The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Exodus12:43–51

Instructions for the Passover

Generated by AI. It can be wrong, and it has no authority. Every note here is fallible commentary — never the Word itself. Public-domain sources are quoted and named; machine synthesis is marked and meant to be checked. Weigh all of it against Scripture. “They received the word with all readiness… and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” — Acts 17:11
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Exodus 12:43–51 — Instructions for the Passover. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

43“And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of th…”+

43And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: No foreigner is to eat of it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

Yah·weh way·yō·mer ’el- mō·šeh wə·’a·hă·rōn zōṯ ḥuq·qaṯ hap·pā·saḥ kāl- lō- ben- nê·ḵār yō·ḵal bōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-said YHWH to Moses and-Aaron, ‘This is the-statute of-the-Passover: every son-of-a-foreigner shall- not -eat of-it.’”

Where the English smooths the original

  • חֻקַּת BSB renders ḥuqqat as “statute”; the noun (root ḥāqaq, “to engrave/inscribe”) is a thing cut in — a permanent, binding ordinance, not a mere rule. It governs the whole following body of law (vv. 43–49).
  • בֶּן־נֵכָר The Hebrew is literally “son of a foreigner” (ben-nēḵār) — a Hebrew idiom of membership-by-birth, flattened to “foreigner”; Barnes and the Pulpit Commentary both note the literal “son of a stranger.”
  • כָּל־ kol (“every/all”) opens the clause emphatically — “every son of a foreigner” — making the exclusion total before the exceptions of vv. 44, 48 are granted; English drops it into a bare “No.”
  • יְהוָה֙ Word order is verb-first in the consecutive imperfect, but the printed Hebrew here sets the subject יְהוָה (YHWH) first in the gloss order — the divine name, printed Lord, is the speaker; this is direct divine legislation, not Moses’ ruling.
Word by word14 · parsed+
יְהוָה֙Yah·wehAnd the LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
The Tetragrammaton, the covenant name, printed Lord. The Passover ordinance is spoken by God Himself, not derived by Moses.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559
√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·yō·mer, the wayyiqtol of ’āmar (“and he said”) — the narrative tense that drives Hebrew prose. K&D place this speech at Succoth, after the exodus, occasioned by the “mixed multitude” that had attached itself to Israel.
אֶל־’el-toH413
√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition
מֹשֶׁ֣הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
וְאַהֲרֹ֔ןwə·’a·hă·rōnand AaronH175
√ ʼAhărôwn — Aharon, the brother of MosesConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
זֹ֖אתzōṯThisH2063
√ zôʼth — this (often used adverb)Pronounfeminine singular
zōṯ, the feminine demonstrative, agreeing with the feminine ḥuqqat — “this is the statute.” A heading: what follows is the law of who may share the meal.
חֻקַּ֣תḥuq·qaṯis the statuteH2708
√ chuqqâh — {an enactmentNounfeminine singular construct
ḥuqqāh — an engraved, fixed enactment. The Passover is not a custom that drifts; it is cut into Israel as law. Genesis the people are bound to it in every generation (cf. v. 14).
הַפָּ֑סַחhap·pā·saḥof the PassoverH6453
√ peçach — a pretermission, iArticleNounmasculine singular
pesaḥ — the “passing/sparing over” (Strong’s: “a pretermission”), the name of both the rite and the lamb. The whole regulation hangs on this single word, repeated at vv. 48.
כָּל־kāl-NoH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
לֹא־lō-. . .H3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
בֶּן־ben-foreignerH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular construct
ben in construct, “son of” — the Hebrew builds identity through sonship; a ben-nēḵār belongs by birth to the foreign nation, not to Israel.
נֵכָ֖רnê·ḵār. . .H5236
√ nêkâr — foreign, or (concretely) a foreigner, or (abstractly) heathendomAdjectivemasculine singular
nēḵār — “foreignness, heathendom”; with ben it marks one who is alien by nation and by religion (Poole), one who wishes “to retain his foreign character and remain uncircumcised” (Pulpit Commentary). The bar is not race but covenant.
יֹ֥אכַלyō·ḵalis to eatH398
√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yō·ḵal — Qal imperfect of ’āḵal, the verb that threads this whole unit (vv. 43, 44, 45, 46, 48). K&D note the idiom ʼāḵal bə-, “to eat at a thing,” i.e. to take part in the eating — the issue is table-fellowship with YHWH.
בּֽוֹ׃bōwof it
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
it was only by the fact that a crowd of foreigners attached themselves to the Israelites, that Israel was brought into a connection with foreigners, which needed to be clearly defined, especially so far as the Passover was concerned, the festival of Israel's birth as the people of God. If the Passover was still to retain this signification, of course no foreigner could participate in it.
K&D read the supplementary law as occasioned by the mixed multitude (cf. Ex 12:38) and located at Succoth.
No stranger, or, foreigner, who is so both by nation and religion; for if he were circumcised, he might eat of it
No stranger - Literally, "son of a stranger." The term is general; it includes all who were aliens from Israel, until they were incorporated into the nation by circumcision.
Strangers, if circumcised, might eat of the passover. Here is an early indication of favour to the gentiles. This taught the Jews that their being a nation favoured by God, entitled them to their privileges, not their descent from Abraham.
Henry's note covers the whole unit (12:43–51); he reads the inclusion of circumcised strangers as an early sign of grace toward the Gentiles.
Unless he is circumcised, and professes your religion only.
The Geneva marginal gloss (note t) on "no stranger shall eat thereof": the bar lifts only with circumcision and exclusive profession of Israel's faith.
44“But any slave who has been purchased may eat of it, after you ha…”+

44But any slave who has been purchased may eat of it, after you have circumcised him.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵāl ‘e·ḇeḏ ’îš miq·naṯ- kā·sep̄ yō·ḵal bōw ū·mal·tāh ’ō·ṯōw ’āz

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“But-every slave of-a-man, the-purchase of-silver — when you-have- circumcised -him, then he-shall-eat of-it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • מִקְנַת־כָּסֶף Two nouns, “purchase of silver” (miqnat-kāsep̄); BSB smooths to “has been purchased.” The Cambridge Bible notes this phrase distinguishes the bought slave from the slave “born in the house” (Gen 17:12–13), who was already circumcised as a matter of course.
  • וּמַלְתָּה ū·maltāh is a weqatal (conjunctive perfect, 2nd m.sg.) — “and you shall circumcise him,” the master is the actor; the BSB’s passive-leaning “after you have circumcised him” keeps the agent but loosens the legal force of the command laid on the head of the house.
  • אָז The verse ends on ’āz, “then” — a temporal hinge that BSB folds into the clause order. Circumcision first, then the meal: the sign of the covenant is the door to the table.
  • עֶבֶד ‘eḇeḏ (“slave/servant,” root ‘āḇaḏ) is the same word that will name Israel as God’s servant-people; here the lowest member of the house, once circumcised, gains “full religious equality with his master” (Ellicott).
Word by word10 · parsed+
וְכָל־wə·ḵālBut anyH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
wə-ḵol — “but every,” the conjunctive waw turning from the exclusion of v. 43 to the first exception. The law opens as fast as it closed.
עֶ֥בֶד‘e·ḇeḏslave [who]H5650
√ ʻebed — a servantNounmasculine singular construct
‘eḇeḏ — a bondservant. The Mosaic law “found servitude existing, and left it existing, only guarding against its extreme abuses” (Pulpit Commentary); but it pulled even the slave inside the covenant meal.
אִ֖ישׁ’îšvvvH376
√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular
מִקְנַת־miq·naṯ-has been purchasedH4736
√ miqnâh — properly, a buying, iNounfeminine singular construct
miqnah — “a buying, a possession” (a rare noun, only 13 verses). Its rarity ties this verse verbally to the circumcision-of-the-bought-slave law of Genesis 17:12–13, 23, 27.
כָּ֑סֶףkā·sep̄. . .H3701
√ keçeph — silver (from its pale color)Nounmasculine singular
kesep̄ — “silver,” by extension “money/price.” The slave is acquired property; yet property is not excluded from grace — purchase is no barrier to the Passover, only foreignness-without-the-sign is.
יֹ֥אכַלyō·ḵalmay eatH398
√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yō·ḵal — “he shall eat”; the same verb as v. 43, now granted, not denied. The boundary is circumcision, not status.
בּֽוֹ׃bōwof it
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
וּמַלְתָּ֣הū·mal·tāhafter you have circumcised himH4135
√ mûwl — to cut short, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular
mûl — “to cut short, to circumcise” (root behind the whole circumcision corpus). The act is laid on the master: “the master had a power to circumcise such persons” (Poole, citing Gen 17:12). Gill urges it should follow instruction and consent.
אֹת֔וֹ’ō·ṯōwH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine singular
אָ֖ז’āzH227
√ ʼâz — at that time or placeAdverb
The Voices✦ public domain+
Bought slaves were allowed their choice. It is noticeable that the circumcised slave was to be admitted to full religious equality with his master.
‘That is bought for money’ distinguishes the slave here referred to from the slave ‘born in the house’ (cf. Genesis 17:12 ; Genesis 17:23 ; Genesis 17:27 ), i.e. born of parents who were themselves slaves in the same establishment: a slave of the latter kind would, as a matter of course, be circumcised, and have a right to partake of the Passover.
then circumcision was not to them a seal of God’s covenant, nor of their religion, for that must be matter of choice, but only a civil badge, or a note of that family or people into which they were politically incorporated.
Poole distinguishes the slave's compelled circumcision (a civil badge) from voluntary covenant circumcision.
45“A temporary resident or hired hand shall not eat the Passover.”+

45A temporary resident or hired hand shall not eat the Passover.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

tō·wō·šāḇ wə·śā·ḵîr lō- yō·ḵal- bōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“A-settler and-a-hired-man shall- not -eat of-it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • תּוֹשָׁב tôšāḇ is a “resident/settler” (root yāšaḇ, “to dwell”), one who has settled permanently among Israel but not joined its religion; BSB’s “temporary resident” is almost the opposite of the etymology — the Cambridge Bible notes the technical distinction from gēr “is not altogether clear.”
  • שָׂכִיר śāḵîr is the “hired man,” one working “at wages by the day or year” (Strong’s); the BSB “hired hand” is apt, but the assumption — flagged by Ellicott — is that he is a foreigner; an Israelite hireling would of course partake.
  • לֹא־יֹאכַל The verb is singular (yō·ḵal), governing both nouns together: settler-and-hireling form one excluded class — those in a “purely external relation, which might be any day dissolved” (K&D).
Word by word5 · parsed+
תּוֹשָׁ֥בtō·wō·šāḇA temporary residentH8453
√ tôwshâb — resident alienNounmasculine singular
tôšāḇ — “sojourner/settler.” The LXX renders the parallel notion πάροικος (Pulpit Commentary, on the related gēr). Unlike the bought slave (v. 44) or the proselyte (v. 48), he stands outside the covenant by relation, not yet by the sign.
וְשָׂכִ֖ירwə·śā·ḵîror hired handH7916
√ sâkîyr — a man at wages by the day or yearConjunctive wawAdjectivemasculine singular
śāḵîr — the wage-worker, a non-Israelite hired for a fixed term; his tie to the household is contractual, “might be any day dissolved” (K&D), so he has no claim on the family meal.
לֹא־lō-shall notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
— the flat negative. The settler and the hireling are excluded not by malice but by category: they have not bound themselves to YHWH.
יֹ֥אכַל־yō·ḵal-eatH398
√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yō·ḵal — “he shall eat”; here denied. The same verb of vv. 43–44 marks the recurring question of this unit: who shares the table of the Lord?
בּֽוֹ׃bōw[the Passover]
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
An hired servant. —It is assumed that the hired servant will be a foreigner; otherwise, of course, he would participate.
The technical distinction between the tôshâb and the gêr ( v. 48) is not altogether clear. To judge from the etymology, the tôshâb was a foreigner, more permanently ‘settled’ in Israel than an ordinary gêr , and also perhaps ( Leviticus 22:10 ; Leviticus 25:6 ) more definitely attached to a particular family
A hired servant — Unless he submit to be circumcised.
46“It must be eaten inside one house. You are not to take any of th…”+

46It must be eaten inside one house. You are not to take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of the bones.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yê·’ā·ḵêl ’e·ḥāḏ bə·ḇa·yiṯ lō- ṯō·w·ṣî min- hab·bā·śār min- ḥū·ṣāh hab·ba·yiṯ lō ṯiš·bə·rū- ḇōw wə·‘e·ṣem

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“In-one house it-shall-be-eaten; you-shall-not carry-out from-the-house any of-the-flesh outside, and-a- bone of-it you-shall- not break.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • יֵאָכֵל yē·’ā·ḵēl is Niphal (passive) — “it shall be eaten,” impersonal; BSB’s “It must be eaten” is right but loses the passive’s force: the focus is on the meal’s confinement, not on who eats.
  • אֶחָד ’eḥād (“one”) modifies “house” — “in one house.” Barnes reads it as “one company”: the lamb wholly consumed by a single body. The number-word carries the unity theme that Kalisch and the Pulpit Commentary build on.
  • עֶצֶם ‘eṣem is “bone” (Strong’s: “as strong”) — the very word that returns in v. 51 as the idiom “the bone of the day” = “that selfsame day.” One word braces the unit: the unbroken bone of the lamb, the unbreakable bone of God’s timing.
  • תִשְׁבְּרוּ tišbərū — “you (plural) shall break” (root šāḇar, “to burst, shatter”) — negated. This is the clause John 19:36 cites as fulfilled in Christ; the Hebrew verb of shattering is exactly what was not done to the body on the cross.
Word by word14 · parsed+
יֵאָכֵ֔לyê·’ā·ḵêlIt must be eatenH398
√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)VerbNifalImperfectthird person masculine singular
yē·’ā·ḵēl — Niphal of ’āḵal; “it is to be eaten.” The directions of vv. 3–10 are gathered and repeated (K&D): one lamb, one house, nothing carried out, no bone broken.
אֶחָד֙’e·ḥāḏinside oneH259
√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iNumbermasculine singular
’eḥād — “one.” The first of three regulations the Cambridge Bible says are “designed to emphasize the unity of the company” (cf. 1 Cor 10:17). Gill reads the church in it: each believer has a right “to a whole Christ.”
בְּבַ֤יִתbə·ḇa·yiṯhouseH1004
√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcPreposition-bNounmasculine singular
bayit — “house,” here the household-as-congregation. Poole: the meal is not to be had “out of God’s house or church.”
לֹא־lō-You are notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
תוֹצִ֧יאṯō·w·ṣîto takeH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbHifilImperfectsecond person masculine singular
מִן־min-any ofH4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPreposition
הַבָּשָׂ֖רhab·bā·śārthe meatH1320
√ bâsâr — flesh (from its freshness)ArticleNounmasculine singular
bāśār — “flesh” (“from its freshness”). None of the lamb’s flesh may leave the house; the meal is sealed within the covenant home.
מִן־min-outsideH4480
√ min — properly, a part ofPreposition
ח֑וּצָהḥū·ṣāh. . .H2351
√ chûwts — properly, separate by awall, iNounmasculine singularthird person feminine singular
הַבַּ֛יִתhab·ba·yiṯthe houseH1004
√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcArticleNounmasculine singular
לֹ֥אand you may notH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
תִשְׁבְּרוּ־ṯiš·bə·rū-breakH7665
√ shâbar — to burst (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine plural
tišbərū — “you shall break.” The negated verb of shattering. The injunction is repeated in Numbers 9:12; its “typical significance,” say Barnes and Ellicott, is recognized by John (John 19:33–36).
בֽוֹ׃ḇōw
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
וְעֶ֖צֶםwə·‘e·ṣemany of the bonesH6106
√ ʻetsem — a bone (as strong)Conjunctive wawNounfeminine singular
‘eṣem — “bone.” Ellicott: the lamb “roasted whole, and to remain whole, as a symbol of unity, and a type of Him through whom men are brought into unity.” The unbroken bone is the unit’s deepest type.
The Voices✦ public domain+
Here the victim was to be roasted whole, and to remain whole, as a symbol of unity, and a type of Him through whom men are brought into unity with each other and with God. (See John 19:33-36 .)
neither shall ye break a bone thereof; any of its tender bones to get out the marrow; and so the Targum of Jonathan adds,"that ye may eat that which is in the midst of it:''this was remarkably fulfilled in Christ the antitype, John 19:32 .
It may have been to mark the unity of the Church in Christ that his bones were not broken, and in view especially of that unity, that the type was made to correspond in this particular with the antitype. (See John 19:33-36 .)
Following Kalisch, the Pulpit Commentary reads the unbroken bone as a symbol of national, then ecclesial, unity.
Break a bone - The typical significance of this injunction is recognized by John, (see the margin reference.) It is not easy to assign any other satisfactory reason for it.
Barnes is candid that, apart from the Johannine type, the rule resists explanation — a sober counterweight to the confident typology of Ellicott and the Pulpit Commentary.
47“The whole congregation of Israel must celebrate it.”+

47The whole congregation of Israel must celebrate it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kāl- ‘ă·ḏaṯ yiś·rā·’êl ya·‘ă·śū ’ō·ṯōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

All the-congregation of-Israel shall- do -it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • עֲדַת ‘ăḏat (“congregation,” root yāʻaḏ, “to appoint/assemble”) is the technical word for Israel gathered as a worshiping assembly; BSB’s “congregation” is right but the Hebrew marks this as the corporate, covenant body — the same ‘ēḏāh of v. 6, the LXX’s synagōgē.
  • יַעֲשׂוּ ya·‘ăśū is the verb ‘āśāh, “to do/make” — “shall do it.” The Cambridge Bible insists this is the idiom “keep/hold” the feast (so ποιεῖν, Mt 26:18; Heb 11:28), but the Pulpit Commentary argues “shall sacrifice it” (cf. v. 6); BSB’s “celebrate” chooses one sense and hides the debate.
  • כָּל־ kol — “all/the whole” — opens the verse: not a remnant but the whole congregation. After the exclusions of vv. 43–45, this is the inclusive turn: every covenant member must keep it (cf. Num 9:13).
Word by word5 · parsed+
כָּל־kāl-The wholeH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
kol — “the whole.” The pivot from who is barred to who is bound: the entire community is obligated. None of the covenant people may neglect it.
עֲדַ֥ת‘ă·ḏaṯcongregationH5712
√ ʻêdâh — a stated assemblage (specifically, a concourse, or generally, a family or crowd)Nounfeminine singular construct
‘ēḏāh — the assembled congregation, the worshiping body of Israel. Benson: though kept “in families apart,” it is “the act of the whole congregation,” and so, he adds, the Lord’s Supper “ought not to be neglected by any.”
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לyiś·rā·’êlof IsraelH3478
√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular
יַעֲשׂ֥וּya·‘ă·śūmust celebrateH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine plural
‘āśāh yaʻăśū — “shall do/make.” The verb that will sound again in vv. 48, 50 (“did… did”). The Cambridge Bible traces it to the NT idiom of keeping the Passover (Mt 26:18; Heb 11:28).
אֹתֽוֹ׃’ō·ṯōwitH853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person masculine singular
’ōṯōw — “it,” the direct-object marker plus suffix, pointing back to the pesaḥ. The whole congregation does the one rite.
The Voices✦ public domain+
hold it ] Heb. do it : not in the sacrif. sense noticed on Exodus 10:25 , but in that of hold, keep : so v. 48, Numbers 9:2-6 , Deuteronomy 16:1 al. , and ποιεῖν Matthew 26:18 , Hebrews 11:28
The Cambridge Bible links the Hebrew "do it" to the NT verb poiein for keeping Passover.
All the congregation ... shall keep it . Rather "shall sacrifice it." (Compare ver. 6.)
The Pulpit Commentary takes the verb in its sacrificial sense, against the Cambridge Bible's "keep."
for a Gentile was first to be circumcised, and be joined to the congregation, and then partake of it, and not before.
48“If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’…”+

48If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·ḵî- gêr yā·ḡūr ’it·tə·ḵā wə·‘ā·śāh Yah·weh p̄e·saḥ ḵāl zā·ḵār him·mō·wl lōw wə·’āz yiq·raḇ la·‘ă·śō·ṯōw wə·hā·yāh kə·’ez·raḥ hā·’ā·reṣ wə·ḵāl lō- ‘ā·rêl yō·ḵal bōw

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-when a sojourner sojourns with-you and-would-keep a-Passover to-YHWH, let-every male of-his be- circumcised, and-then he-may-come-near to-keep-it, and-he-shall-be like-a-native of-the-land. But-no uncircumcised-one shall-eat of-it.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • גֵּר gēr is the “sojourner” — Strong’s “a guest”; the Cambridge Bible argues “stranger” is “inadequate… a better word would be sojourner,” the protected foreigner who has put himself under Israel’s shelter. In P it edges toward the later sense “proselyte.” BSB’s “foreigner” blurs gēr with the excluded ben-nēḵār of v. 43.
  • הִמּוֹל him·mōl is a Niphal infinitive absolute standing for a forceful imperative — “let there absolutely be circumcising.” The grammar is emphatic; BSB’s “must be circumcised” is correct but the infinitive-absolute drives it home as a categorical condition.
  • יִקְרַב yiqraḇ (“he may draw near,” root qāraḇ) is cultic-approach language — to come near to God/altar (so the Cambridge Bible, citing Lev 9:5; Num 16:40). The circumcised sojourner is granted not just a meal but approach to YHWH; “celebrate” loses the sacral nearness.
  • כְּאֶזְרַח kə-’ezraḥ — “like a native” (’ezrāḥ, “a spontaneous growth,” one sprung from the soil). The prefixed kə- (“like/as”) is the hinge of the whole unit: the circumcised foreigner becomes as homeborn — full equality, the “early indication of favour to the gentiles” (Henry).
Word by word22 · parsed+
וְכִֽי־wə·ḵî-IfH3588
√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction
wə-ḵî — “and when/if,” introducing the great positive ordinance that modifies v. 43 “in the most important and striking way” (Pulpit Commentary).
גֵּ֗רgêra foreignerH1616
√ gêr — properly, a guestNounmasculine singular
gēr — the resident foreigner under protection; in the Priestly law he is placed “on practically the same footing as the native Israelite” (Cambridge Bible), bound by the same laws and loved “as thyself” (Lev 19:34).
יָג֨וּרyā·ḡūrresidesH1481
√ gûwr — properly, to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose), iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
אִתְּךָ֜’it·tə·ḵāwithH854
√ ʼêth — properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), nearPrepositionsecond person masculine singular
וְעָ֣שָׂהwə·‘ā·śāhyou and wants to celebrateH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
לַיהוָה֒Yah·wehthe LORD’sH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
la-YHWH — “to YHWH.” The sojourner does not keep a generic feast but “a Passover to the LORD”; entry is into covenant worship of Israel’s God, not mere ethnic adoption.
פֶסַח֮p̄e·saḥPassoverH6453
√ peçach — a pretermission, iNounmasculine singular
כָל־ḵālall theH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
זָכָ֗רzā·ḵārmales [in the household]H2145
√ zâkâr — properly, remembered, iNounmasculine singular
הִמּ֧וֹלhim·mō·wlmust be circumcisedH4135
√ mûwl — to cut short, iVerbNifalInfinitive absolute
mûl (Niphal inf. abs.) — “be circumcised.” The covenant sign is the one and only gate. Gill: “first himself, and then all his male children and male servants, and then, and not till then, he might approach.”
ל֣וֹlōw
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
וְאָז֙wə·’āzthenH227
√ ʼâz — at that time or placeConjunctive wawAdverb
יִקְרַ֣בyiq·raḇhe may come nearH7126
√ qârab — to approach (causatively, bring near) for whatever purposeVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
qāraḇ — “draw near, approach.” Priestly access-language: the foreigner, once sealed, may approach the holy meal. The sign opens the sanctuary.
לַעֲשֹׂת֔וֹla·‘ă·śō·ṯōwto celebrate itH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular
וְהָיָ֖הwə·hā·yāhand he shall beH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular
כְּאֶזְרַ֣חkə·’ez·raḥlike a nativeH249
√ ʼezrâch — a spontaneous growth, iPreposition-kNounmasculine singular construct
’ezrāḥ — “native, homeborn” (rare: 17 verses; it ties this verse verbally to Lev 16:29; 18:26; 19:34; Num 9:14). The foreigner becomes as the native — equal standing, one people.
הָאָ֑רֶץhā·’ā·reṣof the landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular
וְכָל־wə·ḵāl. . .H3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct
לֹֽא־lō-But noH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle
עָרֵ֖ל‘ā·rêluncircumcised manH6189
√ ʻârêl — uncircumcised (iAdjectivemasculine singular
‘ārēl — “uncircumcised.” The closing clause restates v. 43 from the other side: the bar is never nation but the absence of the covenant sign. Benson: none “shall partake of the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice, who are not first circumcised in heart.”
יֹ֥אכַלyō·ḵalmay eatH398
√ ʼâkal — to eat (literally or figuratively)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
בּֽוֹ׃bōwof it
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
in P (cf. Ezekiel 47:22 ) he is placed on practically the same footing as the native Israelite, he enjoys the same rights ( Numbers 35:15 ‘for the sojourner and for the settler’ [above, on v. 45]; Leviticus 19:34 ‘thou shalt love him as thyself’)
On the gêr's standing in the Priestly legislation, already nearing the later sense of "proselyte."
The "stranger," even if he only "sojourned" in the land, was to be put on exactly the same spiritual footing as the Israelite ("One law shall be," etc.) if only he and his would be circumcised, and so enter into covenant
first himself, and then all his male children and male servants, and then, and not till then, he might approach to this ordinance, and observe it; for by this means he would become a proselyte of righteousness, and in all respects as an Israelite
49“The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner wh…”+

49The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’a·ḥaṯ tō·w·rāh yih·yeh lā·’ez·rāḥ wə·lag·gêr hag·gār bə·ṯō·wḵ·ḵem

Literal — word-for-word from the original

One law shall-be for-the-native and-for-the-sojourner who-sojourns in-your-midst.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • תּוֹרָה tôrāh (“law, instruction, teaching,” root yārāh, “to point/direct”) is rendered flatly as “law”; BSB is fine, but tôrāh is the great word — the term for the whole Pentateuch — declared one for native and foreigner alike.
  • אַחַת ’aḥat (“one,” feminine, agreeing with tôrāh) leads the clause for emphasis: “One law…” BSB’s “The same law” captures the sense but not the stress; the Geneva note draws the principle — “all joined in one faith and religion.”
  • אֶזְרָח ’ezrāḥ — “native, homeborn”; paired here with gēr, the two terms together (rare ’ezrāḥ, 17 verses) anchor the verbal link to Lev 24:22 and Num 9:14; 15:15–16, where the identical formula “one law” recurs.
Word by word7 · parsed+
אַחַ֔ת’a·ḥaṯThe sameH259
√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iNumberfeminine singular
’aḥat — “one.” The unifying number-word again (cf. ’eḥād, v. 46). One lamb, one house, one law: the unit is built on oneness.
תּוֹרָ֣הtō·w·rāhlawH8451
√ tôwrâh — a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or PentateuchNounfeminine singular
tôrāh — “instruction/law,” here a single statute binding both classes equally. JFB: “This regulation displays the liberal spirit of the Hebrew institutions… privilege and duty were inseparably conjoined.”
יִהְיֶ֖הyih·yehshall applyH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular
לָֽאֶזְרָ֑חlā·’ez·rāḥto both the nativeH249
√ ʼezrâch — a spontaneous growth, iPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
’ezrāḥ — “the native,” the soil-born Israelite. The formula refuses two laws — one for insiders, one for outsiders.
וְלַגֵּ֖רwə·lag·gêrand the foreignerH1616
√ gêr — properly, a guestConjunctive waw, Preposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular
gēr — “the sojourner,” the same protected foreigner of v. 48. Gill hears here “a dawn of grace to the poor Gentiles,” foreshadowing Ephesians 2:19 — fellow citizens with the saints.
הַגָּ֥רhag·gārwho residesH1481
√ gûwr — properly, to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose), iArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular
hag·gār — the participle of gûr, “the one sojourning,” cognate to gēr; the figura etymologica (sojourner who sojourns) binds the verse to the verb that defines the foreigner’s status.
בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם׃bə·ṯō·wḵ·ḵemamong youH8432
√ tâvek — a bisection, iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine plural
The Voices✦ public domain+
One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger—This regulation displays the liberal spirit of the Hebrew institutions. Any foreigner might obtain admission to the privileges of the nation on complying with their sacred ordinances. In the Mosaic equally as in the Christian dispensation, privilege and duty were inseparably conjoined.
this was a dawn of grace to the poor Gentiles, and presignified what would be in Gospel times, when they should be fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, be fellow heirs of the same body, and partakers of the promises of Christ by the Gospel, Ephesians 2:19 .
They that are of the household of God, must be all joined in one faith and religion.
50“Then all the Israelites did this—they did just as the LORD had c…”+

50Then all the Israelites did this—they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kāl- bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl way·ya·‘ă·śū kên ‘ā·śū ka·’ă·šer Yah·weh ’eṯ- ṣiw·wāh mō·šeh wə·’eṯ- ’a·hă·rōn

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And- did all the-sons-of Israel; just-as YHWH commanded Moses and-Aaron, so they-did.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • וַיַּעֲשׂוּ The verse frames obedience with the verb ‘āśāh (“do/make”) twice — wayyaʻăśū… ‘āśū, “they did… they did.” BSB’s “did this—they did just as” keeps the doubling but loses its solemn, liturgical ring: command answered by exact compliance.
  • כֵּן kēn (“thus/so,” root “to be set upright/firm”) is the formula of precise correspondence — done exactly so as commanded. The repeated “so they did” is the refrain that closes every faithful Israelite act (cf. v. 28).
  • צִוָּה ṣiwwāh is Piel (intensive) of ṣāwāh — “he charged/enjoined,” a strong word of authoritative command; BSB’s “had commanded” is accurate but the Piel underlines that this was binding divine charge, fully obeyed.
Word by word13 · parsed+
כָּל־kāl-Then allH3605
√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct
kol-bənê yiśrā’ēl — “all the sons of Israel.” The whole people, matching the “whole congregation” of v. 47. Gill: an instance of “ready and cheerful obedience to the divine will.”
בְּנֵ֣יbə·nêthe IsraelitesH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לyiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478
√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular
וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֖וּway·ya·‘ă·śūdidH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
wayyaʻăśū — “and they did.” K&D note the obedience looks forward as well as back: Israel “carried them out… in after times” (e.g. Num 9:5), since some of these rules could not yet apply on the night already past (so the Cambridge Bible).
כֵּ֥ןkênthisH3651
√ kên — properly, set uprightAdverb
עָשֽׂוּ׃ס‘ā·śūthey didH6213
√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural
‘āśū — “they did,” the second of the paired verbs. The summary verse of the unit: word given, word done.
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רka·’ă·šerjust asH834
√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPreposition-kPronounrelative
יְהוָ֛הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
צִוָּ֧הṣiw·wāhhad commandedH6680
√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielPerfectthird person masculine singular
ṣiwwāh — Piel, “commanded/charged.” The chain of authority is exact: YHWH → Moses and Aaron → the people. Obedience is measured against the precise charge.
מֹשֶׁ֥הmō·šehMosesH4872
√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular
mōšeh — Moses, the mediator through whom the charge came; named with Aaron, as at v. 43, framing the whole ordinance (vv. 43–51) between their two names.
וְאֶֽת־wə·’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Conjunctive wawDirect object marker
אַהֲרֹ֖ן’a·hă·rōnand AaronH175
√ ʼAhărôwn — Aharon, the brother of MosesNounpropermasculine singular
The Voices✦ public domain+
as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they; being instructed by them; which is an instance of their ready and cheerful obedience to the divine will, which they were under great obligation to perform, from a grateful sense of the wonderful mercy and favour they now were made partakers of.
Exodus 12:50 closes the instructions concerning the Passover with the statement that the Israelites carried them out, viz., in after times (e.g., Numbers 9:5 )
The words seem unsuitable where they stand; for as the passover had been already eaten ( v. 28), the injunction given in vv. 43–49 could not possibly now be at once carried out.
A candid critical note: the Cambridge Bible flags the chronological difficulty of v. 50.
51“And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the …”+

51And on that very day the LORD brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their divisions.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·hî haz·zeh bə·‘e·ṣem hay·yō·wm Yah·weh ’eṯ- hō·w·ṣî bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl mê·’e·reṣ miṣ·ra·yim ‘al- ṣiḇ·’ō·ṯām

Literal — word-for-word from the original

“And-it-came-to-pass on the- bone of that-dayYHWH brought-out the-sons-of Israel from-the-land of-Egypt by-their- hosts.”

Where the English smooths the original

  • בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם Literally “in the bone of the day” (bə-‘eṣem hay-yôm) — the same noun ‘eṣem (“bone”) as v. 46, here an idiom for “that very selfsame day.” BSB’s “on that very day” is right but severs the haunting verbal echo: the unbroken bone, and the unbreakable day.
  • הוֹצִיא hôṣî is Hiphil (causative) of yāṣā’ — “he brought out,” not merely “they went out.” The exodus is God’s act: YHWH is the subject who caused the going-forth. The English keeps the agent but the Hiphil stresses the divine causation.
  • צִבְאֹתָם ṣiḇ’ōṯām is “their hosts/armies” (ṣāḇā’, a marshaled mass) — Ellicott and the Pulpit Commentary translate “by their armies,” a people “marshalled in divisions resembling those of an army”; BSB’s “divisions” muffles the martial image of YHWH of hosts leading out His host.
Word by word13 · parsed+
וַיְהִ֕יway·hîAndH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·hî — “and it came to pass,” the same narrative opener as Joshua 1:1; here it closes the exodus account (and, per K&D and Ellicott, leans forward into ch. 13).
הַזֶּ֑הhaz·zehon thatH2088
√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatArticlePronounmasculine singular
בְּעֶ֖צֶםbə·‘e·ṣemveryH6106
√ ʻetsem — a bone (as strong)Preposition-bNounfeminine singular construct
‘eṣem — “bone,” in the idiom “the bone of the day” = the very day. JFB (on v. 41): “the selfsame day—implying an exact and literal fulfilment of the predicted period.” The bone-word braces the unit at both ends (vv. 46, 51).
הַיּ֣וֹםhay·yō·wmdayH3117
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)ArticleNounmasculine singular
יְהוָ֜הYah·wehthe LORDH3068
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
YHWH — the covenant name as subject of the deliverance. The unit that began “YHWH said” (v. 43) ends “YHWH brought out” (v. 51): word and act framed by the divine name.
אֶת־’eṯ-H853
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
הוֹצִ֨יאhō·w·ṣîbroughtH3318
√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximVerbHifilPerfectthird person masculine singular
hôṣî — Hiphil, “brought out.” The signature verb of the exodus (cf. Ex 6:6); the redemption is wholly God’s doing, the fulfillment of all He promised Moses (K&D, citing Ex 6:6, 26).
בְּנֵ֧יbə·nêthe IsraelitesH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לyiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478
√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular
מֵאֶ֥רֶץmê·’e·reṣout of the landH776
√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-mNounfeminine singular construct
מִצְרַ֖יִםmiṣ·ra·yimof EgyptH4714
√ Mitsrayim — Mitsrajim, iNounproperfeminine singular
עַל־‘al-byH5921
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
צִבְאֹתָֽם׃פṣiḇ·’ō·ṯāmtheir divisionsH6635
√ tsâbâʼ — a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially regNouncommon plural constructthird person masculine plural
ṣāḇā’ — “host, army, division.” The freed slaves go out not as a rabble but as ordered ranks — the hosts of the LORD of hosts; the same word stands behind the divine title YHWH ṣəḇā’ôṯ.
The Voices✦ public domain+
This last verse of the chapter would more appropriately commence Exodus 13, with which it is to be united. Translate—“And it came to pass, on the self same day that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies, that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,” &c.
The word "armies," which at first sight may seem inappropriate, occurs also in ch. 6:26. It is probably intended to mark that the people were thoroughly organised, and marshalled in divisions resembling those of an army.
in Exodus 12:51 the account of the exodus from Egypt is also brought to a close. All that Jehovah promised to Moses in Exodus 6:6 and Exodus 6:26 had now been fulfilled.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

Grand Commentary — the unit, read wholesynthesis · verify+

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The law of the table — who may eat — 43–45

The unit does not open on the meal but on its door. “This is the statute (ḥuqqat) of the Passover” — an engraved, permanent enactment — and the first word about it is exclusion: every son of a foreigner (ben-nēḵār) shall not eat of it. Keil & Delitzsch explain the timing: it was only when “a crowd of foreigners attached themselves to the Israelites” (the mixed multitude of v. 38) that the boundary of the “festival of Israel’s birth as the people of God” had to be drawn. The bar, though, is never racial. Poole reads ben-nēḵār precisely: a stranger “both by nation and religion; for if he were circumcised, he might eat of it.” The bought slave (v. 44), once circumcised, is admitted to “full religious equality with his master” (Ellicott); only the settler (tôšāḇ) and the hired man (śāḵîr) — those in, as K&D put it, a “purely external relation, which might be any day dissolved” — remain outside. The line is drawn by the covenant sign, not the bloodline.

ii. The unbroken lamb — the meal’s integrity — 46–47

Three regulations guard the lamb, and all three, says the Cambridge Bible, are “designed to emphasize the unity of the company”: one house, nothing carried out, no bone broken (‘eṣem… lō tišbərū). Ellicott catches the figural weight: the victim was “to be roasted whole, and to remain whole, as a symbol of unity, and a type of Him through whom men are brought into unity with each other and with God,” citing John 19:33–36. Gill turns it ecclesial — each believer has a right “to a whole Christ,” undivided. Then v. 47 widens the frame from the barred to the bound: “all the congregation (‘ēḏāh) of Israel shall do it.” The verb ‘āśāh sits at the seam of a real debate the commentators leave open — the Cambridge Bible reads it “keep/hold” the feast (so ποιεῖν, Mt 26:18; Heb 11:28), while the Pulpit Commentary insists “rather, shall sacrifice it.” We leave the ambiguity standing rather than resolve what the Hebrew holds in suspension.

iii. One law — the foreigner brought in — 48–49

Here the door swings open. The sojourner (gēr — not the excluded ben-nēḵār, but the protected guest) who would keep “a Passover to YHWH” needs only the covenant sign: let every male be circumcised, “and then he may draw near (yiqraḇ) to keep it” — cultic approach-language, the Cambridge Bible notes, of one coming near to God Himself. And the result is the unit’s most striking word: kə-’ezraḥ, “like a native of the land.” Then v. 49 makes it law: “One law (tôrāh ’aḥat) shall be for the native and for the sojourner.” Jamieson, Fausset & Brown hear in it “the liberal spirit of the Hebrew institutions”; Gill hears further — “a dawn of grace to the poor Gentiles… fellow citizens with the saints” (Eph 2:19). Benson names the lesson the Jews were meant to learn: “it was their dedication to God, not their descent from Abraham, that entitled them to their privileges”; Matthew Henry says the same — their standing came of “being a nation favoured by God,… not their descent from Abraham.”

iv. Word done, people brought out — 50–51

The unit closes as it opened — under the divine name and the divine word. “And all the sons of Israel did… so they did” (v. 50): command answered by exact compliance, the verb ‘āśāh doubled like a liturgical Amen. Gill calls it “ready and cheerful obedience.” The Cambridge Bible is candid that the words sit awkwardly where the Passover has already been eaten (v. 28), and K&D resolve it forward: Israel “carried them out… in after times” (Num 9:5). Then v. 51 seals the exodus: “in the bone of that day” (bə-‘eṣem hay-yôm — the very word for the lamb’s unbroken bone, now the unbreakable day) “YHWH brought out the sons of Israel… by their hosts (ṣiḇ’ōṯām).” The unit that began “YHWH said” ends “YHWH brought out”; K&D: “All that Jehovah promised to Moses in Exodus 6:6 and 6:26 had now been fulfilled.”

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read under the rule that Scripture alone is the final authority, three things stand out from this ordinance — offered as a reading to be tested, not a verdict to be trusted. First, the meal of redemption has a guarded door, and the only key is the covenant sign. Four times the text turns on circumcision: the foreigner is barred (v. 43), the slave admitted by it (v. 44), the sojourner brought all the way to “like a native” by it (v. 48), the uncircumcised shut out again (v. 48). Benson draws the line the text invites — as none uncircumcised could eat the Passover, so none “shall partake of the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice, who are not first circumcised in heart” (cf. Rom 2:29). The sign that gates this table is, for the New Covenant, a circumcised heart. Second, the wall is real but it is not racial. The very same chapter that excludes “the son of a foreigner” opens “one law” to the foreigner who comes to YHWH on God’s terms. Benson states the principle exactly — “it was their dedication to God, not their descent from Abraham, that entitled them to their privileges” — and Matthew Henry agrees, that being “a nation favoured by God” entitled the Jews to their privileges, “not their descent from Abraham”: the deepest answer to every presumption of birthright (cf. Mt 3:9; Gal 3:28–29). Third, the whole rite hangs on a lamb kept whole. The one positive symbolic command — break no bone — is the seed the Spirit later harvests at the cross (Jn 19:36). The text is law; the type is Christ; the reading must be measured against the Word that gives it.

The door of the Lord’s table has always been one door — not of blood or birth, but of the sign that marks a heart given to God; and the Lamb on the table has always been kept whole.

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripturecross-refs · verify+

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

“No bone shall be broken” → the law repeated structural / thematic — confirmed

The single positive symbolic command of the unit — a bone (‘eṣem) of it you shall not break (šāḇar) — is repeated verbatim in the law of the second Passover. Numbers 9:12 carries the identical pair of lexemes; the Cambridge Bible and Barnes both cross-reference it. This is a within-Testament Hebrew↔Hebrew link, so the basis is the shared original-language vocabulary, not a quotation claim.

Exodus 12:46 · Numbers 9:12

basis: shared Hebrew lexemes H6106 ʻetsem (bone, 108 vv) + H7665 shâbar (break, 142 vv) — the same legal formula; not a rare lexeme, so a motif/pattern link, not a verbal-quotation claim

The unbroken bones of the righteous → Psalm 34:20 structural / thematic — confirmed

The same two words that forbid breaking the lamb’s bone return in the psalmist’s confidence: “He protects all his bones (‘eṣem); not one (’eḥād) of them will be broken (šāḇar).” The verbal overlap is the recorded basis. The motif of the unbroken bone — lamb, then righteous sufferer — is the bridge the Evangelist will cross at John 19:36, where both texts converge on Christ. Within the Old Testament the link is shared vocabulary, not a quotation.

Exodus 12:46 · Psalm 34:20

basis: shared Hebrew lexemes H6106 ʻetsem (bone) + H7665 shâbar (break) + H259 ʼechâd (one) — a shared motif of the unbroken bone; mid-frequency words, so thematic, not a verbal-quotation claim

“One law for native and sojourner” → the recurring formula structural / thematic — confirmed

“One law (tôrāh ’aḥat) shall be for the native (’ezrāḥ) and for the sojourner (gēr)” of v. 49 is a fixed legislative formula echoed across the Torah — at the second Passover (Num 9:14, named by Poole and the Cambridge Bible) and at Lev 24:22; Num 15:15–16. The pairing of ’ezrāḥ (relatively rare, 17 verses) with gēr and ’eḥād is the anchor; the Cambridge Bible lists the parallels explicitly. Honesty note: only one of the shared lexemes (’ezrāḥ) is rare, and at 17 verses it does not clear the Verifier’s threshold for a single-word verbal link (≤12 vv) — and gēr (83 vv) is common. So the Verifier’s own computed tier here is structural / thematic, not verbal; we record that rather than overclaim a quotation. The formula is a genuine recurring legal pattern, not a citation.

Exodus 12:49 · Numbers 9:14 · Leviticus 24:22 · Numbers 15:15

basis: Verifier-computed: shared Hebrew lexemes H249 ʼezrâch (native, 17 vv) + H1616 gêr (sojourner, 83 vv) + H259 ʼechâd (one, 739 vv); only one rare lexeme (ʼezrâch, 17 vv) — above the ≤12-vv single-word verbal cutoff and with no second rare word — so a recurring legislative pattern/motif, not a verbal-quotation claim (downgraded from the draft's 'verbal')

Circumcision of the bought slave → the Abrahamic covenant verbal / quotation — confirmed

The command to circumcise the bought slave before he may eat (v. 44) reaches straight back to the founding circumcision law given to Abraham, where “he that is bought with money (miqnat-kāsep̄)… must needs be circumcised (mûl).” The Cambridge Bible, Poole, Ellicott and Gill all cite Genesis 17:12–13. The lexeme miqnah is rare (13 verses), which the Verifier rates a true verbal link.

Exodus 12:44 · Genesis 17:12 · Genesis 17:13

basis: shared Hebrew lexemes H4736 miqnâh (purchase, rare — 13 vv) + H4135 mûwl (circumcise, 33 vv) + H3701 keçeph (silver) — the rare miqnâh + mûwl pairing confirms the Passover slave-law draws directly on Genesis 17

“Settler and hired man” → the fixed legal couplet verbal / quotation — confirmed

The two excluded classes of v. 45 — the settler (tôšāḇ) and the hired man (śāḵîr) — recur together as a standing legal pair in the Levitical jubilee and priestly-food laws: “a settler with you and a hired servant shall not eat of it” / “shall eat its fruit” (Lev 25:6; cf. Lev 22:10; 25:40). The Cambridge Bible notes the hired servant is “associated, as here, in Leviticus 22:10 ; Leviticus 25:6 ; Leviticus 25:40 , with the tôshâb.” Both words are genuinely rare — tôšāḇ in only 13 verses, śāḵîr in 17 — and the Verifier rates the pairing a true verbal link, the strongest lexical connection in this unit.

Exodus 12:45 · Leviticus 25:6 · Leviticus 22:10

basis: Verifier-computed: shared rare Hebrew lexemes H8453 tôwshâb (settler, 13 vv) + H7916 sâkîyr (hired man, 17 vv) — two rare lexemes ≤60 vv form the recurring 'settler-and-hireling' legal couplet; a true verbal/formulaic link, not a mere theme

The gēr loved as a native → Israel’s charter for the stranger structural / thematic — confirmed

The status granted here — the circumcised sojourner becomes “like a native” (kə-’ezraḥ) — flowers into the Torah’s repeated command to love the resident foreigner: “the sojourner (gēr) who sojourns (gûr) with you shall be to you as the native (’ezrāḥ) among you, and you shall love him as yourself” (Lev 19:34). The Cambridge Bible draws the line explicitly, and traces the same elevation of the gēr forward into Ezekiel’s restored land, where the sojourner is to receive an inheritance “among the tribes of Israel” (Ezek 47:22) — the prophet extends the Passover charter into the age to come. Shared vocabulary (’ezrāḥ, gēr, gûr) is the basis.

Exodus 12:48 · Leviticus 19:34 · Ezekiel 47:22

basis: shared Hebrew lexemes H249 ʼezrâch (native) + H1616 gêr (sojourner) + H1481 gûwr (to sojourn) — the same legal status of the foreigner; a shared theme/pattern across the law and the prophets

Christ our Passover → 1 Corinthians 5:7 typological

Matthew Henry reads the whole ordinance through Paul’s declaration: “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:7). This is a cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew) link: there is no shared Strong’s lexeme — the Verifier finds none — so it cannot be tiered “verbal.” It is a theological/typological identification, argued by the apostle and the commentators, not a lexical fact. We tier it typological — figural, ancient and widely held — and flag the cross-Testament basis honestly, never as a verbal match.

Exodus 12:43 · Exodus 12:46 · 1 Corinthians 5:7

basis: cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew): no shared Strong's lexeme is possible; the link is Paul's explicit typological naming of Christ as the Passover — ancient and widely held, but argued theologically, not a verbal/lexical match

Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 (the unit-policy flag) flagged — verify source

This unit does not contain Joshua 1:5, so the standing rule about the Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 promise does not apply to a verse here. We record it openly: the rule is triggered only for units that contain Joshua 1:5, and Exodus 12:43–51 does not. No such cross-reference is asserted for this unit; this entry exists solely to show the policy was checked, not silently skipped.

Joshua 1:5 · Hebrews 13:5

basis: not applicable to this unit — Joshua 1:5 is not in Exodus 12:43–51; entry retained only to document that the mandated Joshua-1:5 flag was checked and found out of scope here

Christ in the Unittypology · verify+

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Not a bone of him broken ancient/widely-held

The one positive symbolic command of the unit — “you shall not break a bone of it” (v. 46) — is the Scripture John names as fulfilled at the cross: the soldiers broke the legs of the two crucified beside Jesus, “but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs… these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of His bones will be broken’” (Jn 19:33–36). Ellicott, Barnes, Poole, Gill and the Pulpit Commentary all read the type here. This is a cross-Testament link — no shared Strong’s number is possible between Greek and Hebrew — yet John makes the citation explicit, and the typology is ancient and unanimous in the tradition.

Exodus 12:46 · John 19:33 · John 19:36 · Psalm 34:20

Christ our Passover, kept whole ancient/widely-held

Paul makes the identification flat: “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:7). Matthew Henry frames the entire ordinance by it — “his blood is the only ransom for our souls; without the shedding of it there is no remission.” The whole, unbroken lamb of v. 46 becomes, for Ellicott, “a type of Him through whom men are brought into unity with each other and with God.” The redemption sealed “in the bone of that day” (v. 51) is the shadow whose substance is the Lamb of God.

Exodus 12:46 · 1 Corinthians 5:7 · John 1:29 · 1 Peter 1:19

One law, one people — the wall between Jew and Gentile down widely-held

“One law… for the native and for the sojourner” (v. 49), with the foreigner brought all the way to “like a native” (v. 48), is — in Gill’s words — “a dawn of grace to the poor Gentiles… fellow citizens with the saints” (Eph 2:19). The trajectory the commentators trace runs to the cross, where Christ “has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall… that He might create in Himself one new man” (Eph 2:14–15). What the Passover law granted by circumcision, the gospel grants by faith — the one people gathered to the one Lamb. This is a structural/typological trajectory, not a verbal citation; it is held widely in the tradition but argued, not lexically proven.

Exodus 12:48 · Exodus 12:49 · Ephesians 2:14 · Galatians 3:28

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). The named voices are quoted verbatim from public-domain commentaries on Exodus 12:43–51 (Ellicott, Matthew Henry, Barnes, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Poole, Gill, Geneva Study Bible, Cambridge Bible, Pulpit Commentary, Keil & Delitzsch, Benson), each attributed in place to its BibleHub source. Note that Spurgeon’s verse-by-verse work is the Treasury of David on the Psalms, not Exodus, so he is not quoted here; the voices selected are the strongest public-domain witnesses on this Passover ordinance.

The Hebrew is the Masoretic tradition. Transliterations, parsings, the literal renderings, the “where the English smooths the Hebrew” notes, the grand commentary, the canonical threads, and the reading of Christ are this tool’s own machine synthesis (⚙) — careful but fallible; check them against a lexicon (BDB/HALOT) and a standard grammar. Three honest cautions specific to this unit: (1) the within-Testament threads rest on shared Hebrew lexemes computed by the Verifier, and we report its tiers rather than our hopes — the slave-circumcision link (Gen 17:12–13, rare miqnâh) and the “settler-and-hireling” couplet (Lev 25:6, rare tôšāḇ + śāḵîr) clear the verbal/quotation bar; but the “one law for native and sojourner” formula and the bone-law repeated in Num 9:12 carry only one rare or no rare lexeme, so they are tiered structural / thematic, not verbal. The editor downgraded the “one law” thread from the draft’s “verbal” claim to match the Verifier. (2) The two great Christological connections (1 Cor 5:7; John 19:36) are cross-Testament, where no shared Strong’s number is possible — the Verifier returns “flagged — verify source” for both — so we tier them typological and argue them theologically, never claiming a lexical match. (3) The mandated Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 flag was checked; it is out of scope for this unit, which does not contain Joshua 1:5, and is recorded as such rather than silently dropped. marks a human public-domain source; marks machine synthesis to be verified. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

= human, public-domain source, quoted and named. = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)