The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1 — Section 265

IOP on the two post.s and lintel of his door- "'as received by Divine Revelation! com- way (ver 7), so leaving the mark of the manded by God, and merely esta.blis ied by blood on it. He WAS then the ea.me night to the a.gency of the two brothers. In the land roe...ct the lamb whole, and ea.t it with un- of Egypt. The introduction of these words seems to show that we have here a separate leavened bread e.nd bitter herbs (vers. 8-10). document on the subject of the Passover, He was to have his dress close girt a.bout him, written independently of what hM preceded, his ,;a.nda.ls on his feet, a.nd bis staff in his some time after the exodus, and placed here hnnd ; to be prepared, that is, for a jonrney. without altera.tion, when Moses gathered If be did a.II this, God, when he went through together bis various writings into a. single work. the le.nd to smite and destroy, ·would "pass Ver. 2.-Thia month sha.11 be unto you the over" the hollSe upon which there was the beginning of months, The Israelite year blood, and spa.re all that dwelt in 1t. Other- would seem to have hitherto commenced with wise the plague would be upon them to the a.utumnal equinox (Ex. xxiii. 16), or at destroy them (vcrs. 11, 13). Such were the any ra.te with the month Tisri (or Etliani.m), which corresponded to our October. Hence- directions given for immediate observance, forth two reckonings were employed, one tor and such was the Passover proper. The lamb sacred, the other for civil purposes, the first itself was primarily the Pesach (ver. 11), the month of each year, sacred or civil, being the "pass," which secured safety. From this the seventh month of the other. Abib, "the name spread to the entire festival. Having, month of ears "--our April, nearly-became now the first month of the ecclesiastical year, by the directions recorded in verses 3--13 while Tisri became its seventh or sabbatical instituted the festival, God proceeded, in month. It is remarkable that neither the ..-crscs 14--20, to require its continued celebra- Egyptians nor the Babylonians agreed with tion year after year, e.nd to give additional the original Israelite practice, the Egyptians rules as to the mode of its a.n.nua.l observance. commencing their year with Thotb, or July; and the Babylonians and Assyrians theirs with l. The festival was to last seven days. 2. Nisannu, or April. No leavened bread was to be eaten during Ver. 3.-Speak ye unto all the congrega- that space, and leaven was even to be put tion, Under the existing circwnste.nces away altogether out of all houses. S. On the Moses could only venture to summon th"' first day of the se,en and on the last, there elders of Israel to a meeting. He necessarily left it to them to signify his wishes to the was to be "a holy convocation" or gathering people. (See ver. 21.) A lamb. The He- for worship. 4. No work not strictly neces- brew word is one of much wider meaning sary was to be done on these days. Other the.n our " lamb," It is applicable to both directions were given at a later date. l. Be- sheep and goats, and to either animal without ,ides the Paschal lamb, with which the festi- limit of age. In the present case the age was fixed at a year by subsequent enactment val commenced, and which was to be a (ver. 5) ; but the offerer was left free with domestic rite, public sacrifices were appointed respect to the species. It is curious that, such for each day of the seven-to consist of two being the case, the lamb alone should, so fer young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs, and as appears, ever have been offered. Accord- one .,goat, with appropriate " meat-offerings " ing to the house of their fathers. Literally, "for a father's house," i. e. for a family. (Num. xx.viii 19-24). 2. On the second day Ver. 4.-If the household be too little for of the feast, "the morrow eiter the sabbath," the lamb-i. e., " too few to consume it at a the first fruits of the harvest were to be pre- sitting." Usage in course of time fixed the sented in the shape of a ripe sbeei ( of barley) mini.mum number at ten. (Joseph. Bell. Jud wluch was to be a wave-offering, and to be vi. 9, § 3.) The whole family, men, women and children participated. The hunb was accompanied by the saerince of a lamb with generally slain between the ninth hour (3 meat and drink offerings (Lev. x.xiii. 10-14). p.m.) and the eleventh (5 p.m.). Let him By this regulation the festival was made to and his neighbour take it according to the embody the oid spring feast, and to have tbns number of the sonls. If there were a house- a double aspect. hold of only five, which could not possibly con- sume the lamb, any large neighbouring family Ver. 1.-The Lord spa.ke.-According to was to send five or six of its number, to IDJJ.ke up tLe Biblical record, neither Moses nor Aaron the deficiency. Every man according to his iutroduced auy legislation of their own, eating, etc. It is difficult to see wbo.t sense either ai this time or later. The whole sys- our translators intended. The real direction tem, religiow,, political, and ecclesiast.ical, is that, in providing a proper number of OH, XII. u-8.) THE BOOK OF EXODUS.