Exodus 12:51
in Exodus 12And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass the selfsame day, that Jehovah did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
KJV
And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
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This verse in Exodus 12
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThe writers again of Egyptian history, namely, Manethô, and Chaerêmôn, Apollonius surnamed Molôn, Lysimachus and Apiôn the Grammarian mention Moses and the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. For, as being Egyptians and the historians of Egypt, they also agree in their relations …
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And it came to pass the selfsame day,.... That the above ordinance was instituted and celebrated in the night: that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, by their armies; by their several tribes, which were like so many armies, marching in large numbers, and with great order and regularity; see Gill on Exo 7:4.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
By their armies - צבאתם tsibotham, from צבא tsaba, to assemble, meet together, in an orderly or regulated manner, and hence to war, to act together as troops in battle; whence צבאות tsebaoth, troops, armies, hosts. It is from this that the Divine Being calls himself יהוה צבאות Yehovah tsebaoth, the Lord Of Hosts or armies, because the Israelites were brought out of Egypt under his direction, marshalled and ordered by himself, guided by his wisdom, supported by his providence, and protected by his might.
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּעֶ֖צֶם | beetzem | on [the] substance of | H6106 → | 126 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הוֹצִ֨יא | hotzi' | he brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֧י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מֵאֶ֥רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צִבְאֹתָֽם׃ פ | tzivotam | hosts their | H6635 → | 485 times |
וַיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בְּעֶ֖צֶםon [the] substance of
beetzemH6106 →126 times
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
הוֹצִ֨יאhe brought out
hotzi'H3318 →1067 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֧י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מֵאֶ֥רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
צִבְאֹתָֽם׃ פhosts their
tzivotamH6635 →485 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
Exodus 6:26It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.”
it leads to
- Exodus 7:4
Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 12:17
So you are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your divisions out of the land of Egypt. You must keep this day as a permanent statute…
- Exodus 6:13
Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.
- Numbers 33:1
These are the journeys of the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
- 1 Chronicles 6:3
The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
- Exodus 7:4
Through
Exodus 12:41At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt.
it leads to
- John 7:8
Go up to the feast on your own. I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet come.”
- Acts 1:7
Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
- Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- John 7:8
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.