To begin this study, the best place to start is to first review the original account of the first Passover as recorded in Exodus, chapter 12. We will read through the entire account in order to refresh our memory and provide the complete overview. Then we will return to focus on several sections of particular interest for a closer examination.

In reproducing Exodus 12 below, we have added some emphasis to certain passages by way of bold text and underlines. These highlighted passages will be examined in more detail later in the study.

Let's begin with the overview of Exodus, chapter 12:

Exodus 12

1. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying,

2. This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

3. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

4. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

5. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

6. And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

7. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

8. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

9. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

10. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

11. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.

12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

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.

14. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

15. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

16. 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.

17. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.

18. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

19. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.

20. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

21. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.

22. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

23. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

24. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.

25. And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

26. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?

27. That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.

28. And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

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29. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

30. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

31. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

32. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

33. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

34. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.

35. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:

36. And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

37. And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.

38. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.

39. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

40. Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

41. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.

42. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

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43. And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:

44. But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.

45. A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.

46. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.

47. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

48. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.

49. One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

50. Thus did all the children of Israel; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

51. 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.

This concludes the introductory summary of the first Passover as presented in the twelfth chapter of the book of Exodus. In the remainder of this study we will examine several of the above passages in more detail, along with supplementary scriptures that provide additional information concerning the Passover as observed in both Old Testament and New Testament times.

The first passage that we would like to examine is verse 6, where we are being given the instructions for the killing of the Passover lambs. God is conveying a very specific timing and order of events through His instructions. We need to take care that we correctly understand these instructions or our subsequent interpretation of events will become confused and distorted.

Let us begin by reviewing the Biblical definition of a "Day". In Genesis 1:2-5 we read:

So we see that "darkness" preceded the "light", and that "evening and the morning were the first day". Since the scriptures indicate that the day begins with darkness, the Hebraic (Biblical) definition is that a "Day" begins at sunset.

Now let us consider the definition of "Evening", as used in the Bible. The basic word, in the Hebrew, is 'ereb (Strong's Ref. # 6153).

The definition of "evening" is somewhat nebulous. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (unabridged) includes the following definitions for "evening":

1. the later part of the day and early part of the night.

2. the period from sunset to bedtime.

3. the time between noon and sunset, including the afternoon and twilight

4. any concluding or declining period.

But ,of course, our concern is not how "Random House" defines the English word "evening", but rather we are concerned about how the Bible defines the Hebrew word 'ereb (translated by the English word "evening" or "even"). To properly determine this, we need to examine several examples of its use in context.

In Genesis 1:5, which we read above, we find the very first usage of 'ereb in the scriptures. Here 'ereb apparently refers to the dark part of a day.

Lev 11:24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.

In this case, the context of the usage seems to imply "at sundown", which ends that day and begins another.

Lev 23:32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

The topic here is the Day of Atonement (a "high" sabbath). Again, in this case the context would seem to imply that the "even" referred to here is "at sundown".

Jerimiah 6:4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.

Here we have a case where 'ereb may be referring to the latter part of the afternoon, since there are no "shadows" after sunset.

So we see that the scriptural usage of the Hebrew word 'ereb would seem to have a variety of applications, just as the English word "evening" does.

This is all very well, but how does this help us in defining the timing of the Passover sacrifice? There is one additional consideration that must be examined. Lets first take a look at the key instructions given to Moses and the children of Israel for that original Passover sacrifice, as given in Exodus 12:5-6

Exodus 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

6. And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

For an even closer look, here is the Ellis Literal translation from the Hebrew, with Strong's reference numbers. (Each number shown is the reference number for the original Hebrew word as it is identified and defined in the Strong's Hebrew Lexicon. Following the number is a literal translation of the Hebrew word. Therefore the reading is in the original Hebrew word order without respect to differences in English sentence structure.):

Exodus 12:6 |1961| And it will be |0000| for you |4931| to keep |5704| until |0702| the four- |6240| teenth |3117| day |2320| of month |0000| this. |7919| And will kill |0853| it |3605| all |6944| the assembly of |5712| the congregation |3478| Israel of |0996| between |6153| the evenings.

Note that for the timing of the Passover sacrifice, a pair of Hebrew words are used together. These Hebrew words are beyn and ereb, rendered in the literal translation as "between the evenings", but in the King James Translation, simply as "in the evening". (The actual Hebrew phrase here is "beyn ha`arbayim", as the Strong's Lexicon only lists "roots"). The combination of Hebrew words used here represent a "Hebraism" (similar to an idiomatic expression) that is used to designate a more specific period of time than the more general term ereb alone. It is often assumed that since the more common usage of ereb alone seems to be in reference to the period of time after sundown, that "between the evenings" must then refer to the period between sunset and total darkness (in other words, the "twilight" or "dusk" portion of the day). However, it must be noted that there is another related Hebrew word, arab, (Strong's # 6150) that specifically refers to dusk.

To resolve this question of the meaning of "between the evenings" (beyn ereb), we should once again allow the Bible to interpret itself by examining other instances in scripture of the use of beyn ereb in context. There are 11 occurrences of beyn ereb in the scriptures. Five of these are repetitions of the Passover instructions, and include no new information. One (Exodus 30:8) deals with setting up the Temple (Tabernacle) menorah, and does not include enough detail for us to determine whether this was done before or after sundown. Another occurrence is within the account of the quail descending on the camp (Exodus 16:12-13) where in verse 12 beyn ereb is used, while in verse13 ereb alone is used to describe the preceding action. However, this is also inconclusive as we have seen above that ereb alone can be used to refer to "either side" of sundown. The key we are looking for is provided in the remaining four occurrences of beyn ereb, all used in connection with God's instructions for the daily morning and evening sacrifices. These are given in Exodus 29:39 and 41, and repeated again in Numbers 28:4 and 8. Let's examine them again, first in the King James translation, and then in the Ellis Literal, with Strong's reference numbers:

Exodus 29:38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.

39. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:

40. And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

41. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

42. This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

43. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.

44. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.

45. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

46. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.

Note especially verses 39 and 41. From the Ellis Literal (with Strong's numbers) we have:

Exodus 29: 39 |3532| lamb |5921| The one |7126| you must offer |1242| in the morning |0000| and |7716| the lamb |8145| second |7126| you must offer |0996| between |6153| the evenings.

Exodus 29: 41 |0000| And |7716| the lamb |8145| second |7126| you must offer |0996| between |6153| the evenings. |4503| Like food-offering |1242| the morning |5262| and its libation |6213| you must do |0000| to it, |7381| for a fragrance |5207| sweet, |0801| a fire-offering |3068| to Yahweh,

Note here that we have the second lamb of the day being offered "between the evenings". By this we can determine that this "second" lamb must have been offered before sunset, otherwise it would not have been the second lamb of the day, but rather the "first", since sunset marks the beginning of the next day.

Thus, we have determined that God himself, as the one speaking these instructions, has directly given us the definition of beyn ereb ("between the evenings") as referring to the afternoon, before sunset. The Jewish sages also concur with this definition. Notice how "The Stone Edition of the Chumash (Torah - 5 books of Moses), translates the Passover instructions, and their commentary for Exodus 12:6 that follows. (pg 351):

Ex 12:6 ".... The entire congregation of the assembly of Israel shall slaughter it in the afternoon."

Stone Edition Commentary: -- in the afternoon [lit., between the evenings]. The afternoon is given this name because it falls between two "sunsets"; the first is when the noontime sun begins to dip toward the horizon, and the second when it sets below the horizon. (Rashi) (Note: Rashi was a Jewish Sage and commentator of the 11^th Century.)

Now let's examine another passage that we have all read over, perhaps numerous times, but yet may have overlooked the obvious. Before we do, let's once again review some basic definitions:

According to "scriptural" definition, a "day" begins and ends at sundown. In other words, sunset marks the transition from one day to the next. (For example, the sunset marking the end of May 1^st also marks the beginning of May 2^nd).

(Abbreviations: In the discussion to follow, I am going to use the abbreviation "COG" to stand for "Churches of God". The COG groups, for the most part, teach that "between the evenings" means between sunset and dark. I may also occasionally use the abbreviation "B.T.E." for "between the evenings".)

Now let us consider the use of ereb (even, evening) and beyn ereb ("between the evenings") as demarcations for the beginning/ending of a "day":

With this in mind let's now compare the following familiar passages from Leviticus 23:

Skipping down a few verses:

Note the manner of specifying the Day of Atonement here. It says, "in the ninth day...at even", which we (and the COG's) understand to begin with sundown on the ninth, which actually begins the 10^th. We do not interpret this passage as meaning "the evening which begins the ninth". Yet when we read just a few verses earlier in Lev 23:5 "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover" the COG's do interpret it as the evening which begins the fourteenth. This is not consistent!

Granted, the Hebrew words translated "at even" are different in these cases (vs 5 is beyn ereb "between the evenings" while vs 32 is simply ereb "evening"). However, as we have seen above, if we accept the COG definition of "between the evenings" as being the time period between sunset and dark, then there is no technical difference between "evening" (sunset) and "between the evenings" (sunset till dark) as far as the definition of the beginning of a day is concerned (i.e. at sunset). Therefore, the usage of either term in either passage should be interpreted the same way with respect to determining the starting point of the event, because both are referring to an event that starts at sundown.

Therefore, if we maintain consistency in defining the start of a day, using the example of Atonement, then (based on the COG definition of B.T.E.) we would have the slaying of the Passover lambs after sundown on the fourteenth, which actually begins the 15^th (the beginning of the High Day, the First Day of Unleavened Bread). This, of course, is not correct either. But the problem in this case is not with consistent application, but rather the incorrect definition of B.T.E. The correct definition of "between the evenings" is: from the time the sun first begins to decline from its zenith (at noon) - the "first" evening, until sunset - the "second" evening.

Now one might argue (incorrectly, I believe) that from "sunset to sunset" (i.e. "from even unto even" as used in Lev 23:32 above) is also "between the evenings". But in either case, if applied to the Passover sacrifice, we would have the slaying of the lambs occurring through the late afternoon of the 14^th. This would be consistent with other scriptures, since the slaying of the Passover lambs was part of the "preparation" that needed to be done for the "feast" (Passover meal and accompanying days of unleavened bread). This preparation had to be completed prior to the feast, which began at sundown (ending the 14^th and beginning the 15^th) because this also began a High Day. The Passover meal was then eaten after sundown, at the beginning of the High Day (First Day of Unleavened Bread). Recall that unleavened bread was to be eaten with the Passover [Ex 12:8, Num 9:11, Deut 16:3]. This was because it (the Passover meal, not the sacrifice) was within the seven days of Unleavened Bread, and not on an "eighth day" external to it. Also note the following verses:

Num 28

16. And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the Lord.

17. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten.

18. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein:

Again, the Passover (lamb) was slain on the 14^th, then eaten during the "feast" beginning the 15^th. The "preparation" of the lamb had to be completed before the High Day began at sunset (ending the 14^th and beginning the 15^th) since "no manner of servile work" could be done after the High Day began.

Ezek 45

21. In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.

Note that here "Passover" is used as a label for the entire feast of unleavened bread. It is considered as one event, not two separate events. (They are not the separate "disconnected" observances that some would like to make of them).

Num 33

3. And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.

Note that the term "morrow" means on the following morning. Therefore, the Passover sacrifice was on the afternoon of the 14^th, else if it were after sunset beginning the 14^th, the "morrow after" would be the morning (day portion) of the 14^th, thus contradicting Num 33:3.

Much of the difficulty in discussing "Passover" stems from the fact that the word can be used to refer to several different events/actions that all took place over a period of time that extended across a "sunset", which ordinarily is the demarcation between one day and another. These events are:

1. The slaying of the Passover lamb (afternoon of the 14^th)
2. The eating of the Passover (after sunset, beginning the 15^th)
3. The Passing-Over of the "Death Angel" (around midnight of the 15^th)

And so we see that by the daylight portion of the 15^th (the "morrow after the passover" in Num33:3) the children of Israel are already departing from Rameses.

Did the Israelites waste any time once the way was clear for their departure? Not at all. In fact, God's instructions were for them to eat the passover fully dressed in their "traveling clothes" so that they could make a hasty departure. Recall the following verses from Exodus 12:

11. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.

17. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. (selfsame day = the same day they ate the passover) (The "feast of unleavened bread" is initiated by the passover meal/feast)

33. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

39. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.

42. It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. (This "night to be much observed" is the passover meal/feast observance, that was held at the beginning of the "selfsame day" that they were brought out of Egypt)

51. 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. (again, selfsame day = the same day they ate the passover)

Num 33:3 And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. ("morrow after the passover" = the daylight portion following the night in which they ate the passover)

Exodus 13:3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.

Ex 13:9-10 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.

The concept of "signs", "marks", and "seals" would be the subject of another study. God uses this symbolism several times in the scriptures, with very similar wording relating to these signs or marks being upon a hand and/or forehead. The gist of the intended meaning is that you are to remember (forehead) and do (hand) that which has been taught or commanded. This becomes a sign of God's people.

(Some other instances you may recall in which this symbolism is used include with respect to the Torah [Deut 6:6-8], the sealing of the servants of God [Ezek 9:4-7, Rev 7:3-4], and the "mark of the beast" [Rev 13:16, 14:9-11]. In the case of the "mark of the beast" we are presented with the "anti-sign" so to speak. Those that are the Beast's people remember and do that which has been taught or commanded by the Beast, rather than by God.)

This makes the importance of properly understanding and observing the Passover clear. If we are to be considered part of God's people, we must bear His signs. If we are bearing a counterfeit, then whose people are we?

Ex 12: 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

The Passover is an incredibly significant and important feast day. So important, in fact, that God commands that it be kept "throughout your generations" or "forever" no less than five times in chapter 12 of Exodus alone.

Furthermore, in Ezekiel 45:21-22 which is in the midst of what modern eschatologists consider to be a description of the future millennial temple, we see the Passover still being observed. However, it is interesting to note that there is no lamb being sacrificed.

This concludes our review of the original Passover as recorded in the "old" testament. Our next article in this series will examine the Passover in the "new" testament.

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