b. Climactic plague and its results (11:1-13:16)

The tenth plague (11:1-9) attacks the very heart of Egyptian faith, which was in life itself. The Egyptians were obsessed with keeping the good life of Egypt intact right into the next world. Thus, though the gods, who were after all but representations, might fail, still, if life and the life force continue, then their faith could survive. When the Lord shows that even the continuation of life itself (as symbolized in the firstborn) is within his control, there is nothing left but to admit defeat. Though Pharaoh may never see Moses again (10:29), Pharaoh’s officials will; and far from loftily permitting the Israelites to leave, those officials will beg them to go (11:8).

Ex 12:1-13:16 deals with the implications of the tenth plague. This plague was significant not only because it finally prompted the Egyptians to let the Israelites go (12:31-42), but because it revealed the fundamentally spiritual nature of salvation. Passover (12:1-30) and the consecration of the firstborn (13:1-16) are both recognitions that the real enemy of Israel and the Hebrew race is death and that God has conquered it.

The special nature of the tenth plague is indicated by the fact that it is the only one against which the Israelites had to take action so that they would be protected from it. Not merely the oppressors are under the curse; the oppressed are as well. There is nothing about being oppressed that automatically exempts the victims. Thus Passover teaches that the real enemy is death. This is confirmed in Passover’s fulfillment in the Last Supper (Lk 22:7-30). Jesus openly refers the symbolism to himself and what he would do for the world on the next day.

The first month (12:2) of the agricultural calendar was the month of Nisan, extending from about March 15 until about April 15 of the modern calendar. About this time pagans celebrated the rebirth of the mythical vegetation gods. The Israelites celebrated God’s actual conquest of death in the real world of time and space. This victory is not something to be remembered in morbid privacy; rather, it should be shared with others in joy. Later Judaism decreed that no fewer than ten could share the Passover meal. Judaism has also invested every element of the meal with meaningful symbolism. So the bitter herbs are taken to symbolize the bitterness of oppression, the leaven sin, and so forth. But the only element that the Exodus text explicitly interprets is that of the lamb’s blood. It is this factor that turns away the death angel (v.13; see also v.23). The meal is to be eaten in readiness for the journey because those who have experienced God’s deliverance from death need to be prepared to act on all that that deliverance may portend (12:11).

Passover was a one-day festival celebrated on Nisan 14. The Feast of Unleavened Bread continued for one week after that until the twenty-first day (v.18). Probably this feast originally commemorated the fact that bread prepared and kept in readiness for a journey such as the Hebrews were about to make could have no yeast in it for fear of spoilage. Another explanation is given in 12:39: they did not even have time to let bread rise. When God acts, we must be ready to move. “Cut off from the community” (12:19) emphasizes again (see on 4:24-26) that it is God who determines the terms of our reconciliation. A casual and half-hearted approach to these terms can only indicate an unwillingness to submit to him. Moses' careful communication of God’s commands (12:21-28), emphasizing their continuing nature and their teaching function, illustrates the same point.

The information about the death of Pharaoh’s firstborn in 12:29 might be assumed to be helpful in identifying the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Unfortunately, several of the pharaohs between 1500 and 1200 b.c. were succeeded by someone other than their firstborn son.

The second result of the tenth plague, expulsion, is discussed in 12:31-42. “Bless me” (12:32): Now Pharaoh knows that far from being God Incarnate of the whole world, he cannot even guarantee the prosperity of his own soul and body; they are in the hands of the Hebrew God. This is a direct fulfillment of God’s prophecy in 8:10 and 9:14. Another fulfillment occurs in vv.35-36 where 3:21-22 are reprised. Pharaoh has no choice but to obey.

The Hebrews seem to have traveled southeast from the Delta area where they lived. See 13:17-18 and 14:3. On the numbers involved in the Exodus, see the introduction. The Greek translation of the OT, the Septuagint, has 12:40 reading that it was 430 years from Abram’s entry into Canaan until the Exodus. This would shorten the Egyptian sojourn to something like 220 years. This reading is supported by the ancient Samaritan version of the Pentateuch and is followed by the NT (Gal 3:17).

The further ordinances concerning Passover seem strange at this point (12:43-49) until we consider what appears to be the author’s purpose in this: exodus—freedom from bondage—is misunderstood unless it is seen, both before and after, as having its meaning in the greater deliverance—from death. The particular content of these ordinances is to restrict participation in the Passover to those who are wholeheartedly participating in the covenant of Abraham as symbolized by circumcision.

A third result of the tenth plague was the sanctifying of the firstborn (13:1-2, 11-16). Because God had graciously spared them, all firstborn, human and animal, were his. Thus they had to be sacrificed or bought back.

If Passover was more associated with deliverance from death, then Unleavened Bread focused more on deliverance from oppression (13:8-9). Perhaps this explains the apparent discrepancy with 12:2 over the date of the celebration. Abib (13:4) is the second month of the agricultural calendar, evidently the actual month in which the Hebrews left Egypt (see also Ex 23:15; 34:18; Dt 16:1). Leviticus commands that the combined feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread be kept in the first month (23:5), as does Ex 12:2ff. Apparently, for a time at least, the Hebrews kept Abib as the first month of their calendar. Later confusion arose, and the Judeans seem to have celebrated in Nisan, the first month, and the Israelites in Abib, the second month. This may explain Hezekiah’s actions in 2 Chron. 30.

Obedience (13:9) is an outward sign of inner adherence. It is not a substitute, but it is an important sign. And it is an irreplaceable teaching device for the young (vv.8, 14).