Exodus 12
Kill & eat a lamb & wipe its blood to avoid Passover death
Then the Existing One told Moses and Aaron,
“This month will be the first month of the year for you. Tell the entire Israelite congregation that on the 10th of this month, each of their households must take a lamb. If one household is too small for its own lamb, they can share with their nearest neighbor. Each lamb needs to be a healthy, one-year-old male sheep or goat. You must keep it until the 14th day of the month, then the whole Israelite congregation must kill the lambs at sunset. Then they need to take some of the lamb’s blood and put it on the door frame of the houses where they’ll eat it. They need to roast the meat and eat it that night with yeast-free bread and bitter seasoning. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water—roast its head, legs, and other parts with fire. And don’t leave any leftovers. If anything is left over the next morning, you need to burn it with fire.
“You need to eat it with your belt around your waist, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in hand. Eat it quickly because it’s the Existing One’s Passover. I’ll pass over Egypt that night and kill all the people and animals who were born first. I’ll sentence all of Egypt’s gods to judgment. I am the Existing One. The blood on your houses will be your marker: when I see the blood I’ll pass over you—you won’t be struck with a devastating blow when I strike Egypt.
“You’ll celebrate this day as a memorial feast to the Existing One. You’ll celebrate it throughout your generations as an annual holiday. You’ll throw away all the yeast in your houses and eat yeast-free bread for seven days. If anyone eats anything made with yeast during that week, that person will be disassociated with Israel. You’ll hold a sacred assembly on the first and seventh days, and no one will do any work on those days except for preparing the food. You’ll also observe a yeast-free Flatbread Feast on this day since it’s the day I’ll bring your armies out of Egypt. Observe this as an annual holiday throughout your generations. Starting on the evening of the 14th of the first month, you will eat yeast-free bread until the evening of the 21st. There won’t be any yeast to be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone (native or foreigner) eats anything made with yeast, that person will be disassociated with Israel. Don’t eat anything made with yeast. Only eat yeast-free bread in all your houses.”
Moses instructs Israel
Then Moses summoned all of Israel’s elders and told them,
“Go get lambs for each of your families and kill them for Passover. Then take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the bowl of blood, and wipe the blood on your doorframe. After that, stay inside your houses until dawn, because the Existing One will pass through to kill the Egyptians. When the Existing One sees the blood on your door frames, he’ll skip over it without allowing the destruction to enter your houses and kill you. You and your descendants must observe this as an annual holiday. Even after you reach the region the Existing One promised to give you, you’ll observe this as an act of servitude. When your children ask what it means to you, you’ll tell them that it’s a Passover offering to the Existing One who rescued the Israelites by bypassing their homes while killing the Egyptians.”
Then the people bowed down and magnified God and followed the instructions he gave Moses and Aaron.
God kills every oldest child in Egypt
Then around midnight the Existing One killed every oldest child in Egypt, from the oldest child of Pharaoh on the throne down to the oldest child of the the captive in the dungeon. All the oldest offspring of the livestock died too. All the Egyptians including Pharaoh and his servants got up in the night and an intense cry rang all throughout Egypt. There wasn’t a single home where someone hadn’t died.
Pharaoh releases Israel
So Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the middle of the night and said,
“Get up and leave the presence of my people—both you and Israel’s descendants. Go on and serve the Existing One like you wanted. Take your livestock like you wanted and leave. Bless me too.”
The Egyptians urged them to leave quickly, saying,
“We’ll all be dead.”
So the Israelites took their dough before any yeast could affect it, and slung their kitchenware over their shoulders.
Israel’s descendants carried out what Moses had said: they asked the Egyptians for clothes and artifacts of silver and gold, and the Existing One gave them favor so that the Egyptians granted their request. In this way the Israelites plundered the Egyptians.
Now Israel’s descendants journeyed from Rameses to Succoth. There were about 600,000 men traveling on foot (not counting the children). A mixed caravan traveled with them that included a large number of livestock. They baked a lot of flatbread with the dough they brought from Egypt since they were driven out of Egypt so quickly and didn’t have time to prepare any other food. Israel’s descendants had lived in Egypt for 430 years, and after those 430 years, to the very day, the Existing One’s army left Egypt.
Passover is a night to lookout for the Existing One since he brought Israel out of Egypt. It’s a night is for the Existing One, and all of Israel’s descendants should keep watch on it throughout their generations.
Rules for Passover
The Existing One told Moses and Aaron,
“These are the rules for the Passover:
• Foreigners are prohibited from eating it, but your purchased slaves may eat it if they‘ve been circumcised. Travelers and your hired hands shouldn’t eat it.
• You should eat it in a single house. Don’t bring any of the meat outside, and don’t break any of the lamb’s bones. All of Israel should celebrate this.
• If a traveler visits you and celebrates the Passover to the Existing One, then all his males need to be circumcised. After that, he can join in celebrating it like a native. But uncircumcised people are prohibited from eating it. The same rules you have will also apply to your visitors.”
Then all of Israel’s descendants followed the instructions the Existing One gave Moses and Aaron. That’s the day the Existing One brought the army of Israel out of Egypt.