Глава 12

1–28. Establishment of Easter. 29–32. Tenth plague. 33. The beginning of the exodus of the Jews from the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: Ex.12:2. Let this month be for you the beginning of months, let it be the first for you between the months of the year. With the exodus from Egypt, a new life began for the Jews, marked by a number of mercies of the Lord towards His people. The remembrance of these latter forms the content of the so-called church year. And since the first of the blessings - the exodus from Egypt - falls on the month of Abib, the month of ears of corn (Exodus 13:4, Deut. 16:1), called Nisan after the Babylonian captivity, it becomes the first in the church year. Exodus 12:3. Say to all the congregation of Israel: On the tenth day of this month, let each one take for himself one lamb according to his family, one lamb per family; The transformation of Aviv into the first month of the church year reinforced the memory of deliverance from Egyptian slavery; the same goal was achieved by establishing the holiday of Passover (“passover” - passing by, Exodus 12:11–12). While celebrating the historical event of the exodus from Egypt on the Passover holiday, the people of Israel at the same time celebrated their election into the people of God, their birth, and creation, since the exodus had as its goal the rebirth of Israel into the people of God (Exodus 19:4–6). Easter is a holiday of birth, a holiday of life. This general meaning of the holiday is expressed in its individual rituals. To be worthy of God's election, the Jewish people must purify themselves. The only means to this were sacrifices in the Old Testament. The Easter celebration begins with the sacrifice and is centered in it. The Passover sacrifice was a lamb, called the “passover sacrifice to the Lord” (Ex. 12:27) and the “passover sacrifice” (Ex. 34:25). The same meaning is acquired by the Hebrew name "zebach", used to designate bloody sacrifices. Intended for the Most High, for liturgical purposes, the lamb was chosen four days before the slaughter of the 10th of Abib, for the purpose of, perhaps, careful observation to see if there were any shortcomings in it, it was chosen by each family, since all Jews were delivered from slavery and accepted into the people of God. Ex.12:4. and if the family is so small that it will not eat the lamb, then let it take from its neighbor closest to its house, according to the number of souls: according to how much each one eats, pay for the lamb. According to the law, the whole lamb must be eaten, and in extreme cases its remains are burned (Ex. 12:10). And since a family with a small number of members is not able to fulfill the first requirement, it is obliged to unite with another. According to later Jewish tradition, a family should not have less than 10 people. Exodus 12:5. Your lamb must be without blemish, male, and one year old; take it from the sheep, or from the goats, Ex.12:6. and let it be kept with you until the fourteenth day of this month: then let all the congregation of the congregation of Israel slaughter it in the evening, Separated from the flock on the 10th of Abib, the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the 14th evening, or literally translated from Hebrew “between the two evenings.” Exodus 12:7. and let them take some of its blood and put it on both the doorposts and on the lintel of the doors in the houses where they will eat it; As can be seen from Exodus 12:13, it was prescribed that blood should be sprinkled on the doorposts and lintels so that the right hand of God punishing the Egyptians would bypass the Jews. If the Destroying Angel spared the houses of the latter because they were sprinkled with the blood of the lamb, then it is clear that it was an image of redemption, cleansing and reconciliation. Its meaning is equivalent to the meaning of any sacrificial blood (Lev. 17:11). Exodus 12:8. let them eat his meat this very night, baked on the fire; let them eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; The Easter meal symbolized the general unity of the participants of the meal among themselves and with its founder - God. This significance of the Passover supper is indicated by the conditions of eating the lamb. Prepared without breaking into parts, the Passover lamb was a symbol of unity and integrity, indicating that those who ate it should enter into communion with the Lord. In connection with the thought expressed at the Passover meal about the communion of Jews with God, there is a command to eat the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. In Egypt, Israel was in danger of being infected by the corruption of their rulers (Joshua 24:14). But the Lord brought him out of the country of enslavement and chose him to be a pure, holy people. As such, he must expel the previous leaven from his midst - moral corruption, and begin a new sinless life. A sign of this was the leaving of leavened bread on the Easter holiday, a symbol of everything wicked (Matt. 16:6, 1 Cor. 5:7-8), and eating unleavened bread, pure bread (Heb. mazzot - clean, 1 Cor. 5:8). The motivation to lead such a life was, in particular, the divine blessing - liberation from Egyptian slavery. A reminder of the bitterness of this latter was the eating of bitter herbs (πικρίδων - LXX, a genus of the most bitter herb, corresponding to wild lettuce), the use of which, like bitter food, serves as a common symbol of disasters and suffering (Ps. 68:22, Jer. 2:19). “Do not eat from it half-baked, or boiled in water, but eat what is baked in the fire” (Ex. 12:9) does not contradict: “you must cook (bashal) and eat” (Deut. 16:7). The verb “bashal” does not mean “cook,” but simply “make ready,” and therefore can be equally used in relation to baking over a fire and boiling in water. Exodus 12:9. Do not eat it half-baked, or boiled in water, but eat it baked over fire, the head with legs and entrails; Exodus 12:10. do not leave it until the morning [and do not break its bones], but what remains of it until the morning you burn in the fire. Exodus 12:11. So eat it this way: let your loins be girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staffs in your hands, and eat it with haste: this is the Passover of the Lord. Exodus 12:12. And this very night I will walk through the land of Egypt and will strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to beast, and will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. Exodus 12:13. And the blood will be a sign among you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood and pass by you, and there will not be a destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt. Explanation of the last words: “this is the Passover of the Lord” (Exodus 12:11). Having to strike all the firstborn in Egypt from man to cattle and thereby, since some breeds of the latter were considered gods, to prove their powerlessness (“I will bring judgment on the gods of Egypt”) (Ex. 12:12), the Lord will pass by the houses of the Jews. Hence “passover”, Easter – passing by. Exodus 12:14. And let this day be remembered for you, and celebrate this feast of the Lord throughout your generations; Celebrate it as an eternal institution. The significance of the holiday explains its constant celebration throughout the entire time during which the Old Testament cult will retain its power. Only in this sense is Easter an “everlasting institution” (see 1 Cor. 5:7). Like other holidays and institutions, the Old Testament Passover is a shadow, a type of the future (Col. 1:15–17). In the Easter decrees, the Old Testament writers saw the shadow of the future. They adopted names for the coming Messiah that were obviously borrowed from the Passover lamb. Thus, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah liken Him to a lamb (Is. 53:7, Jer. 11:19), and in this likening the New Testament writers see a clear indication of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:32–35). In accordance with this, the name of the lamb is attached to Him in the New Testament (John 1:29, 1 Pet. 1:19), and Saint John the Theologian, telling that the soldiers did not break the legs of Christ, notes: “this happened, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Let not His bone be broken” (John 19:33–36, Exodus 12:10). The fathers and teachers of the Church reveal the educational significance of Easter in more detail. “The lamb,” says Cyril of Alexandria, “must have been previously chosen and separated from the flock for sacrifice: so Christ was predestined from eternity to suffer for the human race.” The Passover lamb was required to be perfect, without blemish, male, of the first year (Ex. 12:5). All these features, as directed by the Church Fathers, clearly depict Jesus Christ. The perfection of the lamb is the perfection of Christ, not only in divinity, but also in the assumed nature, which is anointed by divinity. The integrity of the lamb is the integrity of Christ, because He heals from shame and shortcomings and defilements: He Himself took upon Himself our sins and illnesses, but He Himself did not undergo anything requiring healing. The Lamb is taken as one of one, like the sun of righteousness (Mal.4:2, Gregory the Theologian). In the slaughter of the Paschal lamb, the Church Fathers see correspondence with the great Sacrifice. And first of all, the time of the slaughter coincided with the time of the crucifixion of Christ. “He (Moses), says Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, knew the day of His suffering and figuratively predicted it under the name of Easter. And on this very holiday the Lord suffered while celebrating Easter.” “On the fourteenth day, the Passover lamb is slain in the image of the Lord crucified on the cross,” notes Ephraim the Syrian. The sprinkling of the blood of the Paschal lamb is an image of our redemption by the blood of Christ (Cyril of Alexandria). “Eating unleavened bread, according to him, is an indication that those who have become partakers of Christ must feed their souls with unleavened, pure desires, accustoming themselves to a life free from deceit and free from depravity.” Bitter herbs are an image of the suffering that we must endure out of love for the One who went to death for us. Exodus 12:15. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; From the very first day, destroy leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leaven from the first day until the seventh day, that soul will be cut off from among Israel. The beginning of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread is the day following Passover, i.e. The 15th of Abib (Lev.23:6, Num.28:17). On the night of this date, the Jews left Egypt (Ex. 12:29–34). As a sign of the new life that has begun from this moment (Exodus 12:17) and the renunciation of Egyptian leaven, the Jews must expel all leaven from their homes. A violator of the decrees of God's chosen people excludes himself from the midst of this latter - he is punished by death (Gen. 17:14, Ex. 4:24, Ex. 31:14). Exodus 12:16. And on the first day you shall have a holy convocation, and on the seventh day a holy convocation: you shall do no work in them; As soon as everyone eats, you can do the same. The beginning and end of the holiday are sanctified by meetings at the tabernacle (Lev.23:6, Num.28:17, etc.). Those who have renounced everything bad surrender themselves to the Lord, without being distracted from serving Him by everyday activities. The rest of the first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is similar to the Sabbath, but not as strict (Ex. 16:23). Exodus 12:17. Observe the unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt, and observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting statute. Exodus 12:18. From the fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the evening of the twenty-first day of the same month; Exodus 12:19. There shall be no leaven in your houses for seven days, for whoever eats leaven will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a natural inhabitant of the land. Exodus 12:20. Do not eat anything leavened; Wherever you are, you shall eat unleavened bread. Exodus 12:21. And Moses called all the elders [sons] of Israel and said to them: choose and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and kill the passover; In accordance with the command of Art. 3. ( Exodus 12:3 ) Moses announces the Passover law to the people. Proclaiming the will of God, he makes some additions. Exodus 12:22. and take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the jar, and anoint the lintel and both doorposts with the blood that is in the jar; but you, no one, go out of the door of your house until the morning. The additions include a remark about hyssop, which does not mean hyssop in the literal sense, as it does not grow in Syria and Arabia, but a similar type of plant, and the order not to leave houses: blood saves only those in buildings. Exodus 12:23. And the Lord will go to smite Egypt, and he will see blood on the lintel and on both the doorposts, and the Lord will pass by the doors, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to destroy. In Ex. 11:4 striking the firstborn of Egypt with a “destroying plague” (Ex. 12:13) the Most High himself appears. Meanwhile, Art. 23 It differs from it as an instrument of execution, a special destroyer 9. According to some teachers of the Church - Justin, Origen and Blessed Augustine, these were evil Angels, an indication of which is given in Ps.77:49; Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and Blessed Theodoret mean by “destroyer” the good Angel; The Targum, according to the remark of the book of the Wisdom of Solomon (Wisdom 18:15), sees in the destroyer the direct, extraordinary action of the word of God (“memra”, according to the Targum). Some of the newest exegetes identify this word with the Angel of the Most High, others see a simple Angel in the destroyer, which seems more natural (2 Sam. 24:16, Isa. 37:36). Exodus 12:24. Keep this as a law for yourself and for your sons forever. Exodus 12:25. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you, as He has spoken, observe this service. Exodus 12:26. And when your children say to you, “What kind of service is this?” Exodus 12:27. Tell [them]: This is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed by the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed down and worshiped. Exodus 12:28. And the children of Israel went and did: as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. Exodus 12:29. At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in prison, and all the firstborn of the livestock. At midnight from the 14th to the 15th of Nisan. In 5 tbsp. Chapter 11 to indicate the scope of the execution, another expression is used: “from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the slave girl who is at the millstones” (Ex. 11:5). Both expressions clearly speak of the extermination of all firstborns, both in the highest and lowest classes of the people. A captive slave can serve as well as an image of the lowest position in society, as well as a slave engaged in grinding bread with millstones. Ex.12:30. And Pharaoh arose at night, himself and all his servants and all Egypt; and there was a great cry [throughout all the land] of Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not a dead man. Exodus 12:31. And [Pharaoh] called Moses and Aaron by night and said [to them], “Arise, come out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel, and go, serve the Lord [your God], as you have spoken; Exodus 12:32. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you said; and come and bless me. In contrast to the first nine plagues, the tenth produces the predicted effect on Pharaoh (Ex. 11:8). The reason for this is as follows. According to Egyptian mythology, the pharaoh was considered not only a representative, but also the son of the supreme god Ra. “Let the son of the sun, Pharaoh, be reverently revered and worshiped for your merits,” says, by the way, in the hymn to the god Ra. In view of this view, it is quite understandable why the first plagues had no effect on the pharaoh. Let, he reasoned, the Almighty prove His superiority over the Egyptian gods. I am God myself, and since nothing shows that He is above me, I do not find it necessary to obey His demands. Now the Pharaoh, who considers himself a god, has his firstborn son killed by God’s will. Jehovah, and no one else (Ex. 4:23), showed His power over him. He is stronger, higher than the pharaoh; the latter, under the influence of the consciousness of his personal powerlessness before the Almighty, remains to bow to His will. And Pharaoh actually releases the Jews, fulfilling the demand of Moses (Ex. 8:26). Exodus 12:33. And the Egyptians urged the people to quickly send them out of that land; for they said: We will all die. Exodus 12:34. And the people brought their dough before it was leavened; their kneading bowls, tied in their clothes, were on their shoulders. The remark about the bread, which had not yet been leavened, but was obviously already prepared for leavening, gives the right to assume that the people were not aware of the law on unleavened bread. And indeed, it is announced later, and its very fulfillment dates back to the time of settlement in the Promised Land (Ex. 13:6, etc.). The remark of Art. 39 (Ex. 12:39) that the Jews baked unleavened cakes from the dough they took from Egypt. The preparation of these flatbreads was not a fulfillment of the law on unleavened bread (Ex. 12:15, etc.), but a matter of simple necessity: the Jews did not take supplies with them, the sour dough was not ready (Ex. 12:34), and therefore they had to be content with unleavened flatbreads. Exodus 12:35. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses, and asked the Egyptians for things of silver and things of gold and clothing. Exodus 12:36. The Lord gave mercy to [His] people in the eyes of the Egyptians: and they gave to him, and he robbed the Egyptians. See above explanation of Art. 19–20. Chapter III Exodus 12:37. And the children of Israel departed from Rameses to Succoth, six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children; About Raamses, see the interpretations on Art. 11. Chapter I Succoth - “tents”, perhaps, of course, the area called Sekhet in Egyptian monuments. For the number of those who left, see the discussion. 7 tbsp. Chapter I Exodus 12:38. and many people of all kinds went out with them, both flocks and herds, a very large herd. The existence of foreigners among the Jews who left Egypt is also mentioned in other places in the Pentateuch: Num. 11:4, Deut. 29:11. Judging by Lev.24:10, the Egyptians belonged to them, with whom the Jews entered into family relations. Foreigners also include the “God-fearing” Egyptians (Ex. 9:20) and, finally, the Semites related to the Jews, who, according to scientists, have long lived on the eastern border of Egypt. Exodus 12:39. And they baked unleavened cakes from the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it had not yet been leavened, because they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay, and they did not even prepare food for themselves for the journey. Exodus 12:40. Now the time in which the children of Israel [and their fathers] dwelt in Egypt [and in the land of Canaan] was four hundred and thirty years. Exodus 12:41. After four hundred and thirty years had passed, on that very day all the army of the Lord came out of the land of Egypt by night. The duration of the Jews' stay in Egypt is determined at 430 years: “the time in which the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was 430 years.” In the text of LXX, this number also includes the years of residence of the patriarchs of the Jewish people in the land of Canaan: and the residence of the sons of Israel, as long as they and their fathers lived in Egypt and in the land of Canaan, was 430 years. And since Abraham, having moved to Canaan for 75 years (Gen. 12:4), after 25 years of being in it gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 17:1, 21), Isaac, 60 years old, gave birth to Esau and Jacob (Gen. 25:26), and Jacob moved 130 years (Gen. 47:9), then, adding 25, 60 and 130 we get 215, i.e. According to the Greek text, the patriarchs lived 215 years in the land of Canaan, and their descendants lived in Egypt for 215 years. Depending on the differences between the texts and subsequent literature, there is no unified view of the life expectancy of the Jews in Egypt. Josephus Flavius, Julius Africanus, Eusebius of Caesarea, from the Russian Metropolitans. Filaret follow the LXX numeral; Theophilus of Antioch, as well as Clement of Alexandria, counted the Jews. The life writer finished the description of the life of the patriarchs in the book of Genesis. The entire book of Exodus, in particular the chapters preceding this place, deals with Israel migrating to Egypt. In the course of the speech, it is natural to expect that the writer of everyday life, even when making chronological calculations, will have in mind only the Egyptian life of the Jews. And what she means is clear from the following. The period subject to chronological definition is called by him the word “moshav” (a verbal noun from the verb “yasav” - sit), i.e. seems to be a time of settled, and not nomadic, life for the Jewish people, which can only be called life in Egypt, but in no case in Canaan, where the patriarchs led a wandering life (Gen. 47:9). Gen. further speaks in favor of the Jewish reckoning. 15:13: “Know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will enslave them and oppress them for 400 years.” By the land in which the descendants of Abraham will be strangers for 400 years, Canaan cannot in any case be understood. According to the promises (Gen. 12:7, 13:17, 15:18, 17:8, 18:13) it was given to the patriarchs and their descendants, it was “their own” land for them, and therefore could not be called “foreign”, “not their own”. But if Canaan cannot be understood as “not our own” land, then it is impossible to include the years of the patriarchs’ wanderings in Palestine in the number of 400 years of stay in it. Testifying against the entire Greek reckoning, the passage cited speaks, in particular, against dividing the period of 430 years into two parts, counting 215 years in each. According to Gen. 15:13, the descendants of Abraham will be the strangers; therefore, from the 215 years of life of the patriarchs in Canaan, 25 years of Abraham’s own wanderings have to be excluded (see above), and the first part of the entire period will be equal to 190, and not 215 years. The change of only four generations that occurred in Egypt (Levi, Kohath, Amram and Moses) and the testimony of the Apostle Paul (Gal. 3:16–17) do not contradict the Jewish reckoning. As can be seen above (see explanation 14-25 Art. 6 ch.), more than four generations passed between Kohath and Moses, Amram, the father of Moses, is not the son of Kohath, but a later descendant of Levi. As for the testimony of the Apostle Paul, first of all, it is not clear from what moment he begins to count 430 years. On the other hand, the expression “I speak according to the understanding of men” (Gal. 3:15) makes it clear that the Apostle Paul follows the number commonly used in his time. Exodus 12:42. This is a night of vigil for the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt; this very night is the vigil of the Lord for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. Exodus 12:43. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat it; Exodus 12:44. and every slave bought with money, when you have circumcised him, may eat of it; Exodus 12:45. the settler and mercenary should not eat it. Ex.12:46. One must eat it in one house, [do not leave it until the morning,] do not take the meat out of the house and do not break its bones. Exodus 12:47. The whole congregation of the [sons of] Israel must perform it. Exodus 12:48. If a stranger settles with you and wants to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, then circumcise all his males, and then let him begin to celebrate it and be like a natural inhabitant of the earth; but no one who is uncircumcised shall eat it; Exodus 12:49. Let there be one law both for the natural resident and for the stranger who has settled among you. Passover is a national holiday of the Jewish people, established in memory of deliverance from Egyptian slavery. And if the feelings evoked by this event are alien to a foreigner, then, of course, his participation in this holiday is also strange: “a foreigner should not eat it.” Exodus 12:13, 23, 29 says, “When I strike the land of Egypt, I strike the land, I strike Egypt.” There is no clear indication that the Lord HIMSELF struck people. If he leads the angels who carry out retribution, this does not mean that he HIMSELF will kill people. In many places in the Holy Scriptures, Angels always accompany God - they lead, help, and speak on behalf of God. This is confirmed by the following opinion of the holy fathers (Editor's note). You might be interested in: