Pesach

פסח

Pesach [Passover] is a beautiful and wonderful time of year. The moed teaches us about freedom from bondage, salvation, redemption, and G-d's great love for His people. It is sometimes referred to as "the time of our joy".

As we examine what Scripture says about this special day, we find some specific commandments regarding the original event in Egypt and find other commandments regarding the annual remembrance of the event.

In addition to the commanded and traditional elements of Passover we should never forget Who Pesach was given to picture: Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel. We should always remember that "Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed." (1 Corinthians 5:7).

What Scripture Says About Pesach

The First Pesach

Who: All the congregation of Israel. (Exodus 12:3)

The Hebrew word translated as "congregation" is עדה, (edah- Strong's #5712) literally means "assembly" or "congregation". This passage (Exodus 12:3) is the very first time in Scripture that the word is used. References to Israel as a group are normally given as "the children [benei] of Israel". Why is edah used instead of benei? Perhaps because it wasn't just "the Jews" that G-d brought out of Egypt. There was a mixed multitude that came out of Egypt with children of Israel (see Exodus 12:38) and it was this entire group that comprised the "congregation" or edah.

What: The day was given as a memorial of their exodus (Exodus 12:14)... even before they had left!

There were a number of activities required for the first Pesach:

• On the tenth day of the first month each member of the congregation of Israel was to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household. (Exodus 12:3)
• The lamb was to be an unblemished male a year old from among the sheep or goats (Exodus 12:5)
• The lamb was to be kept until the fourteenth day of the first month and then killed at "twilight" (Exodus 12:6). The word translated as "twilight" is ערב (erev- Strong's #6153).
• Some of the blood of the lamb was to be taken and placed upon the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where the lamb was eaten (Exodus 12:7).
• The flesh of the lamb should be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Exodus 12:8).
• The flesh of the lamb should be roasted with fire (not boiled or raw) along with its head, its legs, and entrails and eaten that night (Exodus 12:9).
• The flesh of the lamb should not be left over until morning but if it is then it should be burned with fire (Exodus 12:10).
• The lamb should be eaten with their "loins girded", sandals on their feet, and their staff in their hands. It was to be eaten in haste. It was YHVH's Pesach (Exodus 12:11).
• Pesach is to be celebrated as a "feast" (Hebrew: חג, chag, Strongs #2282) to the LORD throughout their generations as a permanent ordinance (chukat olam) (Exodus 12:14).
• The blood should be applied with a "bunch of hyssop" dipped in the blood which is caught in a basin (Exodus 12:22).
• No one should go outside the door of his house until morning (Exodus 12:22).
• Pesach is to be observed as an ordinance for those who were present and their descendants forever (Exodus 12:24).
• Pesach is to be observed also once the Israelites enter the Land (Exodus 12:25).
• No foreigner (בּן נכר, ben nekar) is to eat of the Pesach meal (Exodus 12:43) but every man's slave, after he is circumcised, may eat of it (Exodus 12:44).
• A sojourner (תּושׁב, toshav [literally a foreign resident]) or a hired servant (שׂכיר, sakir) shall not eat of the Pesach meal (Exodus 12:34).
• All the congregation (edah) of Israel are to celebrate the Pesach (Exodus 12:47).
• If a stranger (גּר, ger [literally a stranger or resident alien]) resides with the Israelites and celebrates the Pesach to the Lord then all his males should be circumcised and afterwards he can come near to celebrate Pesach and he shall be like the native of the land (Exodus 12:48).
• No uncircumcised person may eat of the Pesach meal (Exodus 12:48).

The blood on the doorposts was to be a sign for the congregation of Israel on the houses where they lived. When G-d saw the blood, He "passed over" those houses and did not slay the first born as He did the Egyptians.

When: Pesach is a single day: the fourteenth day of the first month.

The events of this moed were to be performed at twilight. They could not have been performed after dark because then it would have been the fifteenth of the first month. There is also the concern of properly slaughtering the lamb in the dark.

The first month is sometimes called Nisan (e.g. Nehemiah 2:1, Esther 3:7) or Aviv (e.g. Exodus 13:4, Deuteronomy 16:1, Ezekiel 3:15) in Scripture.

Although traditionally referenced as "eight days", Pesach, itself, is only one day. The other seven days are actually the week of unleavened bread.

Where: Egypt.

The original Pesach occurred while the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt.

The Annual Remembrance of Pesach

After the first Pesach in Egypt, the Israelites were commanded to have an annual remembrance of their exodus from Egypt. Here are the Scriptural requirements for that event:

Who: Israel, their slaves, and circumcised strangers.

• The children (or sons) of Israel are given this commandment (Leviticus 23:2).
• A person who is unclean could not observe Pesach (Numbers 9:6).
• No foreigner (בּן נכר, ben nekar) is to eat of the Pesach meal (Exodus 12:43) but every man's slave, after he is circumcised, may eat of it (Exodus 12:44).
• A sojourner (תּושׁב, toshav [literally a foreign resident]) or a hired servant (שׂכיר, sakir) shall not eat of the Pesach meal (Exodus 12:45).
• All the congregation (edah) of Israel are to celebrate Pesach (Exodus 12:47).
• If a stranger (גּר, ger [literally a stranger or resident alien]) resides with the Israelites and celebrates Pesach to the Lord then all his males should be circumcised and afterwards he can come near to celebrate Pesach and he shall be like the native of the land (Exodus 12:48).

What:

• Pesach is to be celebrated as a "feast" (Hebrew: חג, chag, Strong's #2282) to the LORD throughout their generations as a permanent ordinance (chukat olam) (Exodus 12:14).
• Pesach is to be observed as an ordinance for those who were present and their descendants forever (Exodus 12:24).
• Pesach is to be observed also once the Israelites enter the Land (Exodus 12:25).
• When the descendants of the congregation of Israel ask their parents "What does this rite [Hebrew: avodah, literally "service"] mean to you?" the answer they should be given is "It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes." (Exodus 12:26-27)
• No foreigner (בּן נכר, ben nekar) is to eat of the Pesach meal (Exodus 12:43) but every man's slave, after he is circumcised, may eat of it (Exodus 12:44).
• A sojourner (תּושׁב, toshav [literally a foreign resident]) or a hired servant (שׂכיר, sakir) shall not eat of the Pesach meal (Exodus 12:45).
• The Pesach sacrifice should not be offered with leavened bread (Exodus 34:25).
• The Pesach sacrifice should not be left over until morning (Exodus 34:25).
• A person who is unclean could not observe Pesach (Numbers 9:6).
• A second Pesach was instituted to allow those who were unclean or away on a journey during Pesach to enable them to observe the commandments. It was to occur on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight (Numbers 9:10-11).
• None of the bones of the Pesach lamb should be broken (Numbers 9:12).
• The person who is clean and is not on a journey and neglects to observe the Pesach shall be cut off from his people (Numbers 9:13).
• The Pesach sacrifice should be from the flock or the herd (Deuteronomy 16:2).
• Once the Israelites entered the Land they were to sacrifice the Pesach "in the place where the LORD chooses to establish His Name" (Deuteronomy 16:2)... i.e. the Temple in Jerusalem.
• The Israelites were not allowed to sacrifice the Pesach lamb in any of their towns (Deuteronomy 16:5).
• The Pesach sacrifice was to be cooked and eaten in the place the LORD G-d chose (Deuteronomy 16:7).
• In the morning after Pesach the Israelites were to return to their tents (Deuteronomy 16:7).
• The Israelites are to remember that they were slaves in Egypt and they are to be careful to observe these statutes (Deuteronomy 16:12).

When: The fourteenth day of the first month at twilight (Leviticus 23:5).

Deuteronomy 16:6 specifies the Pesach sacrifice shall be in the evening (erev) at sunset (Hebrew: כבוא השׁמשׁ, kevo hashemesh, literally "going of the sun").

Where: In the Land or outside the Land.

The Israelites observed the Pesach for 40 years as they wandered in the wilderness and also once they had entered into the Land. The moed is not specific to the Land.

• Once the Israelites entered the Land they were to sacrifice the Pesach lamb "in the place where the LORD chooses to establish His Name" (Deuteronomy 16:2)... i.e. the Temple in Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 23:23).
• The Israelites were not allowed to sacrifice the Pesach lamb in any of their towns (Deuteronomy 16:5).
• The Pesach sacrifice was to be cooked and eaten in the place the LORD G-d chose (Deuteronomy 16:7).
• In the morning after Pesach the Israelites were to return to their tents (Deuteronomy 16:7).

There are two reasons the children of Israel went to Jerusalem at the time of Pesach:

1. The Israelites were not allowed to sacrifice the Pesach lamb in any of their towns (Deuteronomy 16:5) and the sacrifice was to be cooked and eaten in the place the LORD G-d chose (Deuteronomy 16:7), i.e. the Temple in Jerusalem.
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamatzot) occurred the day after Pesach and all the males of Israel were to appear before the LORD in Jerusalem.

Other Observations

Pictures

Pesach is a picture of the physical salvation of the Israelites from G-d's wrath during the death of the firstborn in Egypt. It is the blood of the lamb that turned away G-d's wrath. Note that the blood was not placed on the Israelites themselves but on the doorposts of their homes. Pesach is also a picture of the spiritual salvation of believers from G-d's wrath during the time of judgment. It is the blood of the Lamb (Messiah Yeshua) that turns away G-d's wrath. The day of Pesach is not the Exodus from Egypt. The Exodus occurred on the following day after the death of the firstborn. Pesach does not symbolize redemption... only salvation. Just as the Israelites were spared from death while they were still in bondage in Egypt, so too, are believers spared from death while we are still in bondage to sin:  "... while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).

Plagues mirrored in Revelation

The plagues in the book of Revelation mirror the plagues of the Exodus [see our Psalm11918.org article outlining these parallels] so we can see the connection between G-d's judgment during the Exodus and G-d's judgment during the end times.

Sabbath

Unlike the other moedim, Pesach is not a rest day or a Sabbath.

Pesach is never explicitly described as "holy". In fact, the word "holy" is only mentioned in 2 of the 5 chapters where Pesach is referenced. Only in Exodus 12 is the Hebrew word for holy [qodesh] used (in reference to the week of unleavened bread) and in Leviticus 23 qodesh is used (in reference to the various "holy convocations"). In Exodus 34, Numbers 9, and Deuteronomy 16 "holy" is never used. Pesach is implicitly described as "holy" in Leviticus 23 when G-d says

Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD'S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations--My appointed times are these... (Leviticus 23:2)

Sacrifice

Since the Temple in Jerusalem (the place where the Lord chose to place His Name) was destroyed in 70 AD, an actual Pesach lamb has not been offered since that time in order to conform to the commandments of Deuteronomy 16:5, 7 specifically forbidding such a sacrifice.

Next, let's find Messiah in the moed...