Old Testament Commentary - Exodus 13

by Don R. Hender


Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
           CHAPTER 13            

Firstborn of man and or beast to be sanctified unto the Lord—Feast of unleavened bread to be kept in land of Canaan—Moses takes Joseph's bones out of Egypt—The Lord attends Israel in a pillar of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

  1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
  2 aSanctify unto me all the bfirstborn, whatsoever copeneth the dwomb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

 1a OR consecrate or set apart.
   b Lev. 21:10 (10-15)
   c OR young bull (also vv. 3, 10-12,
      14, 36).; Lev. 8:2; 1 Chr. 13:9
 2a Lev. 2:4
   b HEB mingled
      OR smeared

  3 ¶ And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from aEgypt, 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.
  4 This day acame ye out in bthe month cAbiba.

This Day Came Ye Out 
And the doors of the prison were open. In the day of Moses the liberation of Israel was of a temporal and physical liberation. In the day of Christ's death, the liberation of the spirits in what they considered a 'spirit prison' was both an eternal, spiritual as well as a physical liberation. Those worthy spirits who had waited so long in the spirit world did now come forth out of their 'bondage' as the atonement of Jesus Christ was complete and He, Jesus Christ was there in a similitude which linked both Jesus and Moses with the liberation of the people of God.
 4a This day came ye out in the month Abib According to the solar calendar, Jesus Christ was born on April 6th. According to the Lunar calendar of the Hebrews, the day of deliverance, the day they came out of bondage in Egypt was the month of Abib, what would have been the eleveth day of the month that year, the day before being the 10th day and that evening in the midst of the night came the death of the firstborn of Egypt and the passover of the firstborn of Israel because of the blood of the Lamb of God. It would seem that both the birth, death, the visiting of the spirits in prison to open those doors and the day of the resurrection occured in harmony of both the passover in Egypt, the coming out of bondage of Israel in both the solar and lunar calendar of this time in Abib, in April, when we celebrate Easter, both the birth and death of Jesus Christ as well as not the restoration of His Gospel in this the despensation of the fulness of times.  1a OR consecrate or set apart.
   b Lev. 21:10 (10-15)
   c OR young bull (also vv. 3, 10-12,
      14, 36).; Lev. 8:2; 1 Chr. 13:9
 2a Lev. 2:4
   b HEB mingled
      OR smeared

  5 ¶ And it shall be when the LORD shall abring thee into the land of the bCanaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he csware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land dflowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
  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 aleavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be bleaven seen with thee cin all thy quarters.

 1a OR consecrate or set apart.
   b Lev. 21:10 (10-15)
   c OR young bull (also vv. 3, 10-12,
      14, 36).; Lev. 8:2; 1 Chr. 13:9
 2a Lev. 2:4
   b HEB mingled
      OR smeared

  8 ¶ And thou shalt ashew 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 asign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a bmemorial 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 ain his season from year to year.

  11 ¶ And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the aCanaanites, as he bsware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,
  12 That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD aall that openeth the matrix, and every bfirstling 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 afirstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.

  14 ¶ And it shall be when thy ason basketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD cbrought us out from Egypt, from the house of dbondage:
  15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD aslew 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.
  16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for afrontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

  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 aperadventure the people brepent when they see war, and they creturn to Egypt:
  18 But God aled the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of bIsrael went up charnessed out of the land of Egypt.
  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 abones away hence with you.

  20 ¶ And they took their journey from aSuccoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
  21 And the aLORD went before them by day in a pillar of a bcloud, to clead them the way; and by night in a dpillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
  22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.