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VIRTUAL PASSOVER
POSTED 26 APRIL, 2008

Teaching on Exodus 12:21-51

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

Moses then summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, pick out lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover offering. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and to the two doorposts. None of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. For when the Lord goes through to smite the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, and the Lord will pass over the door and not let the Destroyer enter and smite your home. You shall observe this as an institution for all time, for you and for your descendants” (Exodus 12:21-24, NJPS).

Exodus 12:21-51 is one of the principal readings that is examined from the Torah during the season of Passover. It occurs in the narrative of God giving Israel the instructions to slaughter a lamb as the Angel of Death was to pass-over the houses of Egypt, slaying the firstborn. 

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb

The first admonition regarding the Passover was Moses’ decree to the Israelites for them to take a lamb and kill it. Presumably the ziknei Yisrael (larfy ynqz) or “elders of Israel” represent tribal and clan heads, who would then relay this command to those under their authority. Just as the Lord says that He “will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast” (Exodus 12:12), so will He go among all the people of Israel living in Egypt. Without the specified covering, the Israelites will be subject to the same pain and suffering that the Egyptians will experience. The command in v. 21 to “slaughter the pesach-offering” (ATS) is delivered to all Israel in Egypt via a group of elders.[1] Today, the obvious parallel may be drawn that those in spiritual authority over congregations or groups of congregations have the grave responsibility of adequately instructing the flock, and relaying God’s instruction when the Lord issues a stern warning to deliver to the body. In the case of the first Passover—it was a matter of life and death.

In terms of actual halachah, there is not complete agreement among Rabbis about how the Passover lamb was to be taken or chosen. The command mishku u’qechu lakem tzon (!ac ~kl WxqW Wkvm) can be rendered as either “Draw out and take” (YLT) or “Draw forth or buy” (ATS). Nahum Sarna indicates that “Lekah Tov and Abravanel construe the two verbs as alternatives: ‘Select a lamb from your flock if you possess one; otherwise, purchase one.’”[2] In subsequent generations as Israel would occupy the Promised Land and become more domesticated, and certainly by the time of Yeshua when First Century Jewry became highly cosmopolitan, with a large Diaspora population, the possible need to purchase a Passover lamb becomes apparent. Many would arrive in Jerusalem after a long journey and found it quite easy to purchase a lamb to sacrifice. Of course, the Gospels attest that doing such business in the Temple grounds, although a perfectly legitimate practice, became corrupt and people were being shortchanged. This led to Yeshua’s infamous encounter of Him overturning the tables of the moneychangers (Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:15; John 2:14-15).

22 You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

At the first Passover, the Lord commands the Israelites in Egypt to take a “cluster of hyssop” (HCSB) or ezov (bAza) and spread the blood of the slaughtered lamb onto the lintel and two doorposts of one’s house. Hyssop likewise plays an important role in Yeshua’s sacrifice for us, as John 19:29 records that “A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.” Although the usage of hyssop here is different than it was for the first Passover, it is important nonetheless that hyssop is present to be used.

An interesting argument in Judaism is the rendering of the Hebrew saf (@s) as “basin,” as the Greek LXX renders it by the long phrase tou aimantos tou para tēn thuran (tou aimatoß tou para thn quran) or “the blood that is by the door” (LXE). Sarna indicates that this rendering “implies that the paschal offering was actually slaughtered at the entrance to the house and that the entire doorframe was daubed with its blood.”[3] This view is obviously interpretational, and does not significantly change our perception of the Passover sacrifice. One does wonder, however, if certain groups of families did not huddle together in one home during the original Passover event, given the amount of lambs that would be needed to cover all the houses of the Israelite slaves. Did every single family slaughter a lamb? Or, did every family have blood spread over its house? It would seem that the LXX rendering reflects the view that every family group slaughtered a lamb, and stayed in a central location for the Passover night.

Regardless of how this specifically took place, the need to slaughter a lamb and apply it to the entrance of one’s home is absolutely clear: “Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning” (NIV).

23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.

The Israelites in Egypt were commanded not to leave their homes because of the decree that God would go forth through the Land of Egypt to “strike down” (NIV) or “slay” (RSV) the Egyptians. The Lord will specifically look to see whether or not the blood has been spread over a home’s entryway, and if the blood is present than He “will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to slay you” (RSV).

The figure of the Destroyer is rather interesting in developing a Passover theology. The Hebrew participle is ha’Mashchit (tyxvMh),[4] derived from the Nifal stem (simple action, passive voice) of the verb shchat (txv), meaning “to be (become) reunited, spoiled” (HALOT).[5] The Destroyer is not a demonic power, but is rather a direct force under the influence and control of God Himself. Paralleling this, Psalms 78:49 tells us that “He sent upon them [the Egyptians] His burning anger, fury and indignation and trouble, a band of destroying angels.” Walter C. Kaiser notes that “whether an angel was the mediating agent or the term was a figurative personification of the final judgment of God upon Egypt, it was still God’s direct work.”[6]

The author of Hebrews refers to this same figure, or personification, in his comments on the faith of Moses. He writes that “By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer [ho olothreuōn, o oloqreuwn] of the first-born might not touch them” (Hebrews 11:28, NIV). We also see the Destroyer responsible in bringing a plague upon Israel for the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in Numbers 16:41-49, and according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:9-10, the Destroyer brought the plague of serpents upon the Israelites during their trek through the wilderness (cf. Numbers 21:5-6).

Regardless of who or what the Destroyer is, it is a major force to be reckoned with that is controlled by God Himself. It is not to be confused with “the angel of the abyss” of Revelation 9:11, either known as Abaddon or Apollyon, which is an angel of darkness. The Destroyer is an angelic force of light sent forth by God to accomplish His specific judgment where the redemption of human beings is concerned.

24 And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.

The command to observe Passover as “forever” is obvious by any surface reading of the text. But how is one to interpret ha’devar (rbDh), literally “the word”? The NASU renders it as “this event,” the RSV has “this rite,” and the ATS has “this matter.” In the immediate context of the passage, it pertains to the slaughtering of a Passover lamb. That today is impossible because there is no Temple or appointed place in Jerusalem for it to occur. Furthermore, as Believers in Yeshua we know that the Messiah is the Passover Lamb sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Simply because one cannot observe the intricate details of the Passover sacrifice, does not mean that Passover as an instructional tool for “all time” (NJPS) is to be dispensed with. Kaiser validly comments, “provision was made for the annual observance of this ceremony and for the parental obligation to instruct children in the meaning and significance of this reenactment.”[7] Today in the Messianic community, while there is a wide array of diversity in how Passover is remembered, we still have a great opportunity to commemorate the salvation of Ancient Israel—and our own salvation via the blood of Yeshua. Passover is a wonderful time for us to be instructed once again as we draw near to God, and reflect on our own lives, making sure that the Messiah’s blood covers us.

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