Exodus 13:14
in Exodus 13In 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall be, when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand Jehovah brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
KJV
And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
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This verse in Exodus 13
Commentary
4 notes on this verseMercies to our fathers are mercies to us; we reap the benefit of them, and therefore must keep up a grateful remembrance of them. We stand upon the bottom of former deliverances, and were in the loins of our ancestors when they were delivered. Much more reason have we to say that in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we were redeemed.
This site's exposition
when thy son asketh thee in time to come
on Exodus 13:14-15
This is the second child's question in two chapters, after Exodus 12:26, and the answer is again a piece of history. The father says the Lord brought us out, placing himself among the people who walked out of Egypt whether or not he was born yet. Verse 15 gives the ground of the whole ordinance, that Egypt's firstborn died and Israel's did not, so every firstborn son in Israel afterward stands as a reminder of a night he never saw.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come,....
We should all be able to show cause for what we do in religion. As sacraments are sanctified by the word, so they must be explained and understood by it. God's service is reasonable, and it is then acceptable when we perform it intelligently, knowing what we do and why we do it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Rabbi Judah Ha-Levi of blessed memory says that the word machar (in time to come) 54 Literally, tomorrow.
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.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָ֞ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥ | yishalekha | he will ask you | H7592 → | 171 times |
| בִנְךָ֛ | vinkha | son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מָחָ֖ר | machar | in future time | H4279 → | 52 times |
| לֵאמֹ֣ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| זֹּ֑את | zot | [is] this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּחֹ֣זֶק | bechozek | with strength of | H2392 → | 5 times |
| יָ֗ד | yad | hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הוֹצִיאָ֧נוּ | hotzianu | he brought out us | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| מִבֵּ֥ית | mibeit | from a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עֲבָדִֽים׃ | ʾavadim | slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
וְהָיָ֞הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִשְׁאָלְךָ֥he will ask you
yishalekhaH7592 →171 times
בִנְךָ֛son your
vinkhaH1121 →4930 times
מָחָ֖רin future time
macharH4279 →52 times
לֵאמֹ֣ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
זֹּ֑את[is] this
zotH2063 →603 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
בְּחֹ֣זֶקwith strength of
bechozekH2392 →5 times
יָ֗דhand
yadH3027 →1618 times
הוֹצִיאָ֧נוּhe brought out us
hotzianuH3318 →1067 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִמִּצְרַ֖יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
מִבֵּ֥יתfrom a house of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
עֲבָדִֽים׃slaves
ʾavadimH5650 →799 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 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:18
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
- Deuteronomy 5:15
Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the…
- Exodus 20:2
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 16:12
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes.
- Deuteronomy 5:6
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Deuteronomy 24:18
Through
Psalms 145:4One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
it leads to
- Psalms 71:18
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
- Psalms 78:3–7
that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us.
- Isaiah 38:19
The living, only the living, can thank You, as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness.
- Psalms 71:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.