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IN BRIEF
PA S SAGE
Exodus 12:25THEME
PassoverSETTING
14th–13th century bce
Nile Delta.KEY FIGURES
Moses Leader of the Israelite
people, who ensures that God’s
instructions are carried out to
the letter.Aaron Moses’s older brother,
who assists him in carrying
out God’s orders.Pharaoh Leader of the
Egyptians, who refuses to
heed Moses’s warnings of
God’s intentions.WHEN YOU ENTER THE LAND
THAT THE LORD WILL GIVE
YOU AS HE PROMISED,
OBSERVE THIS CEREMONY
EXODUS 12:25, THE PASSOVER
T
he Jewish holiday of
Passover commemorates
the Israelites’ deliverance
from their Egyptian slavery. It also
celebrates specifically how God
makes a distinction between
the Israelites and the Egyptians,
sparing the Israelites from the
last—and worst—of the plagues.
God’s tenth plague against the
Egyptian people kills all of the
firstborn sons. In order not to harm
the Israelites during this plague,
God instructs His Angel of Death,
a destructive figure, to pass over
(hence the name of the holiday) the
Israelites as it carries out His work.
God tells Moses and Aaron to
instruct the Israelites to sacrificelambs and smear their blood over
the door frames of their houses, in
order to distinguish their homes
from those of the Egyptians.
The angel kills the oldest son
of every family in Egypt, including
Pharaoh’s own offspring, the crown
prince. It is this event that forms
the basis of the Passover holiday—
Pesach—celebrated annually by
Jewish families today, more than
3,000 years later.Origins and significance
Scholars are generally in agreement
that, in line with standard biblical
chronology, the Passover would
have occurred around 1300 bce.
Most also believe that the event
derives from a protection rite
employed by nomadic shepherds as
they moved in search of pasture.
The blood of a lamb, sacrificed
in a protective ritual, symbolized
the life-giving power of God and
protected the shepherds against
any evil forces. The roasting
and consumption of the lamb’s
meat—part of God’s very detailed
instructions to the Israelites at the
time of the first Passover—would
further seal the links between
God and His people. The dramatic
escape from Egypt gave thisWhen I see
the blood, I will
pass over you.
Exodus 12:13US_072-073_The_passover.indd 72 21/09/17 11:29 am