Exoduschapter 13

A.Consecrate to Me the Firstbornvv. 1-2

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

B.Remember This Day You Came Outvv. 3-10

3 So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. 5 And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall keep this service in this month. 6 For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders. 8 And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. 10 Therefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year.

C.Every Firstborn Redeemedvv. 11-16

11 And after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He swore to you and your fathers, 12 you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. 13 You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem. 14 In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 15 And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’ 16 So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

D.The Pillar of Cloud and Firevv. 17-22

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear a solemn oath when he said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones with you from this place.” 20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place before the people.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

Consecration of the firstborn and the pillar of cloud.

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Consecration of the firstborn and the pillar of cloud. Every firstborn, whether of man or beast, is set apart to the LORD in memory of the night of the exodus. The firstborn of the ass is redeemed with a lamb. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is rehearsed for the generations: ‘thou shalt shew thy son … by strength of hand the LORD brought us out’. God does not lead them by way of the Philistines ‘lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt’. Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him. The pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night goes before them.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Exodus overview

A. 1–2 Consecrate to Me the Firstborn
B. 3–10 Remember This Day You Came Out
C. 11–16 Every Firstborn Redeemed
D. 17–22 The Pillar of Cloud and Fire

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Exodus 127 verses
- Exodus 12:2“This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year.
- Exodus 12:14And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.
- Exodus 12:15For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you are to remove the leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.
- Exodus 12:19For seven days there must be no leaven found in your houses. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreigner or native of the land, must be cut off from the congregation of Israel.
- Exodus 12:26When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’
- Exodus 12:29Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.
- Read Exodus 12: 1 more there →
Exodus 134 verses
- Exodus 13:3So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.
- Exodus 13:5And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall keep this service in this month.
- Exodus 13:9It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
- Exodus 13:14In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Read Exodus 13 →
Exodus 343 verses
- Exodus 34:18You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.
- Exodus 34:19The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.
- Exodus 34:20You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.
- Read Exodus 34 →
Numbers 32 verses
- Numbers 3:13for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine; I am the LORD.”
- Numbers 3:46To redeem the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites,
- Read Numbers 3 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Joshua 242 verses
- Joshua 24:11After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.
- Joshua 24:32And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
- Read Joshua 24 →
Exodus 142 verses
- Exodus 14:2“Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
- Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
- Read Exodus 14 →
Nehemiah 92 verses
- Nehemiah 9:12You led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they should travel.
- Nehemiah 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.
- Read Nehemiah 9 →
Numbers 332 verses
- Numbers 33:5The Israelites set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth.
- Numbers 33:6They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
- Read Numbers 33 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.