14;
Neh 9:12;
1Cor 10:1), called "the angel of God" (
Exod 14:19;
Exod 23:20-
Exod 23:23;
Ps 99:6-
Ps 99:7;
Isa 63:8-
Isa 63:9).