Exodus 12:16
in Exodus 12On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you.
KJV
And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIn the first day and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation - This is the first place where we meet with the account of an assembly collected for the mere purpose of religious worship. Such assemblies are called holy convocations, which is a very appropriate appellation for a religious assembly; they were called together by the express command of God, and were to be employed in a work of holiness. מקרא mikra, convocation, is a word of similar import with the Greek εκκλησια, which we commonly translate Church, and which properly signifies an assembly convened by public call.
This site's exposition
Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread
on Exodus 12:15-16
Leaven occurs here for the first time in Scripture and it arrives as something to be put out rather than something to be avoided. Seven days of unleavened bread follow one night of the lamb, so the deliverance is a night and the consequence is a week. Paul reads the two together at 1 Corinthians 5:7, telling a church to purge out the old leaven because Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.
This site's exposition
you are to hold a sacred assembly
Adam Clarke finds here the first sacred assembly for worship alone. He sets its Hebrew name, mikra, beside the Greek ekklesia, an assembly called together by public summons. Albert Barnes marks the one exception to the rest from work on the first and seventh days, the freedom to prepare the meals, which the Sabbath forbade.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Now, without doubt, there was much of the gospel in this ordinance; it is often referred to in the New Testament, and, in it, to us is the gospel preached, and not to them only, who could not stedfastly look to the end of these things, Heb. iv. The paschal lamb was typical. Christ is our Passover, 1 Cor. v. 7 .
), no care admitted or indulged, inconsistent with, or prejudicial to, this holy joy: if true believers have not a continual feast, it is their own fault.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there shall be an holy convocation--literally, calling of the people, which was done by sound of trumpets (Nu 10:2), a sacred assembly--for these days were to be regarded as Sabbaths--excepting only that meat might be cooked on them (Ex 16:23).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
An holy convocation - An assembly called by proclamation for a religious solemnity. See Lev 23:2; Num 10:2-3. In the East the proclamation is made by the Muezzins from the minarets of the mosques. Save that ... - In this the observance of the festival differed from the Sabbath, when the preparation of food was prohibited. The same word for “work” is used here and in the fourth commandment: it is very general, and includes all laborious occupation.
How the passage was read
On Exodus 12:1-51On Exodus 12:1-51
The night Israel still keeps
This chapter founds Passover, in Hebrew Pesach, the spring feast that remembers the night God struck Egypt's firstborn and passed over the blood-marked houses. Jewish families keep it to this day with a ceremonial meal called the seder (Hebrew for “order”): unleavened flatbread (matzah), bitter herbs, cups of wine, and the retelling of this chapter's story, with the children asking the questions.
Honesty about the timeline helps the reader: in the Bible's own period the center of the feast was the lamb, slain and eaten as this chapter commands. The seder as now practiced took its shape after the Temple fell in AD 70 and the lamb could no longer be offered; its oldest written outline is in the Mishnah, the first code of Jewish oral law (about AD 200), which already includes the four cups and the rule that “in every generation a person must see himself as if he personally came out of Egypt.”
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 Pesachim 10 (the seder's oldest outline) · Mishnah Pesachim 10:5 (“in every generation”) · The Feasts of the LORD (this site's study)
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבַיּ֤וֹם | uvaiyom | and [will be] on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ | harishon | <the> first | H7223 → | 182 times |
| מִקְרָא־ | mikra'- | a convocation of | H4744 → | |
| קֹ֔דֶשׁ | kodesh | holiness | H6944 → | 469 times |
| וּבַיּוֹם֙ | uvaiyom | and on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י | hashevii | <the> seventh | H7637 → | 98 times |
| מִקְרָא־ | mikra'- | a convocation of | H4744 → | |
| קֹ֖דֶשׁ | kodesh | holiness | H6944 → | 469 times |
| יִהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֑ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מְלָאכָה֙ | melakhah | work | H4399 → | 167 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵעָשֶׂ֣ה | yeaseh | it will be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בָהֶ֔ם | vahem | on <the> them | ||
| אַ֚ךְ | ʾakh | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵאָכֵ֣ל | yeakhel | it will be eaten | H398 → | 810 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | by every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נֶ֔פֶשׁ | nefesh | person | H5315 → | 754 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לְבַדּ֖וֹ | levado | to only it | H905 → | 200 times |
| יֵעָשֶׂ֥ה | yeaseh | it will be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָכֶֽם׃ | lakhem | by <the> you |
וּבַיּ֤וֹםand [will be] on the day
uvaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הָרִאשׁוֹן֙<the> first
harishonH7223 →182 times
מִקְרָא־a convocation of
mikra'-H4744 →
קֹ֔דֶשׁholiness
kodeshH6944 →469 times
וּבַיּוֹם֙and on the day
uvaiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י<the> seventh
hasheviiH7637 →98 times
מִקְרָא־a convocation of
mikra'-H4744 →
קֹ֖דֶשׁholiness
kodeshH6944 →469 times
יִהְיֶ֣הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֑םto <the> you
lakhem
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מְלָאכָה֙work
melakhahH4399 →167 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵעָשֶׂ֣הit will be done
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
בָהֶ֔םon <the> them
vahem
אַ֚ךְonly
ʾakhH389 →161 times
אֲשֶׁ֣ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֵאָכֵ֣לit will be eaten
yeakhelH398 →810 times
לְכָל־by every
lekholH3605 →5413 times
נֶ֔פֶשׁperson
nefeshH5315 →754 times
ה֥וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
לְבַדּ֖וֹto only it
levadoH905 →200 times
יֵעָשֶׂ֥הit will be done
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
לָכֶֽם׃by <the> you
lakhem
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
Exodus 16:23He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake, and boil…
it leads to
- Leviticus 23:3
For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 20:8–11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Exodus 31:15
For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to…
- Exodus 35:2–3
For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put…
- Genesis 2:2–3
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.
- Leviticus 23:3
Through
Numbers 28:25On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.
it leads to
- Leviticus 23:8
For seven days you are to present an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”
- Leviticus 23:8
Through
Exodus 16:29Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is;…
it leads to
- Exodus 31:13
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD…
- Isaiah 58:13–14
If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor…
- Exodus 31:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.