1.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
the LORD (Hebrew. Jehovah. spake. See note on Exodus 6:10 , and compare note on Exodus 3:7 .
2.
Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
Sanctify. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject). App-6 . = Declare that I will sanctify (or set apart), which Moses did in verses: Exodus 13:12 .
children = sons.
man . Hebrew. 'adam. App-14 .
There are two pairs of Phylacteries, so called (in Greek) from their use - a prayer-fillet or band worn to-day on forehead and hands during prayer. First pair here, Exodus 13:3-10 and Exodus 13:11-16 . Second pair in Deuteronomy 6:4-8 and Exo 11:13-2 . Compare the structures in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 .
3.
And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
leavened = fermented.
4.
This day came ye out in the month Abib.
Abib = the month of green ears. Jewish tradition says that in this month Abram was called, Isaac was born, Israel delivered from Egypt, and Tabernacle reared up. The Talmud further says: "As in Nisan there had been redemption, so in Nisan there should be redemption" (Bab. fol. 11). John's preaching began and the Lord's death occurred in this month.
5.
And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
the LORD . Some codices, with Samaritan Pentateuch, The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and Septuagint, add "thy God".
Canaanites . The Perizzites and Girgashites not included in this list.
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton in this verse. ( App-6 .)
6.
Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.
7.
Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
8.
And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.
9.
And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.
10.
Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.
11.
And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,
12.
That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD's.
13.
And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
ass . Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species), App-6 , "ass" put for all animals not offered in sacrifice.
redeem = ransom. Hebrew. padah = to redeem (from bondage, by power). First occurance. Not g'aal. See note on Exodus 6:6 .
14.
And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
15.
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
man. Hebrew. 'adam. App-14 .
sacrifice . Hebrew zabach. See App-43 .
all . Ellipsis to be supplied "every [beast]".
16.
And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.
token . See the Structure on p. 90.
17.
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
God. Hebrew. Elohim . App-14 .
18.
But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
Red sea . Hebrew. Yam suph = weedy, or reedy. Eng. "Red" comes from the Greeks reading Edom (whose land it washed) as an appellative instead of a proper name (Esau or Edom = red, Genesis 25:25 ). Called "red "from Septuagint. Dried up fifty miles north of present shore. Will quite dry up at future Exodus. Isaiah 11:15 , Isaiah 11:16 ; Isaiah 19:5 .
harnessed = armed, as Joshua 1:14 . Jdg 7:11 . 1 Chronicles 7:21 ; or marshalled by fives, as in 2 Kings 1:9 . Isaiah 3:3 (the number of grace, see App-10 ). To this day five is an evil number in Egypt. Whichever is the meaning, both point to order and organization. They were an ordered "host" (Exodus 12:41 ), and not a disorderly rabble.
19.
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
the bones of Joseph . Another evidence of order. Compare Genesis 50:25 . Joseph's faith exhibited 150 years before. Compare also Joshua 24:32 and Acts 7:15 , Acts 7:16 .
surely visit you . See Genesis 50:25 , and compare note on Genesis 26:28 .
20.
And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
21.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
the LORD went before them . Compare Exodus 14:19 with Exodus 32:34 , the Angel of Jehovah.
22.
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
took not away . See note on Exodus 40:36-38 .