born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. 3 ¶ And Moses said unto the people, bRemember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the b ch. 12. 42. Deut. 16. 3. house of bondage; for c by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4 e This day came ye out, in the month Abib. c ch. 6. 1. d ch. 12. 8. ⚫ ch. 23. 15. & 34. 18. Deut. 16. 1. erous emotion, that we can suffer our-grading bondage; for which reason they selves to offer to the Most High the are said elsewhere to have been brought blind, the maimed, or the halt for sacri- forth from the furnace of iron;' Deut. fice, or to serve him with that which 4.20. 1 Kings, 8. 51. Jer. 11.4.—¶ By costs us nothing. In accordance with strength of hand, &c. Heb. pina this character of sanctity pertaining to behozek yad. As God had previously the first-born, the redeemed in heaven announced to Moses, Ex. 3. 19, 'I am are called 'the church of the first-born,' sure that the king of Egypt will not let and Christ himself is the 'first-born you go, no, not by a strong hand (773 among many brethren.' We find indeed that at a subsequent period, Num. 3. 12, the divine Lawgiver saw fit to ordain a commutation, by which one whole tribe out of the twelve came into the room of the first-born of every tribe, as an order of priests to minister to him in holy things, which was otherwise one of the rights of primogeniture; and at any time the privilege of redemption was allowed in certain terms, Num. 18. 1517; but neither of these provisions were to operate in such a way as to weaken the force of the moral considerations connected with the ordinance. 3. Remember this day, &c. Heb. 75 zakor, which has the import not merely of mental recollection, but of actual celebration, or of some kind of public proceeding which should serve as a perpetuating memorial of a particular event. See Note on Ex. 20. 8. The reason of this was not merely the favor shown to them in such a signal deliverance, but the display it involved of the divine interposition, and obviously the more of God and of his power there is in any deliverance, the more memorable it is.¶ Out of the house of bondage. Heb. mibbeth abadim, out of the house of servants; i. e. from a condition of the most severe and de beyad hazakah),' where the accompanying note shows that the meaning is, except or unless by a strong hand. As the original term is the same as that applied in several instances to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart (see Note on Ex. 4, 21.), there is a tacit antithetical allusion to that event, implying that how. ever hard or strong the impious king made his heart, God made his hand still stronger. This is one of those nice shades of meaning which cannot well be conveyed in a translation. See Note on Ex. 12. 33. leavened bread be eaten. This mode of rendering overlooks the true syntactical structure of the sentence, which is to be read thus; '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 of this place (so) that there should no unleavened bread be eaten ;' i. e. under such circumstances as gave rise to the ordi. nance that no unleavened bread should be eaten. T There shall no 4. In the month Abib. That is, in the month of green corn, which is the true import of the word Abib. The Chaldee name of this month was Nisan, corresponding to part of our March and part of April. See Note on Ex. 9. 31. Gr. 5 ¶ And it shall be when the LORD | en seven days: and there shall kno shall bring thee into the land of leavened bread be seen with thee, the Canaanites, and the Hittites, neither shall there be leaven seen and the Amorites, and the Hivites, with thee in all thy quarters. and the Jebusites, which he ssware 8 ¶ And thou shalt Ishew thy son unto thy fathers to give thee, a in that day, saying, This is done land flowing with milk and honey; because of that which the LORD did h that thou shalt keep this service unto me when I came forth out of in this month. Egypt. 6 iSeven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eat f ch. 3. 8. 8 ch. 6. 8. h ch. 12. 25, 26. ich. 12. 15, 16. Vulg. Chal. and Sam. 'In the month of new fruits.' Syr. 'In the month of flowers.' Arab. In the month when corn has ears.' 5. When the Lord shall bring, &c. Provision is here made for the permanent remembrance of the great event of the nation's exodus from Egypt. The present injunction prescribes the observance of the rite after their settlement in the land of promise, and we learn that they kept only one passover during their forty years sojourn in the wilderness. It was omitted probably because circumcision was omitted during that time, which was an indispensable prerequisite to the passover. 8. Thou shalt show thy son, &c. The most sedulous care in instructing their children in the rites and ceremonies of their religion, and in the reasons on which they were founded, is frequently enjoined upon parents throughout the Mosaic narrative. The Psalmist also speaks of it, Ps. 78. 5-8, as a positive institution among his people; For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might 9 And it shall be for m a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes; that k ch. 12. 19. 1 ver. 14. ch. 12. 26. m See ver. 16, ch. 12. 14. Numb. 15. 39. Deut. 6. 8. & 11. 18. Prov. 1. 9. Isai. 49. 16. Jer. 22. 24. Matt. 23. 5. set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.' No one can fail to infer from this the great importance of acquainting children at an early age with the leading stories of sacred writ, and familiarising their minds with the moral lessons which they are designed to teach. It is a debt which we owe to the honor of God and to the benefit of their souls, to tell them of the great things which God has in former ages, or in our own age, done for his church, or is still doing. Nor should parents consider themselves released from this duty because their children can read these narratives for themselves, or hear them recited and explained by Sunday School teachers. They are things to be talked about in the family circle, which is the grand nursery of God's appointment for the training of the infant mind, and where the tender heart of childhood is most easily to be reached. 9. It shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, &c. It may be doubted whether this is to be understood as a mere metaphorical expression or as a literal injunction. The Jewish commentators are generally of opinion that the the LORD's law may be in thy mouth for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. 10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. 11 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land n ch. 12. 14, 24. words of the precept concerning the sanctification of the first-born were to be written on shreds of linen or parch ment, and worn on their wrists and foreheads. These where the 'Phylacteries,' or scrolls of parchment, with portions of the law written upon them, of which our Savior speaks, Mat. 23. 5, as distinguishing, when made uncommonly broad, the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees. It is not improbable, however, that the precept here is only figurative, implying that the remembrance of God's goodness should be continually cherished, that it should no more be lost sight of than is an object appended to the hand or hanging between the eyes. Thus Prov. 3. 3, 'Bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart;' i. e. have them in perpetual remembrance. That this was a proverbial mode of speech appears from the following passages among others, Hag. 2. 23, 'In that day will I make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.' Cant. 8. 6, 'Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm. Comp. Deut. 6. 6-9, with Note. That the Lord's law may be in thy mouth. That is, that it may be familiar to thee; that thou mayest frequently speak of it, both in order to affect thine own heart, and to instruct others. See Note on Josh. 1. 8. 10. From year to year. Heb. mi-yamim yamimah, from days onward to days. An instance of the frequent usage by which days is employed for years, particularly in the lanVOL. I 14 of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee; 12 That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix; and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast, the males shall be the LORD'S. o ver. 2. ch. 22. 29, & 34. 19. Lev. 27. 26. Numb. 8. 17. & 18. 15. Deut. 15, 19. Ezek. 44. 30. guage of prophecy. Chal. 'From time to time.' This throws light upon the words of Dan. 4. 25, 35, written also in Chaldaic, 'Seven times shall pass over thee;' i. e. seven years. 11. And it shall be, &c. We have here a repetition, with some additional circumstances, of the precept respect. ing the separation and dedication of the first-born to God, after they should have become fixed in the land of their des tined inheritance. During their sojourn in the desert the strict observance of this and some other of their national laws appears to have been dispensed with. 12. Thou shalt set apart. Heb. hhayn ha-abarta, thou shalt make to pass over; i. e. from thine own power and posses. sion; thou shalt make a transfer of it. This term, therefore, may be consider. ed as explanatory of the term 'sanctify,' v. 2. That openeth the matrix. The Hebrew expression is the same with that in v. 2.-T And every firstling. Rather 'even every firstling,' as the precept, as here repeated, has respect primarily to the first-born of beasts, and not of men. The firstlings of clean beasts, such as calves, lambs, and kids, if males, were to be dedicated to God, and used in sacrifice. These were not to be redeemed. Their blood must be sprinkled on the altar, and their fat consumed upon it; while their flesh belonged to the priest, who used it as his share of the sacrifice, Num. 18. 17, 18. But the first born of unclean beasts, as the ass's colt, for instance, S 14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: r ch. 12. 26. Deut. 6. 20. Josh. 4. 6, 21. & ver. 3, appears that it was fixed at five shekels. Comp. also Num. 3. 46, 47. The redemption of a child took place when it was a month old. If it died sooner, the parents were not obliged to redeem it. It died as it were to God, to whom it previously belonged. 14. It shall be when thy son asketh thee, &c. Again the duty of instructing children in the import of these sacred rites is inculcated. It is supposed that when they saw all the firstlings thus devoted, they would ask the mean 13. Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb. Or with a kid, as the original equally signifies. This lamb or kid was to be given to the Lord through the priest, Num. 18. 8, 15, and then the owner of the ass might appropriate it to his own use, which otherwise he would not be at liberty to do. There is no doubt that the spiriting of it, and this their parents were reof the law applied also to other animals, as the horse, the camel, &c., but the ass alone is specified, because the Israelites had scarcely any other beast of burden, and if they had, one species would serve as a representative of all others. Thou shalt break his neck. Heb. araphto. The original is defined in the Lexicon to break the neck, but it seems more properly to express the act of decollation, or cutting off the neck (i. e. the head), in which sense it is plainly used, Deut. 21. 4, 'And the elders of that city shall strike off the heifer's neck (arephu) there in the valley.' Is. 66. 3, 'He that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck (oreph). The reason of the law was undoubtedly this, that whatever had been once solemnly devoted to God was ever after to be considered as clothed with such a peculiar sanctity as forbade its being put to any other All the first-born of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. The law of this redemption is more specifically given Num. 18. 16, where it use. quired to explain to them, teaching them that God's special claim to their first-born and all their firstlings, was founded in his gracious preservation of them from the sword of the destroying angel. This feature of the Mosaic economy was calculated to have a powerful practical effect upon the eldest sons of every family; for when they were taught that they themselves had been redeemed by their parents according to the divine appointment, they could scarcely fail to perceive that peculiar obligations rested upon them to walk worthy of that hallowed preeminence with which they were invested in God's estimation. But if this was the impression produced by this statute on the minds of Jewish children, how should Christians be affected with the consideration, that they have been redeemed, not with corruptible things, as silver and gold, like the first-born of Israel, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot? - •T By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt. This 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that tthe LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the first-born of my children I redeem. 16 And it shall be for ua token upon thy hand, and for frontlets be t ch. 12. 29. u ver. 9. allusion to 'the strong hand' by which the Lord brought his people out of Egypt occurs again and again, in order the more to magnify the power of God by setting it in contrast with the opposition that was made to it. To the latest generations of Israel the language here cited was to be used, and it will be observed that it is a mode of speech which teaches the children to consider whatever was done to their fathers as in effect done to themselves; they were to conceive themselves as having existed in the persons of their progenitors. Accordingly the Psalmist says, Ps. 66. 6. "They went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him. Hos. 12. 4. 'He found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us.' In accordance with this, the Hebrew canons say, 'That throughout all generations a man is bound to show (demean) himself as if he in person came out from the bondage of Egypt, as it is written, And he brought us out, &c. And for this cause the holy blessed God hath commanded in the law, and then shalt remember that THOU wast a servant,' Deut. 15. 5. 15. When Pharaoh would hardly let us go. Heb. 'When Pharaoh hardened (himself) against sending us out.' 16. It shall be for a token upon thine hand. This is to be considered as a continuation of the instruction which parents were to give to their children, and not directly the words of Moses or of God. They were, after explaining | tween thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt. 17 ¶ And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and y they return to Egypt: xch. 14. 11, 12. Numb. 14. 1,-4. y Deut. 17. 16. the grounds of the institution in question, to enjoin upon them to cherish the memory of the great event with the most sacred fidelity. - Frontlets be-, tween thine eyes. These were parchment labels containing several passages of the law, worn upon the forehead and the left arm; called from the Greek pvλakтnpia observatories or preservatories, from a root signifying to keep, guard, preserve. A fuller account of them is given hereafter. See Note on Deut. 6. 8. The remark made on v. 9, is applicable here also, viz. that nothing more is necessarily implied by this language, than that they were to have these things as familiar to their minds and lips as if they were literally appended in the form of frontlets and phylacteries to their heads or arms. 17. And it came to pass, &c. As Palestine was the country which formed the final destination of Israel, and as they were now on their march thither, we should naturally suppose that the shortest and easiest route would have been selected. This was a route laying along the coast of the Mediterranean, and forming to this day the usual caravan track from Egypt to Gaza. Travelling by this road they might easily have accomplished the distance in five days, had infinite wisdom no special purposes to effect by a longer delay. But the nearest way to rest is not always that which God sees to be best for his people, and the sequel shows us that in the |