Pentecost Season · Proper 18 · Year A
Exodus 12:1-14
The Passover
September 6, 2026
Overview & Insights
“The blood shall be a sign for you… and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (Exodus 12:13)
Exodus 12 and 13 stand together as a single literary unit, describing the Passover ( pesakh ; lit., pass over). If we read this lengthy portion (12:1–13:16) in a simple linear fashion, it may seem oddly organized and redundant. The most we could say is that the length itself was part of what served to establish the exodus event and its perpetual observance in Israel’s memory and liturgical practice. It was indeed a primary formational event. We can understand the themes of this vital material even better, however, when we notice the internal structure and the relationships between the paragraphs. The text structurally braids together the three themes of protecting the precious firstborn, the Passover lamb, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in 12:1–13:16. The chiastic structure below reveals this pattern.
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Commentary
Commentary on Exodus 12:1-14 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home commentary on this Year A reading by a named seminary scholar.
Exodus 12 - The Passover Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of the Passover lamb and the blood on the doorposts.
Exodus 12:1 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on the institution of the Passover.
Exodus 12:1 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight
A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.
Exodus 12 Commentary Precept Austin
An inductive study page collecting word studies and cross references on the chapter.
Background & Word Study
Exodus 12 (Hebrew and English) Sefaria
The Hebrew of the Passover instructions alongside English with linked Jewish commentary.
Exodus 12:1 Interlinear BibleHub
The Hebrew of the passage word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers, including pesach.
Exodus 1-18 Overview BibleProject
An animated overview of the first half of Exodus that frames the night of deliverance.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What is the Passover?
On the night of Israel's deliverance each household kills a lamb and marks the doorposts with its blood, and the Lord passes over them, a feast kept forever and fulfilled in Christ.
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