The Lamb · stop 2 of 9
A lamb for a household
The lamb is now a national ordinance and a domestic one at the same time — 'a lamb for a household' — chosen on the tenth day, kept until the fourteenth, killed at even, its blood put 'on the two side-posts and on the lintel.' שֶׂה (H7716) is tagged in ten verses of Exodus, more than in any other book.
3Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man must select a lamb for his family, one per household. 4If the household is too small for a whole lamb, they are to share with the nearest neighbor based on the number of people, and apportion the lamb accordingly. 5Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats. 6You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. 7They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
Open Exodus 12:3–7 in the reader →Everything gathered on this verse →
A voice from the tradition
Witness
Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days, not in infancy with the babes of Bethlehem. It denotes the strength and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus, on whom our help was laid.
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710), on Exodus 12:5 — public domainPuritan
The approved voices
On Exodus 12:3–7
And if the household be too little for the lamb,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
Why is this lamb offered up in the evening and not during the day? The reason is plain enough, for our Lord and Savior suffered his passion at the close of the ages. So John says in his letter: "Dear children, it is the last hour." Since, moreover, it is the last hour, it is the beginning of night, for day has come to an end. It must be understood, however, that as long as we are in this world, as long as we abide in Egypt, we are not in a clear light but in a dark mist.
Jerome· HOMILY 91, 420Patristic
The workbench
Words in this verse
- דַּבְּר֗וּda.be.Ru — speakH1696
- אֶֽל־'el- — toH413
- כָּל־kol- — allH3605
- עֲדַ֤ת'a.Dat — [the] congregation ofH5712
- יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Yis.ra.'El — IsraelH3478
- לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor — <to> sayingH559
- בֶּעָשֹׂ֖רbe.'a.Sor — on the tenH6218
- לַחֹ֣דֶשׁla.Cho.desh — of the monthH2320
- הַזֶּ֑הha.Zeh — <the> thisH2088
- וְיִקְח֣וּve.yik.Chu — so they may takeH3947
- לָהֶ֗םla.Hem — for <the> themselves
- אִ֛ישׁ'ish — everyoneH376
- שֶׂ֥הseh — a lambH7716
- לְבֵית־le.veit- — for a household ofH1004
- אָבֹ֖ת'a.Vot — fathersH1
- שֶׂ֥הseh — a lambH7716
- לַבָּֽיִת׃la.Ba.yit — for the householdH1004
The floor
Where the canon echoes this verse
- Leviticus 5:6
and he must bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin he has committed: a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering. And the priest will make atonement for him concerning his sin.
Commentary on Leviticus 5:61 voice
And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, for the sin which he hath sinned,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- 1 Corinthians 5:7
Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 5:71 voice
That he who has attained to trust, having put off the former man, ought to regard only celestial and spiritual things, and to give no heed to the world which he has already renounced... Also in the same place: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loveth the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Cyprian· Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews., 258Patristic
- Leviticus 1:2
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, you may bring as your offering an animal from the herd or the flock.
Commentary on Leviticus 1:21 voice
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Commentary on John 1:291 voice
Abel knew how to divide when he offered a sacrifice from "the firstlings of his flock," teaching that the gifts of the earth, which had degenerated in the sinner, will not please God. But those in which the grace of the divine mystery shone forth will please him. And so he prophesied that we were to be redeemed from fault through the passion of the Lord, of whom it is written: "Here is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Thus, too, he made an offering from the firstlings, that he might signify the firstborn.
Ambrose of Milan· On the Sacrament of the Incarnation of the Lord 1.4, 397Patristic
- 2 Chronicles 35:7
From his own flocks and herds Josiah contributed 30,000 lambs and goats plus 3,000 bulls for the Passover offerings for all the people who were present.
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 35:72 voices
And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
See the marginal references and note. 2Ch 35:8 His princes - i. e. his ecclesiastical princes, the chief men of the priests and Levites. For the poor families of their own order the leading priests furnished both Passover-cattle and cattle for thank-offerings. The chief Levites acted similarly toward the poor Levitical families.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
- Exodus 4:30
and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,
Commentary on Exodus 4:302 voices
And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses,.... As Moses had related to him, being his mouth and spokesman: and did the signs in the sight of the people; not Aaron, but Moses, and these were the turning of his rod into a serpent, and the serpent into a rod again; putting his hand into and out of his bosom, when it was leprous, and then doing the same when it was well again; and taking water out of the river, and changing it into blood, which he did for the confirmation of his mission.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
Aaron spake all the words - It is likely that Aaron was better acquainted with the Hebrew tongue than his brother, and on this account he became the spokesman. See Clarke on Exo 4:14 (note). Did the signs - Turned the rod into a serpent, made the hand leprous, and changed the water into blood. See Clarke on Exo 4:6 (note) and Exo 4:8 (note).
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Exodus 6:6
Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
Commentary on Exodus 6:62 voices
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
Say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out, etc. - This confirms the explanation given of Exo 6:3, which see Clarkes note on Exo 6:3.
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible, 1832Evangelical
- Numbers 15:11
This is to be done for each bull, ram, lamb, or goat.
Commentary on Numbers 15:111 voice
Thus shall it be done for one bullock,.... Such a quantity of flour and oil for the meat offering, and such a quantity of wine for the drink offering as before expressed; making no difference between one young or old: or for a ram: which, Jarchi says, was thirteen months and one day old: or for a lamb, or a kid; for a young one of the flock, whether of the sheep or goat, whether a lamb or a kid of the goats; which, according to Jarchi, were within a year, not a year old.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- John 1:36
When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
Commentary on John 1:361 voice
Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world.
Cyril of Alexandria· Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2, 444Patristic
- Genesis 4:4
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
Commentary on Genesis 4:42 voices
And moreover, we may also see simplicity in Abel, and the Holy Book sheweth us that he was more simple than Cain; for they both brought offerings to the Lord, and the offering of simplicity was accepted, but the offering of wickedness was rejected. And …
Philoxenus of Mabbug· 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 4 -- On Faith: First Discourse on Simplicity, 523Patristic
Every kind of honour and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." [Deuteronomy 32:15] Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity. So the worthless rose up against the honoured, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years.
Clement of Rome· Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4, 99Patristic
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge; OpenBible.info (CC-BY).