Exodus 17, Massah and Meribah

God has provided the Israelites with manna and quail. They continue their journey eastward into the Sinai desert.

Exodus 17:1-3, Thirsty

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.

    

So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." 

Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"

    

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?"

At a place in the desert called Rephidim, there is no water. Once again the people complain, in the same way that they complained earlier: "Egypt was better! You brought us out here to kill us!"

What does it mean to "put YHWH to the test"?  Fretheim argues that (in modern terms) this is using YHWH as a "vending machine", demanding that He put out gifts upon request.

Exodus 17:4-7, Massah and Meribah

Then Moses cried out to the LORD, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me."

    

The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.  I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.  Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." 

So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

     

And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

Once again, God will provide a solution.  But Moses is weary of the grumbling. Moses "strikes" the rock with his staff, just as he, earlier, struck the Nile. This time there is a good result.

The Hebrew massah (מַסָּה) means "a test" or "a trial". The Hebrew word "meribah" (מְרִיבָה) is a noun meaning "provocation", "strife", "quarreling."

Exodus 17:8-13, Battle with the Amalekites

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."

    

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up--one on one side, one on the other--so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

    

So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

And now there is a battle with the Amalekites. This is the first battle in the wilderness. To emphasize that it is really God acting through the Israelites, we see that whenever Moses holds up his hands (to worship? to ask for help?) the Israelites are successful but when he tires and drops his hands, they begin to lose.  Aaron and Hur comes to Moses's aid and help him hold up his hands. Fretheim suggests that the easiest interpretation of the necessity of Moses to hold up his hand is that this gives the army below a visible sign that YHWH, through Moses, is in charge -- that the staff of Moses represents the hand of YHWH.

This is the first mention of Joshua. Here he leads the army against the Amalekites. He will reappear in as an assistant to Moses in chapters 24 and 32 of Exodus.

Exodus 17:14-16, Amalekites draw God's wrath

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

    

Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."

The symbolism, in the hands lifted up to the throne, is an important one and is to be memorialized. The Amalekites (like the Philistines later) will be a  perpetual enemy of Israel.

The Amalekites are descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:15-16.) In 1 Samuel 15:7-9, King Saul attacks the Amelekites but spares Agag, their king. (He will get in trouble for that later.) In the book of Esther (Esther 3:1), the evil nobleman Haman will be identified as an Amalekite, a descendant of Agag.   

As Alter points out, verse 14 gives an early example of human writing. Written symbols, placed on papyrus or sheepskin, would've been rare during the time of Abraham and there is no mention of writing in the Old Testament, prior to this event.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is sepher,

סֵפֶר

a noun meaning "book", "letter", or "scroll." It appears here in verse 14, translated "scroll". Previously in the Torah, it appears once in Genesis 5:1 as the author discussed the lineage of Adam.

Some Random Thoughts

The writing in the Torah often leaves some gaps, some mysteries, that make it hard for us (or at least me) to understand. Who is upset with whom here? The people grumble to Moses and Moses grumbles to God and God then provides a quick solution in which Moses strikes the rock. But in another account of this incident (Numbers 20:1-13) Moses is chastised for losing his temper.

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First published March 20, 2023; updated March 19, 2026

Exodus 16, Quail and Manna

The Israelites have successfully left Egypt and, after singing a song of praise, have reached the oasis of Elim. (The Israelites are moving east from the Red Sea across the Sinai Peninsula.)

Exodus 16:1-5, Desert famine

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.

    

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."

    

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days."

So quickly the Israelites forget the work and oppression in Egypt!  The desert wanderings will include many "murmurings" or "grumblings" of this type. In this case, patiently, God provides a solution. 

The Hebrew word luwn (לוּן) in verse 2 is a verb that means "to lodge" or "to dwell" or ... "to grumble." It is often used to describe one staying overnight. It first occurs in Genesis 19:2 to describe Lot's invitation to his angelic guests. It is possible that the "murmuring" meaning of the word comes from speech that is "lodging" or "dwelling" on a particular point, that is "nagging."

Exodus 16:6-9, Stop grumbling

So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?"

    

Moses also said, "You will know that it was the LORD when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."

    

Then Moses told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, `Come before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"

This passage includes one of many "knowing" passages: YHWH does this so that His people will know Who brought them out of Egypt!  

Moses communicates God's plan to give them meat in the evening and bread in the morning.  (Note the Jewish order: the day begins at evening.)

Exodus 16:10-12, Glory in a cloud

While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.

    

The LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, `At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"

The Shekinah Glory of YHWH appears in a great cloud, as it did in Exodus 13:20-22.

Exodus 16:13-17, Quail and manna

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.

    

When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.

    

This is what the LORD has commanded: `Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.'"

    

The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.

Quail falls in the evening; a bread-ish substance is on the ground in the morning. In the seventh plague God rained hail on Egypt; this positive version of that rain is a rain of quail in the evening.  Fretheim argues in his commentary that both of these events could be explained naturally, but, as we see in a moment, the fact that this rain "rests" on the Sabbath -- as do the Israelites -- does not meet a natural explanation.

 

Exodus 16:18-20, Eat only what you need

And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.

    

Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."

    

However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

The people are to gather just what they need.  They are not to be greedy and -- as is common for hungry people! -- hoard their food.  In this case, the hoarding does no good.

Exodus 16:21-24, Gather twice for the sabbath

Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

     

On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much--two omers for each person--and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.

     

He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: `Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.'"

   

So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.

This is the first occurrence in the Old Testament of the word shabbath (שַׁבָּת), "Sabbath". The Sabbath was not specified as a special day until this chapter. Its value will be emphasized in the Mosaic Covenant, starting in chapter 20.

To emphasize the Sabbath, the people are to collect twice as much the day before and none on the Sabbath and here this double-time "hoarding" is acceptable. 

Exodus 16:25-30, Celebrating the sabbath

"Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today.

    

Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."

    

Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out."

    

So the people rested on the seventh day.

In verse 28 The Hebrew in "how long will you..." is plural. Moses is not the subject of YHWH's question; the people are.

Exodus 16:31-36, Remember this!

The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.

    

Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: `Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.'"

    

So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD to be kept for the generations to come."

    

As the LORD commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna in front of the Testimony, that it might be kept.

    

The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. (An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)

 The Hebrew "manna" means "What is it"? (see verse 15). So the bread-ish food is named for the question it raises! It will feed the people until they are ready to enter the Promise Land.

Our narrator inserts an explanatory sentence about the value of an omer an explanation that is no good for those of us in the 21st-Century. An omer, we believe, was about 2 quarts.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is man,

מָן

an interrogative pronoun meaning "what?" When combined with the third person singular pronoun hu (הוּא), it becomes mān hū in verse 15, "what is it?" and thus becomes the name of this strange food.

Some Random Thoughts

There have been numerous attempts to explain the influx of quail in the evening and the growth of manna on the ground in the morning, but none of these explain why this provision might go on, day after day, skipping every seventh day. Such explanations are an attempt to insert a modern scientific viewpoint into the ancient world. The message of this chapter is that the provision of food was a miraculous, supernatural event, beyond explanation.

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First published March 18, 2023; updated March 18, 2026

Exodus 15, The Song of the Sea

YHWH has saved the Israelites from the Egyptians. Moses and Miriam celebrate in song. Praising YHWH in song is an explicit part of worship, as proven by the book of Psalms. 

Exodus 15:1-5, The song of Moses

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: 

    "I will sing to the LORD, 

for he is highly exalted. 

    The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea. 

    The LORD is my strength and my song; 

he has become my salvation. 

    He is my God, and I will praise him, 

my father's God, and I will exalt him.

    The LORD is a warrior; 

the LORD is his name.

    Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. 

    The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 

    The deep waters have covered them; 

they sank to the depths like a stone."

This song/psalm shows typical Hebrew poetry themes  -- thought rhymes -- where a brief thought is repeated or amplified, in a repetitive rhythm. There is poetic imagery: horse and rider "hurled" as if by a might hand.

(Reminder: The "Red Sea" throughout the Old Testament, is really, in Hebrew, the Sea of Reeds; I will cease with this reminder shortly.)

In verse 1 (and repeated in verse 21), the phrase "ḡā·’ōh gā·’āh" (translated "highly exalted" by the NIV) doubles the verb gaah (גָּאָה), meaning "to grow, increase, rise."

       

Exodus 15:6-8, A blast from YHWH's nostrils

   "Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. 

    Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.

    In the greatness of your majesty 

you threw down those who opposed you. 

    You unleashed your burning anger; 

it consumed them like stubble.

    By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. 

    The surging waters stood firm like a wall; 

the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea."

God is personified in nature; a blast of his nostrils creates a wind that piles up the waters.

Exodus 15:9-10, The enemy boasted... but ...

   "The enemy boasted, `I will pursue, 

I will overtake them. 

    I will divide the spoils; 

I will gorge myself on them. 

    I will draw my sword 

and my hand will destroy them.'

    But you blew with your breath, 

and the sea covered them. 

    They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Six lines are given to the enemy's boasting, followed by a reaction with God's "breath". The enemy here need no longer be the Egyptians; this is a song about YHWH's protection against all enemies. When the enemy raises his sword, YHWH responds with wind and sea.

Exodus 15:11-12, Who is majestic in holiness?

  "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? 

    Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, 

awesome in glory, 

working wonders? 

    You stretched out your right hand 

and the earth swallowed them.

Of all the ancient gods, only one is truly God: YHWH.

Exodus 15:13-16, The nations will hear

     In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. 

In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

The nations will hear and tremble; 

    anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

    The chiefs of Edom will be terrified, 

    the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling, 

    the people of Canaan will melt away; 

    terror and dread will fall upon them. 

  By the power of your arm they will be as still as a stone-- 

    until your people pass by, O LORD, 

    until the people you bought pass by.

The news of this will go before the Israelites as they move east and north towards Canaan.

Verse 5 ends with God making the Egyptians "sink like a stone." In verse 10, they "sink like lead." At the end of verse 16, the enemy nations are "as still as a stone." Alter sees these phrases as introducing summaries for three strophes, verses 1-6, 7-11 and 12-17.

Exodus 15:17-18, YHWH's people planted in their home

You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance-- 

the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, 

the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.

    The LORD will reign for ever and ever."

YHWH has a covenant plan for His people, planting them in their home, in YHWH's inheritance, in Canaan. (NIV footnotes: the people "bought" in verse 16 might be "created".)

Exodus 15:19, Pharaoh's men drowned; Israelites walk on dry ground

When Pharaoh's horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, 

the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, 

but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

The miracle of the passing across the Sea of Reeds is repeated. Imes emphasizes that although our modern culture tends to downplay the songs and instead look to the history for theology, we should do the reverse.  The history is often a recording of events, sometimes without commentary; the true commentary appears in the songs. In addition to the exhilaration of salvation and the destruction of the enemy, we also see here a statement that YHWH has a sanctuary place prepared for Israel.

Alter calls this song "The Song of the Sea" and I have used that title for this chapter.

Exodus 15:20-21, The women sing

Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. 

Miriam sang to them: 

"Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. 

The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea."

Miriam takes a tambourine and leads the women in singing and dancing, singing the song above. (Only the first line of the song is repeated here.) Imes says that the Hebrew word translated "tambourine" is really a drumhead. Miriam takes the lead in spreading this song across Israel. It was probably Miriam who watched Moses saved from the water back in Exodus 2:1-10. Here Miriam is a witness to all of Israel being saved from the water.

The Israelites will continue to praise YHWH in song throughout the Old Testament times.  The book of Psalms includes many of these (including a psalm by Moses) but these songs occur in other places.  For an overview of the many songs in scripture (both Old and New Testaments) see this site by Overview Bible.

We note here that Miriam, like her brother Aaron (see Exodus 7:1), is called a prophet. A prophet in Scripture is one who passes on the messages of YHWH.  Both Aaron and Miriam pass on YHWH's message as it is given to Moses.

Exodus 15:22-26, Marah

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"

    

Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them.

    

He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

The Hebrew word "Marah" means "bitter". Moses (or is it YHWH?) repeats the previous promises: stay committed to YHWH and you will be kept safe. Fretheim argues that many of the earlier plagues have positive echoes in the wilderness -- in Exodus 7:20-24, Moses struck the water with his wooden staff to make the Nile undrinkable. Here he tosses in a special piece of wood that makes the water sweet.

Fretheim claims that natural solutions have been suggested here -- a branch from a particular tree, with a particular type of bark, placed in a certain type of bitter water might "sweeten" it.  His point is that YHWH may be guiding Moses to natural solutions.

Exodus 15:27, Oasis at Elim

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Finally at Elim they have rest and an oasis, among 12 springs and 70 palm trees. (We see the appearance of favorite Old Testament numbers, 12 and 70.)

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is aph,

אַף

masculine noun meaning nose, nostril, forehead. It appears in verse 8 describing the strong east wind as a blast from the nose of God.

Some Random Thoughts

Miriam takes a tambourine and leads the women in singing and dancing. Singing and dancing at the end of a battle was often done by the women (see I Samuel 18: 6-7.) In this event Miriam, sister of the leader, takes the initiative to spread this song across Israel.

Fretheim suggests that the women, in their dancing, singing and drumming, are reenacting the story in the song. Can you see the women dramatizing the foreboding sound of the wind and water, the disaster of the Egyptians, the joyous praise at the end?

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First published March 17, 2023; updated March 14, 2026

Exodus 14, The Sea of Reeds

The Israelites are headed the long way to Palestine, a path that leads them to the Sea of Reeds.

Exodus 14:1-4, Enticing the Egyptians

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, 

`The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, 

hemmed in by the desert.' 

And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." 

    

So the Israelites did this.

The Israelites follow the instructions that God gives them, as one more statement is about to be made about the power of their God. 

YHWH states that the upcoming events will "gain glory", displaying His power. The word translated "glory" here is kabad (כָּבַד), the same word translated "hardened" when describing Pharaoh's heart during the plagues. The word carries the concept of "heavy", whether in a positive sense of honor and power or in a negative sense of being turgid and unyielding.

The text lists a number of different sites and camps. There is debate as to the geographical location of these places. Given the more than three millennia since this event, not only have the place names changed, but even the Egyptian geography has changed, as the Nile delta and coastlines evolved.

Exodus 14:5-9, Pharaoh's heart hardened one last time

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.

    

The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians--all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops--pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

Israel appears to be trapped. Always obstinate, Pharaoh continues to act foolishly, hurting himself and his people.

 

Exodus 14:10-12, Israelites cry out

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, `Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

Just as the Egyptians are enticed by this apparent dead end route, so too, the Israelites are frightened. Alter calls this the first of many "murmurings," in which the Israelites whine, grumble, and murmur against Moses.

Exodus 14:13-15, Trust but move!

Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

    

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on."

Moses says, "Be strong, stand firm!"  YHWH appears to say, "Yes, quit complaining. But MOVE!!"

Exodus 14:16-18, Stretch out your hand

"Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.  The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."

Here is how the Israelites will get out of the trap!

One of the results of this event will be that not just Israel, but Egypt, will "know" Who YHWH is.

Exodus 14:19-20, The angel of God stands between Israel and Egypt

Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

A very visible barrier protects the Israelites from the Egyptians. This pillar of cloud is also described as an "angel" (malak,  מֲלְאָךְ, "messenger, ambassador") of God.

Exodus 14:21-23, A strong east wind

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.

During the night, while the pillar of cloud stands between the Israelites and the Egyptians, a "strong east wind" blows across the waters. The Israelites cross the Sea of Reeds on dry land.  The Egyptians follow.

Where is this crossing? It is not clear. The name is inconclusive and it is even possible that this body of water no longer exists, since the geography has changed over the three millennia since this event.

As Alter points out, the division of the sea with dry land appearing, harkens back to the Third Day of Creation (Genesis 1:9-10.) 

Exodus 14:24-28, The Egyptian army destroyed

During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."

     

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

God is portrayed here as looking down from the top of the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army below him.

The Masoretic texr of verse 25 translates to "He made the wheels of their chariots come off" but, following the Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac manuscripts, we might have "He jammed the wheels of their chariots" Alter suggest that the chariot wheels got stuck in the muck as the sea flowed back. Regardless, the wheels of Egyptians chariots come off as the Egyptians panic. The Egyptians are aware that they have run into a powerful God.

(In verse 27, the Hebrew word liq·rā·ṯōw (לִקְרָאת֑וֹ), translated "toward it" by the NIV, does not make it clear if the Egyptians are fleeing toward or away from the sea.)

Long ago the Egyptians had tried to drown the newborn boys of Israel in the river.  Now it is the Egyptian men that drown.  

Exodus 14:29-31, Egyptians see God's power

But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. 

 

This dramatic event should seal the Israelites understanding that YHWH is in complete control and that YHWH deserves their complete allegiance.  But (spoiler alert!) the Israelites are human....

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is tsaaq,

צָעַק

a verb meaning "to cry out." It appears in versus 10 and 15 as the people cry out to God. The word first appears in the Bible in Genesis 4:10 when Abel's blood cries out to God.

Some Random Thoughts

There are dramatic storms that sweep away water. I recall Hurricane Ian pulling the water out of Tampa Bay for a time. In the next chapter we will see (Exodus 15:8) that the powerful east wind that moves back the sea is described as a blast of the "nostrils of God" piling up the water.

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First published March 16, 2023; updated March 14, 2026

The Ten Signs

Two of the most dramatic stories in the Bible occur early in the book of Exodus. We begin with the ten plagues in the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh and follow that shortly after with the dramatic division of the Red Sea. For over three thouand years, Jews and Christians have told and retold those stories. Most people with a primitive knowledge of the Bible will have heard of these events. (I recall, as a teenager, taking a date to a movie that was based on a murderer acting out the ten plagues. I forget -- was that movie The Abominable Dr.Phibes?)

Although the ten plagues in Egypt are dramatic and colorful, the main purpose of the plagues was a theological one. Indeed the plagues are often called signs (oth, אוֹת), and if we wanted to count carefully, we might find eleven "signs" beginning with the staff of Moses, a rod that turns into a serpent that eats up the serpents of Pharaoh’s magicians. (That event has not been counted as one of the plagues because it does not damage or hurt the Egyptians but also because the number ten is a much more “Biblical” number.)

As a reading of the first dozen chapters of Exodus reveals, the main message of each plague is to display the power, the universal power of the God of the Israelites, that God who identifies himself by name to Moses as Yahweh, and then identifies himself to the Egyptian king as the Creator of the universe, the single God Who controls everything and Who can easily defeat any of the Egyptian gods. While the Egyptians boasted of a "powerful hand and outstretched arm", the God of the Israelites uses that same phrasing to make it clear that it is in fact, He Himself Who had the power. (See the statement to Pharaoh in Exodus 9:16.)

In addition to displaying His power over the Egyptians, God also seemed to be making statements about creation, as the divine Being Who rules creation. Quite a number of the plagues have a certain de-creation theme, reversing some type of creation event of Genesis 1. One obvious example occurs in the ninth plague: the three days of darkness reverse the creation of light on Day 1 of creation.

In his commentary on Exodus, Fretheim has a nice section on the plagues (pp. 105-112.) Fredheim says. 

“It is commonly thought that the plagues become increasingly more serious and unpleasant, more and more a threat to Egypt's well-being, beginning with annoyances, moving to disease and damage, andfinally to darkness (= uncreation) and death. “

On the uncreation aspects of the plagues, Fretheim writes:

“They [the plagues] are most fundamentally concerned with the natural order of things, God's nonhuman creation. Each has to do with various phenomena of the natural order. The collective image presented is that the entire created order is caught up in this struggle, either as cause or victim. Pharaoh's antilife measures have unleashed chaotic powers that threaten the very creation that God intended. ... Water is no longer water; light and darkness are no longer separated; diseases of people and animals run amok; insects and amphibians swarm out of control. ... [T]he signs come to a climax in the darkness, which in ettect returns the creation to the first day of Genesis 1, a precreation state of affairs. While everything is unnatural in the sense of being beyond the bounds of the order created by God, the word hypernatural (nature in excess) may better capture the sense.

The plagues are hypernatural at various levels-timing, scope, intensity. Some sense for this is also seen in recurrent phrases to the effect that such "had never been seen before, nor ever shall be again" (10:14; cf. 10:6; 9:18, 24; 11:6).

God's immediate goal is to get Israel through the waters of chaos, enabling them to walk on the "dry ground" of creation as God works his cosmicaly re-creative deed."

There have been attempts to organize the 10 plagues in the various groups are with various themes. To quote Fredheim: 

"[T]here is a certain logic to five groups of two in terms of content (Nile, insects, diseases, damage, darkness/death); or, three groups of three in terms of seting (Pharaoh approached early morning outside – plagues 1, 4, 7; at the palace – plagues 2, 5, 8; and not at all – plagues 3, 6, 9), climaxing in the death of the firstbom."

Because the plagues were such drammatic events at the birth of the nation of Israel, it is not surprising that they will be referred to in other Old Testament passages. The plague show up in two psalms (78 and 105) and are in the background of the Ezekiel chapters 29-32. They are alluded to briefly in other places.

Let us briefly review the ten (no, eleven?) signs that occur in chapters 7 to 12 of Exodus.

0. Staff Becomes a Viper

When Moses first meets Pharaoh, he displays God's power with a staff that becomes a snake (Exodus 7:8-13.) The serpent was a classical Egyptian symbol, often accompanying images of the Pharaoh. Here the word translated "serpent" is commonly used for dragons or monsters or venomous snakes. These are scary beings!  Although the magicians appear to duplicate this, the serpents of YHWH swallow the serpents of Israel, a clear statement and warning of things to come. 

1. The Nile Turns to Blood

In Exodus 7:17–18 the Nile and all its waterways are turned to blood. The Nile river is the major source for Egypt's prosperity and so the effect of this on the people of Egypt is clearly painful. In this episode YHWH is identified as "God of the Hebrews" and he again says, "Know Me!" 

In this sign, Pharaoh is warned in advance. The king's magicians can duplicate the plague but apparently cannot reverse it.

2. The Invasion of Frogs

In  Exodus 8:1–4, once again, Moses warns Pharaoh. The language of Genesis 1 is used here -- just as God created animals on Days 5 and 6, so that the land and seas "teemed" with them, the Egyptian land will "teem" with frogs. This is another "trick" that the Egyptian magicians can also do. They have repeated the "sign" with serpents and then the two plagues of blood and frogs but have been unable to reverse the plagues.

3. Invasion of Gnats

The land is infested as dust turns into gnats (or lice.) This time Moses does not warn Pharaoh. The magicians cannot duplicate this plague and say (finally) "This is an act of God." Although the court magicians are impressed, Pharaoh continues to stubbornly resist.

4. Invasion of Flies

The fourth plague is a horrible swarm of flies. Moses confronts Pharaoh on his daily walk to the water and warns him. The Israelites do not experience the plague; this is a new step, an advancement in the level of the signs and plagues.

Once again, YHWH says, "this will be done so that you will know Me."

5. Destruction of Livestock

Pharaoh is warned again. Although livestock dies, none of the Israelites lose livestock. This is to indicate the special divine action involved in the deaths.

6: Boils

The sixth plague is some type of skin disease,  "boils breaking out."  This is the second time that Pharaoh is not warned.  The magicians' attempt to duplicate the "trick" is stymied by the fact that they themselves have boils! With each new plague, Pharaoh's resistance becomes more isolated; here even his court magicians concede to Moses.

This is the first time when YHWH, not Pharaoh, is attributed with the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. Instead of giving in, Pharaoh now doubles-down on his stubbornness. This plague separates out some Egyptians who "fear the word of the Lord." Many Egyptians no longer support their king. 

7. Hail

In  the seventh plague a dramatic hailstorm destroys the land -- except in Goshen. Pharaoh once again repents. Sorta.... He admits that this time he has sinned and done wrong. The response from Moses is that Pharaoh and his officials do not yet truly fear YHWH. The message from Moses and Aaron is, once again, that all of the Earth is the Lord's and that He controls everything.

8. Swarms of Locusts

Exodus 10:3–6 describes the invasion of locusts. Note the long-term view – telling the story to one's children and grandchildren. The eventual results in Egypt will be dramatic. The news about YHWH's work in Israel will spread. Forty years later, a woman, Rahab, will describe (in Joshua 2: 8-11) the terror that came over Jericho when they heard the news about the actions of the God of Israelites, first in Egypt and later, in the desert.

By this time everyone but a spoiled and stubborn Pharaoh sees the wisdom in giving in to the Israelites.

The locusts are eventually carried into the Sea of Reeds by a strong wind where "Not a single...  survives". This phrase will reappear when the Egyptians attempt to follow the Israelites across the Sea of Reeds.

9. Three Days of Darkness

Exodus 10:21–23 records the ninth plague. Darkness! so deep that it "can be felt." It lasts for three days, so it is not something simple like a solar eclipse.

This reverses Day 1 of Creation, un-creating light.  Quite a number of the plagues "undo" creation, reversing the chaos-to-order progress of Genesis 1.

Moses makes it clear that they will not speak again.  The last plague will be extreme and final, indeed indicative of a deep spiritual, universal event. We will build up to that final plague over the next two chapters.

10. Death of the Firstborn

In  Exodus 11:4–6 the final plague is reported. It will completely free the Israelites. For their journey, they are to ask their Egyptian neighbors, those who have a different attitude than the Pharaoh, for treasures and wealth.  (I hope some of these neighbors were warned of what was coming?!)

Across Egypt everyone weeps. The Egypt that long ago had been throwing baby boys in the Nile now loses some of its own children. Now everyone, even Pharaoh, wants the Israelites gone.

Other Biblical Passages on the Plagues

Psalm 78:43-51 reports on plagues of blood, flies, frogs, locust, hail, cattle destroyed (by hail and lightning), firstborn.

In Psalm 105:26-36 the psalmist remembers darkness, blood, frogs, flies, hail, locusts, firstborn

In Ezekiel 29-32, Ezekiel a prophesizes that Egypt will eventually be destroyed and recalls that they have been destroyed before.

The Book of Deuteronomy ... mentions the "diseases of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 7:15 and 28:60). (e.g. Deuteronomy 6:22; 11:2–3) seem to clearly allude to a plague tradition.

References 

Here is a short collection of references that I have looked at besides the Fretheim commentary:

• A Wikipedia article on the plagues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_of_Egypt
• An article on the plagues from chabad.org.  https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1653/jewish/The-Ten-Plagues-of-Egypt.htm
• Videos on the plagues by the Bible Project https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=532289341837014 https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/why-are-there-10-plagues/
• An article on the plagues by Biblical Archaeology https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/exodus/exodus-in-the-bible-and-the-egyptian-plagues/
• An article on the plagues from Zondervan Academic https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/what-the-bible-tells-us-about-the-10-plagues-of-egypt
• (recommended by a friend) The Plagues of Egypt: Archaeology, History and Science Look at the Bible, by Siro Igino Trevisanato https://www.amazon.com/Plagues-Egypt-Archaeology-History-Science/dp/1593332343

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First published March 15, 2026; updated March 15, 2026

Exodus 13, The Feast of Unleavened Bread

The firstborn males of the Egyptians have died. The Israelites are now fleeing Egypt.

Exodus 13:1-2, Consecrate the firstborn male

The LORD said to Moses, "Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal."

Of course, in a sense, God owns everything, but in this case, the first offspring male is to be especially consecrated. We have seen a cultural emphasis on the firstborn male throughout the book of Genesis.

Exodus 13:3-8, Celebrate this feast of unleavened bread

Then Moses said to the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the LORD brought you out of it with a mighty hand. Eat nothing containing yeast.

    

Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites--the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey--you are to observe this ceremony in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the LORD. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.

    

On that day tell your son, `I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'

The calendar has started over. The Israelites are, for all future time, to reenact this hurried leaving.(Does the lack of yeast indicate urgency?) The day after the Passover, the Israelites are to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread. 

Exodus 13:9-13, Celebrate by redeeming the first-born

This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.

    

"After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your forefathers, you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.

    

Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.

Much of the book of Exodus will emphasize observances and remembrances that are to be part of future worship services. In this case the Israelites are to keep this reminder physically close, much like my culture's use of tattoos. 

Exodus 13:14-16, Sons of Israel

"In days to come, when your son asks you, `What does this mean?' say to him, `With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.'   

And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."

Once again, there is an emphasis: "Make sure you remember this."  The Israelites will always be the people of the Exodus; even today most Jewish holidays look back to this time.

Exodus 13:17-22, Traveling towards the Sea of Reeds

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.

    

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place." 

    

After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

The appearance of YHWH as a pillar of cloud or pillar of fire was described by ancient rabbis as the Shekinah Glory.  It will continue to be a visible, physical manifestation of YHWH as His people wander in the desert.

(A reminder: throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew name Yam Suph, as here in verse 18, is Sea of Reeds, not the Red Sea.)

 

In verse 19, carrying the bones of Joseph, we are remembering Genesis 50:24-25.  (How does the pseudo-Egyptian Moses, presumably raised to adulthood in the palace, know of this old promise?)

There are two feasts mentioned here in Exodus, back-to-back. In chapter 12, we had the Passover and here, immediately after it, we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is matstsah,

מַצָּה

a feminine noun meaning bread (or cake) without leaven. It is translated "unleavened bread" by the NIV; Alter translates it as "flatbread." The issue was not the absence of yeast, but the need to move quickly without waiting for bread to rise.

Some Random Thoughts

People in every culture have set up rituals to memorialized past events or to remember loved ones. This is an important part of human nature. (I have a loved one who has a small tattoo to reminder her of a past miscarriage and more generally, the frailty of human life.)

In this chapter and the one before it, we have two festivals set up: Passover and then the Feast of Unleavened Bread, one immediately following the other.

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First published March 15, 2023; updated March 14, 2026

Exodus 12, Pesach

After the story of Moses and the Israelites in Egypt, covered in chapters 1-11 of Exodus, we suddenly, just before the climactic act, have an interlude. The author of the Torah takes time to carefully describe the expectations of the nation about to rise out of Egypt. This is a new beginning. It will include a new calendar. The birth of the nation includes the first Passover (Hebrew Pesach, פֶסַח.) Out of this event, the People of the Passover are born.

Exodus 12:1-11, The Final Plague is coming

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.  Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.

      

If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.

    

The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

    

Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire--head, legs and inner parts. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.  This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover.

Very specific prescription is given on how each family is to mark their doorposts and cook the lamb. Among the prescription, they are to eat as if in a hurry, ready to go!  These are the people who will always feel like aliens in the land.

Exodus 12:12-14, Passover

"On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn--both men and animals--and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

    

"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD--a lasting ordinance.

The Passover will be an eternal theme for this nation and so we have instructions to future generations.  The Passover is a central rite of Jewishness.  This is the beginning of a new calendar, a new nation, and a new religion.

Imes, in her online class on Exodus, comments on the word pesach, translated here as Passover. The words "pass over" may not be the best translation.  (She cites Karl Kutz and the Dictionary of Classical Hebrew.) The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew allows pesach to be translated "pass over" or "leap" or "protect".  The term here may more accurately means "protection", that is, it is YHWH who will protect the doorway and the homes as the angel of death passes by. (Alter seems to disagree.)

Exodus 12:15-20, "Remove the yeast!"

For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat--that is all you may do.

    

"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born.

    

Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread."

Emphasized again and again -- remove the yeast! No yeast is allowed at any time during this festival.  Why?  Bread cooked with yeast will require time to rise and the Exodus gives no time. There is to be a sense of urgency.

The "Feast of Unleavened Bread" is a name (hammatztzot) different from Pesach. The Hebrew word matstsah (מַצָּה) is translated "unleavened bread" by the NIV; Alter translates it as "flatbread." The issue was not the absence of yeast, but the need to move quickly without waiting for bread to rise.

Exodus 12:21-23, Blood on the door frame

Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.

    

"When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down."

The blood of the sacrificed lamb (and YHWH's protection) will force the "Destroyer" to move on, and pass over the house. 

The blood smeared on the doorframe echoes (says Alter) Zipporah's strange actions in Exodus 4:24-26, when she prevents Moses's death by touching him with the bloody foreskin of their son.

Exodus 12:24-27, A lasting ordinance

"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.

    

When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, `What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them, `It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" 

    

Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

In addition to the drama of the event, there is to be an annual emphasis on remembering Pesach and remembering why it occurred.

Exodus 12:28-30, YHWH strikes the firstborn

The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well.

    

Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

Now we return to the ten plagues. Across Egypt everyone weeps. The Egypt that long ago had been throwing baby boys in the Nile now loses some of its own children.

Exodus 12:31-34, "Up! Leave!"

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me."

    

The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. "For otherwise," they said, "we will all die!"

    

So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.

Now everyone, even Pharaoh, wants the Israelites gone.

Exodus 12:35-39, The migration begins

The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing.

    

The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians. 

  

The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. Many other people went up with them, as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.

    

With the dough they had brought from Egypt, they baked cakes of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

Six hundred thousand men on foot could mean several million people, counting women and children.  Notice in verse 38 that some Egyptians even join the Israelites! (I will write elsewhere on alternate translations for the 600 elef , אֶלֶף, described here.)

Exodus 12:40-42, 430 years

Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt. Because the LORD kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come.

Verse 40 follows the Masoretic text, stating that the people lived in Egypt for 430 years.  The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint manuscripts have "Egypt and Canaan" in place of "Egypt", extending the 430 years to include, possibly, the life of Jacob. In Genesis 15:13, God tells Abraham that his descendants will be in Egypt for 400 years, a length of time that would fit better with the statement in the Septuagint.

Exodus 12:43-51, Regulations for Passover

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover: "No foreigner is to eat of it. Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him, but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it. "It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. The whole community of Israel must celebrate it. 

"An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the LORD's Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land. No uncircumcised male may eat of it. The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you."

    

All the Israelites did just what the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

    

And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.

Foreigners are prohibited from the Passover celebration.  This includes temporary and hired workers.  However a circumcised slave is treated like any other Jewish male.  Celebrating the Passover requires that the men be circumcised, indicating membership in the Israel covenant community. 

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is ger,

גֵּר

a masculine noun meaning "alien, stranger, sojourner." The Israelites were to always remember that this term once described them.

Some Random Thoughts

The dramatic killing of the firstborn child, which is described in verses 28 to 30 here, is surprisingly not the main point of this chapter. The goal of this chapter is to describe the Passover (Pesach). The Passover will be the fundamental feast -- and the start of the calendar year -- for the new nation of Israel.

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First published March 14, 2023; updated March 13, 2026