Deuteronomy 16:1
in Deuteronomy 16Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
KJV
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 16
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The cardinal point on which the whole of the prescriptions in this chapter turn, is evidently the same as has been so often insisted on in the previous chapters, namely, the concentration of the religious services of the people round one common sanctuary. The prohibition against observing the great Feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and tabernacle, the three annual epochs in the sacred year of the Jew, at home and in private, is reiterated in a variety of words no less than six times in the first sixteen verses of this chapter Deu 16:2, Deu 16:6-7, Deu 16:11, Deu 16:15-
This site's exposition
Observe the month of Abib
on Deuteronomy 16:1-2
Verse 1 says the LORD “brought you out of Egypt by night”. Exodus 12:22 kept Israel indoors until morning, and Numbers 33:3 dates the departure to the next day. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the night as the hour Pharaoh's permission was forced.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The Chaldee paraphrasts expound it, "Because they came out of Egypt by daylight," there being an express order that they should not stir out of their doors till morning, Exod. xii. One of them expounds it thus: " He brought thee out of Egypt, and did wonders by night. " The other, "and thou shalt eat the passover by night. " The laws concerning it are, 1.
The month of Abib, or of new fruits, as the Chaldee translates it, answers to our March (or part of March and part of April), and was by a special order from God, in remembrance of the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, made the beginning of their year ( Exod. xii. 2 ), which before was reckoned to begin in September.
The feast of pentecost, ver. 9-12 That of tabernacles, ver. 13-15. All the males are to attend them, ver. 16, 17. An appointment of Judges and officers, ver. 18-20.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-13/16/18-anchored-1-8
Observe the month of Abib,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But it is susceptible of easy reconciliation. Pharaoh's permission, the first step of emancipation, was extorted during the night, the preparations for departure commenced, the rendezvous at Rameses made, and the march entered on in the morning.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Keep the passover - A feast so called because the angel that destroyed the firstborn of the Egyptians, seeing the blood of the appointed sacrifice sprinkled on the lintels and door-posts of the Israelites’ houses, passed over Them, and did not destroy any of their firstborn. See the notes on Exo 12:2, and Exo 12:3 (note), etc.
How the passage was read
On Deuteronomy 16:1-17On Deuteronomy 16:1-17
Three times a year, on the road
This passage sets the rhythm behind half the New Testament's travel scenes: three times a year (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles) every Israelite male was to appear “before the LORD” at the one chosen place, which became Jerusalem. That is pilgrimage: whole families and villages walking or riding for days, camping, filling the city to bursting. It is why the boy Jesus is in Jerusalem in Luke 2, why the city is crowded at the crucifixion, and why devout Jews “from every nation” are there at Pentecost in Acts 2.
The Mishnah opens its tractate on the festival visit by asking exactly who is obligated to make the trip (Chagigah 1:1): men were bound; women and children came freely, as Mary did.
What the Jewish commentators add
The commandment of the festivals [mentioned here] is explanatory, for He has already mentioned it. Now, in the Book of Leviticus He mentioned with reference to the festivals, And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal, 314 Leviticus:8.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Chagigah 1:1 (who must appear) · Luke 2:41 (the family's yearly pilgrimage)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שָׁמוֹר֙ | shamor | keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֹ֣דֶשׁ | chodesh | [the] month of | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הָאָבִ֔יב | haaviv | <the> Abib | H24 → | |
| וְעָשִׂ֣יתָ | veasita | and you will observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| פֶּ֔סַח | pesach | a passover | H6453 → | 49 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּ֞י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁ | bechodesh | in [the] month of | H2320 → | 284 times |
| הָֽאָבִ֗יב | haaviv | <the> Abib | H24 → | |
| הוֹצִ֨יאֲךָ֜ | hotziakha | he brought out you | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לָֽיְלָה׃ | layelah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
שָׁמוֹר֙keep
shamorH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֹ֣דֶשׁ[the] month of
chodeshH2320 →284 times
הָאָבִ֔יב<the> Abib
haavivH24 →
וְעָשִׂ֣יתָand you will observe
veasitaH6213 →2628 times
פֶּ֔סַחa passover
pesachH6453 →49 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
כִּ֞יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בְּחֹ֣דֶשׁin [the] month of
bechodeshH2320 →284 times
הָֽאָבִ֗יב<the> Abib
haavivH24 →
הוֹצִ֨יאֲךָ֜he brought out you
hotziakhaH3318 →1067 times
יְהוָ֧הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
מִמִּצְרַ֖יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לָֽיְלָה׃night
layelahH3915 →233 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 23:5The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:1–8
Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 5:10
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover.
- Exodus 13:3–10
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…
- Numbers 28:16–17
The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover.
- Exodus 12:2–14
“This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year.
- Deuteronomy 16:1–8
Through
Exodus 13:4Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:2
“This month is the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of your year.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 34:18
You 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…
- Exodus 23:15
You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was…
- Exodus 12:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
On this chapter
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.