Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Pealh of the First-bom. EXODUS XII. Departure of the Itraelitet.
have themselves been entangled, and fallen into the pit which they have dug for the righteous. " Verily there In a God that judgeth in the earth." 30. tl»ere was not a house where there was not one dead—Perhups this statement is not to be taken absolutely. The .Scriptures frequently use the words " all," " none," in a comparative sense—and so in this case. There would be many a house in which there would be no child, and many in •A hich the first-born might be already dead. AVhat is to be understood is, that almost every house in Egypt had .-i death in
Instituted before the events they were to commejuorate had transpired.
Ver. 15-51. Unleavened Bread. 15. Seven days hall ye eat unleavened bread, &c.—This was to commemorate another circumstance in tlie departure of the
Israelites, who were urged to leave so hurriedly that their dough was unleavened {v. 39), and they had to eat unleavened cakes (Deuteronomy 16. 3). The greatest care Wivs always taken by the Jews to free their houses/rom leaven —the owner searching every comer of his dwelling with a lighted candle. A figurative allusion to this Is made (1 Ck)rinthiaus 5. 7). The exclusion of leaven for seven days would not be attended with inconvenience in the East, where the usual leaven is dough kept till it becomes sour, and it is kept from one day to another for the purpose of preserving leaven in readiness. Thus even were t>iere none in all the country. It could be got within twenty-fonr hours. [Harmer.] thatsoiU shall be cut off—Excommunicated ftom the community and privileges of the chosen people. 16. there shall be an holy convocation lit., calling of the people, which was done by sound of trumpets (Numbers 10. 2), a sacred assembly—for these days were to De regarded as Sabbaths—excepting only that meat might be cooked on them (ch. 16. 23). 17. ye shall obser>-e, <Sc. —The seven days of this feast were to commence the day after the passover. It was a distinct festival following that feast; but although this feast was instituted like the passover before the departure, the observance of it did not take place till a/<er. 19. stranger—No foreigner could partake of the passover, unless circumcised; the "stranger" specified as admissible to the privilege must, therefore, be considered a Gentile proselyte. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, &c.—Here are given special directions for the observance, hyssop—a small red moss. [H.^sselquist.] The caper-plant. [Royle.] It was used in the sprinkling, being well adapted for such purposes, as it grows in bushes—putting out plenty of suckers froun a single root. And it is remarkable that it. 31. called for Moses and Aaron—a striking fulfilment of the words of Moses (ch. 11. 8), and showing that they were spoken under Divine suggestion. 32. also take your flocks, Ac.—All the terms the king had formerly insisted on were now departed from ; his pride had been ef Tectually humbled. Appalling ju<lginents in such rapid succession showed plainly that the hand of God was against him. His own family bereavement had so crushed him to the earth that he not only showed impatience to rixl his kingdom of such formidable neighbours, but even begged an interest in their prayers. 34. people took . . . kneadlng-troughs-Having lived so long in Egypt, they must have been in the habit of using the utensils common in tliat country. The Egypt 'an kneading-trough was a bowl of wicker or rush-wor){, and it admitted of being hastily wrapped up with the -Jongl' m 11 and slung over the shoulder in their /ij/Ac* oi loose .pper garments. 35. children of Israel borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver—When the Orientals g . to their sacred festivals, they always put on their bc.it ,k rels. The Israelites themselves thought tlK-y were only going three days' journey to hold a least unto the Lord, ami in these circumstances it would l)e easy for them to bm-rmo what was necessary for a sacred festival. But "borrow" conveys a Avrong meaning. The word rendered borrow signifies properly to ask, detnand, re<;iiirc. The Israelites had been kept in great poverty, having received little or no wages. They now insisted on full remuneration lor all their labour, and it was paid *n li,i;!it and valuable articles adapted for convenient carriage. 3C. the Lord gave the people favour in tl»e sight of the Kgyptlans—Such a dread of them was iuspiretl into tlie universal minds of the Egyptians, that whatever they asked was readily given, spoiledtlie Egyptians—The aueumulated earnings of many years being paid them at this moment, the Israelites were suddenly enriched, according to the prom-
It was ordained in the arrangements of an all-wise Providence that the Roman soldiers should undesignedly, on their part, make use of this symbolical plant to Christ when, as our Passover, he was sacrificed for us. None. , . shall go out at the door of Ills house until tlie morning—This regulation was peculiar to the first celebration, and intended, as some think, to prevent any suspicion attaching to them of being agents in the impending destruction of the Egyptians; there is an allusion to it (Isaiah 26. 20). 'ZG. when your clitldren •hall say, . . . What mean ye by this service—Independently of some observances which were not afterwards repeated, the usages practised at this yearly commemorative feast were so peculiar that tlie curiosity of the young would be stimulated, and thus parents have .an excellent opportunity, which they were enjoined to embrace, for Instructing each rising generation in llie origin and lea<ling facts of the national faith. !47, 'iS, tlic people bowed the head, and worshipped—All the preceding directions were communicated through tlie elders, and the Israelites, being deeply solemnized by tlie influence of past and prospective events, gave prompt and faithful obedience. !i9. at midnight tlic Lord smote all the flrst-bom in the land of Kgypt—At the moment when the Israelites were observing the newly-instituted feast In the singular m.inner described, the threatened calamity overtook the Egyptians. It is more easy to imagine than describe the confusion and terror of that people suddenly roused from sleep and enveloped in darkise made to Abraham (Genesis I'l. II), and they left the country like a victorious aniiy laden with spoil (Psalm
105. ;^; Ezekiel 3!». 10). 37. Tl»e children of Israel Journeyed from Rameses—now generally identified with the nncient Herobpolis, and fixed at the modern .-W/ii-Keisheid. This position agrees with the statenu'iit that the scene of the miraculous juilgments ;vgalnst Pharaoh was "In the field of Zoan." .\nd it is probable that, in expectation of their departure, which the king on one pretext or another delayed, the Israelites had been assembled there as a general rendezvous. In jimnieying from llanie.ses to Palestine, there was a choice of two routes—the one along the shores of the Mi'diten-anean to El-.\rish, the other more circuitous round the head of the lied .Sea and the desert of Sinai. The latter Moses was <liri-cted to take (ch. i;^. 17). to Suecoth— i. c, booths, probably nothing more tlian a iilace of temporary eneampnu'iit. The Ilelirew word signifies a covering or shelter fornieil by the boughs of trees; and hence, in memory of this loilginent, the Israelites kept the le;iKtof tal)ernacles yearly in this inanni'r. alx hiiiidrefl thoiisiiiid . . . men—It appears from Nuiiiliers 1., tliat the enuiueralion Is of men above twenty years of age. Assuming, wliat is now ascertained t)y statistical tables, that the nuinlier of males aliove that age is as nearly lus possible the half of the total utH-s—none could assist their neighbours, when the groans of the dying and the wild shrieks of mourners were heard every where around. The hope of every family was deetioyed at a stroke. This Judgment, terrible tliougli it was, evinced the equity of Divine retribution. For eighty years the Egyptians had caused the male children of the Israelites to be east Into the river, and now all their own flrst-born fell under the stroke of the destroying angt:!. They were made. In the Justice of God, to feel something of what they had made His people feel. Many a time have the hands of sinners made the snares In which they number of males, the whole injilc populat ion of Israel, on this computation, would amount to l.'JOO,(K)(»; and adding an e(|ual numbei' for women and eliililreii, the aggregate number of Israelites who left Kgyit would be 2,IO«,»H)(l. 3K. n mixed mu Kltnde went wKli tliem lit., a great rabble (see also Numbers 11. 1; li(>uteronomy 2i). 11); slaves, persons In the lowest grades of society, partly u»-