Bible Commentaries
Go deeper in Scripture
Browse trusted public-domain commentary alongside DiscipleDeck Bible study. References inside each commentary open Bible previews in place.
35,156 commentary entries
All active commentary sources
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:22
A bunch of hyssop. The hyssop was regarded as having purging or purifying qualities, and was used in the cleansing of the leper (Le Exodus 14:4), and of the leprous house (ibid. 51-52), and also formed an element in the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:22
No safety for man beyond the limits protected by the Lamb's atoning blood. No Israelite was to pass beyond the door of his house until the morning, lest he should be destroyed by the destroyer. Within the precincts, pro…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:23
Compare Exodus 12:12, Exodus 12:13 which are closely followed. The only important difference is, the new expression, "The Lord will not suffer the destroyer to come in," which has generally been regarded as implying, th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:24
To thee and to thy children. The change from the plural to the singular is curious, Perhaps, we are to understand that Moses insisted on the perpetuity of the ordinance to each of the elders severally.
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:25
The land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised. See above, Exodus 3:8-17; Exodus 6:4; and compare Genesis 17:8; Genesis 28:4, etc.
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:26-27
The children's question in Canaan. I. IT WAS A QUESTION TO BE EXPECTED. The service was one to provoke curiosity. It was not some daily action of the household, of which the children learned the meaning and purpose almo…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:26
When your children shall say unto you, what mean ye by this service. Apparently, Moses adds these injunctions by his own sole authority. He assumes that curiosity will be aroused by the strange and peculiar features of…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:27
It is the sacrifice. It has been denied that the Paschal lamb was, in the true sense of the word, a sacrifice (Carpzov and others). But this passage alone is decisive on the question, and proves that it was. Moreover, i…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:28
So did they. The long series of miracles wrought by Moses and Aaron had so impressed the people, that they yielded an undoubting and ready obedience. HOMILETICS
Matthew Henry on Exodus 12:29-36
The Egyptians had been for three days and nights kept in anxiety and horror by the darkness; now their rest is broken by a far more terrible calamity. The plague struck their first-born, the joy and hope of their famili…
The Death of the Firstborn. (b. c. 1491.)
THE DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN. (B. C. 1491.) Here we have, I. The Egyptians' sons, even their first-born, slain, Exodus 12:29-30. If Pharaoh would have taken the warning which was given him of this plague, and would thereu…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:29-42
March at midnight. "This is that night of Jehovah" (Exodus 12:42). Observe the striking words of the text! "The night of Jehovah," a night in which he specially appeared and acted on behalf of Israel. For a description…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:29-30
EXPOSITION Exodus 12:29, Exodus 12:30 THE TENTH PLAGUE. At last the time had come for the dealing of the final blow. Nine plagues had been sent, nine inflictions endured, and no serious effect had been produced. Once or…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:29
At midnight. As prophesied by Moses (Exodus 11:4). The day had not been fixed, and this uncertainty must have added to the horror of the situation. The first-born of Pharaoh. We have no proof that the eldest son of Mene…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:29-31
The death of the first-born, On this see Exodus 11:4-7. Observe here— I. THIS JUDGMENT IS BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE OF REPRESENTATION. Hitherto, the plagues had fallen on the Egyptians indiscriminately. Now, a change is ma…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:29-42
Egypt's sorrow: Israel's joy. I. THE JUDGMENT OF EGYPT EMBLEM AND PROMISE OF THE WORLD'S JUDGMENT. 1. The time of visitation; midnight, when all were wrapt in deepest slumber and, notwithstanding the warning which had b…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:30
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, and all his servants. This general disturbance differentiates the present visitations from that which came upon the host of Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35). Then, the calamity came with suc…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:31
And he called for Moses and Aaron. Kalisch understands this as a summons to the King's presence, and even supposes that the two brothers complied, notwithstanding what Moses had said (Exodus 10:29). But perhaps no more…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:31-36
Israel's going forth from Egypt a pattern to oppressed Churches. Churches are sometimes enslaved and oppressed by the civil power. In unsuspecting confidence they have accepted the State's protection, and entered into c…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:31-37
The dismissal. The blow had been so measured by infinite wisdom as to produce precisely the desired effect. Pharaoh "called for Moses and Aaron by night," etc. Observe— I. PHARAOH IS NOW AS ANXIOUS TO GET RID OF THE ISR…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:31-36
EXPOSITION THE DISMISSAL The first action seems to have been taken by Pharaoh. The "cry" of the people had no doubt been heard in the palace, and he was aware that the blow had not fallen on himself alone, and may have…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:32
Also take your flocks and your herds. Pharaoh thus retracted the prohibition of Exodus 10:24, and "gave the sacrifices and burnt-offerings" which Moses had required (Exodus 10:25). Bless me also. Pharaoh was probably ac…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:32
Pharaoh's prayer. It has come then to this, that Pharaoh is glad to beg a blessing from the man whom at first he had so contemptuously spurned. "And bless me also." I. THE WICKED MAN IS OFTEN MADE PAINFULLY AWARE OF THE…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 12:33
The Egyptians were urgent upon the people. The Egyptians feared that, if any further delay took place, the God of the Hebrews might not be content with slaying all the first-born, but might punish with death the whole n…