Exploring Bible Prophecy from Genesis to Revelation: Clarifying the Meaning of Every Prophetic Passage

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INTRODUCTION

BIBLE PROPHECY MAKES UP ONE-FOURTH of the written Word of God. Thus, it is imperative that any serious study of the scriptures must include a proper understanding of this important area of inspired truth. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is filled with over one thousand predictive prophecies. Half of these have already been literally fulfilled, indicating that the other half will yet be literally fulfilled as well. It is these yet-to-be-fulfilled future prophecies that are the subject of this book.

We have assembled a team of biblical scholars who are experts in the area of Bible prophecy. They know the original languages of Scripture. They are committed to the grammatical, historical principles of biblical interpretation. Most of all they have a deep personal love of Christ and sincere respect for the inerrant Word of God as our only sure guide to understanding the future. While they may differ slightly on minor points of discussion, they are all in agreement with the major issues of biblical eschatology, particularly in relation to the pre-tribulational and premillennial view of eschatology.

The present volume is a key resource in the LaHaye Prophecy Library, which was launched in conjunction with Harvest House Publishers several years ago. As a companion volume to The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy, The Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary covers every major biblical passage that deals with a prediction of future events. The scope is comprehensive, while the focus is eschatological. We have endeavored to comment in detail on the biblical prophecies that await their final fulfillment in the future.

The uniqueness of this study is that it provides pastors, teachers, scholars, and laymen alike with an eschatological commentary on every predictive passage of Scripture. While there is certainly much discussion within Christian circles over how these prophecies are to be interpreted, we believe you will find the research in this present volume of the highest quality of careful, insightful, and intense biblical exegesis and exposition. It is our sincere prayer that God will inform your mind, ignite your soul, and motivate your heart with these great prophecies of the future.

In the meantime, may we continue looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

Tim LaHaye

Ed Hindson

OLD TESTAMENT

PROPHECIES

THE

LAW

GENESIS

GENESIS IS THE BOOK OF BEGINNINGS. It tells the story of the beginnings of the human race and the Hebrew nation. It also lays the foundation for the beginning of biblical prophecy. Genesis offers a rich tapestry of prophetic promise, predominantly messianic prophecy. The first book of the Bible fires an attention-seizing opening salvo of messianic prophecy of both the figure of the Messiah Himself as well as the magnificent messianic age to come. Indeed, Genesis establishes the template from which all other prophetic expectations spring. Specific, temporal prophecies are assuredly found within the pages of this foundational volume, but the majority of prophetic action in this text concerns vast, enduring themes that span protracted timetables, such as the Abrahamic Covenant, Israel’s future hope, and, of course, the aforementioned promised Messiah.

THE WARNING ABOUT THE TREE

Genesis 2:16-17

THE LORD, AFTER CREATING ADAM as the pinnacle of His creation, executes His initial command. The instruction contains both divine consent and prohibition, blessing and warning, stretching the limits of Adam’s yet untapped moral capacities. Adam would be allowed unlimited access to the fruit of every tree within the Garden of Eden, with the sole exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The command concludes with the conditional warning that death would result from violation of the prohibition (2:16-17).

Eventually, both Adam and Eve succumb to the serpent’s temptation. They willingly disobey the Lord’s command by eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although Adam and Eve thought the fruit would give them the satanically promised divine ability to comprehend good and evil, as Walvoord points out, neither of them realized that eating the fruit would result in their knowing the good without being able to do it and knowing the evil without being able to avoid it (Walvoord, Prophecy Knowledge Handbook, p. 20). Instead of the anticipated instant wisdom, they experience immediate shame, guilt, and alienation from one another and God (3:6-13). As God had promised, from that moment onward, death would plague Adam and his progeny (3:19; 5:5).

THE PROPHECY ABOUT THE MESSIAH

Genesis 3:15

GENESIS 3:15 FORESEES a coming Messiah, born of a woman, who will defeat Satan. This earliest and foundational messianic prophecy is found a mere three chapters into the Bible. Following the moral failure of Adam and Eve and in conjunction with the explanation of the harsh and enduring consequences wrought by their disobedience (3:6-13,16-19), this protoevangelium (first gospel) provides hope for the redemption of the fallen human race. It proclaims the coming of a Savior who will enter the human race and defeat the power of Satan.

The Lord declares war on the motivating cause of Edenic sin, the serpent (Satan), who is identified by the apostle John as the serpent of old (Revelation 20:2). In the Lord’s curse on the serpent, we see an initial glimpse of the divine plan for humanity’s redemption. This passage contains far more than the mere origin of the antagonistic relationship between mankind and snakes. It is the theological explanation for the conflict between good and evil. A descendant of Eve would be born who would successfully wage holy war against Satan and his offspring. Although both holy warrior and evil adversary will sustain punishing injury (to heel and head, respectively) in the conflict, the damage dealt to Satan will prove fatal. The bruising of the Savior’s heel is especially insightful in relation to the bruised heels and torn flesh of crucifixion victims. Although the identity of God’s chosen warrior is shrouded in mystery, this individual will be the offspring of a woman—a prophetic reference to the virgin birth of Christ.

The New Testament clearly teaches that the Messiah’s resurrection will most assuredly signal the final victory over Satan (Revelation 20:10). Indeed, the apostle Paul encourages the believers in Rome that God would shortly crush Satan underneath their feet (Romans 16:20).

EVE’S EXPECTATION OF THE MESSIAH

Genesis 4:1

IN LIGHT OF the aforementioned prophecy concerning the promise of an ultimate deliverer for humanity, Eve’s reaction to the birth of her firstborn son, Cain, is not surprising. Most versions of Scripture add additional words to this text (with the help of, NIV, NASB, RSV or from, NKJV) in an attempt to make the translation clearer. While this is certainly an interpretively and grammatically valid decision, such an addition is not grammatically necessary and actually detracts from the messianic implication of the Hebrew text. The simplest reading of the text sees the Hebrew particle et as the accusative indication of object. The text of Genesis 4:1 would then have Eve stating, I have obtained a man, the Lord (Hebrew, et-YHWH).

This grammatical understanding, while not held by the Septuagint (Greek translation of the original Hebrew text), is shared by the other ancient Jewish sources. For example, both the ancient Aramaic Jerusalem Targum and Targum Jonathan paraphrase this text to read, I have gotten a man, the angel of YHWH. Fruchtenbaum (Messianic Christology, p. 16) notes that the discussion of this verse within the Midrash on Genesis reveals ancient rabbinic interpretive discomfort with accepting the plain, unembellished grammatical construction of the text. He argues that "Eve has clearly understood from God’s words in Gen. 3:15 that the serpent will be defeated by a God-man. She obviously thinks that Cain is Jehovah. Her basic theology is correct: Messiah would be both man and God.…She has assumed that Cain, her first child, was the promised God-man."

THE RAPTURE OF ENOCH

Genesis 5:24

THE NARRATIVE OF GENESIS briefly introduces the reader to Enoch, a man whose lifestyle is characterized by a deeply intimate relationship with the Lord (Enoch walked with God). Without warning, the text abruptly records that Enoch was not, for God took him (5:24). In contrast with the text’s matter-of-fact citation of the death of a plethora of Enoch’s ancestors (5:1-20), the Lord uniquely allows Enoch to avoid the experience of death, taking him directly into the divine presence, no doubt, to better enjoy their advanced level of fellowship.

The absence of the specific term rapture in the English Bible in no way invalidates the presence of the concept within both Testaments. Genesis 5:24 is a small gem tucked away in the midst of a sea of genealogy that should be treasured as a potent preview of the church’s blessed hope (Titus 2:13), the experience the New Testament promises for one unique generation of believers—those who are alive when Messiah returns (1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

MESSIAH TO REVERSE THE CURSE

Genesis 5:21-29

EARLY HUMANITY’S continued messianic expectation is again evident with the birth of Noah. Lamech, Noah’s father, has great yet incorrect expectations of his son, mistakenly identifying Noah as the divinely promised yet shadowy messianic figure (3:15). While not meeting Lamech’s hope of providing mankind rest from our work…from the ground which the LORD has cursed (5:29), Noah would, nonetheless, prove a savior of sorts, representing humanity’s last, best hope within his generation (Genesis 6:8-22).

JUDGMENT THROUGH A GLOBAL FLOOD

Genesis 6:7-18; 7:4

THE GENESIS NARRATIVE RECORDS that eventually humanity had become so morally self-corrupted (6:11-12) that the Lord determines to destroy His creation with a flood and start anew (6:7,17). However, Noah, a righteous and blameless individual who, like Enoch before him (5:24), experiences an intimate relationship with God, has found favor with the Lord (6:8-9). The Lord graciously determines to preserve a faithful remnant of humanity and to establish a covenant with Noah (6:18). He instructs Noah to build an ark as a vessel of preservation for Noah and his family, along with representative pairs of every animal (6:14-18). One week prior to the flood, God specifies to Noah that it will continue to rain for forty days and forty nights, again reiterating His plan to destroy all life outside the safety of the ark (7:4). The narrative records the fulfillment of this prophecy in Genesis 7:10-23.

THE NOAHIC COVENANT

Genesis 8:21-22; 9:15-16

SOME 371 DAYS AFTER first entering the ark (7:11; 8:13-14), Noah, his family, and the animals emerge. Noah’s first recorded action on dry land is to erect an altar to the LORD, on which he makes a sacrifice (8:20). This prompts the Lord’s articulation of the central promise of the newly established Noahic Covenant to never again curse the ground or destroy every living thing through means of flood (8:21-22; see also 9:15). The everlasting covenant is made by God without condition, not only with Noah, but also universally, with every living creature. The sign of the covenant is, of course, the rainbow (9:16). The promises of this covenant are still in effect today.

NOAH’S PROPHECY ABOUT HIS DESCENDANTS

Genesis 9:25-27

SOME TIME LATER, Noah’s son, Ham, exhibits vulgar disrespect to his father (9:20-24). This prompts Noah to a harsh reprisal of prophetic judgment against Ham’s future descendants, the Canaanites. The Canaanites would be subservient to the descendants of both Shem and Japheth. This subjugation of the Canaanites is, indeed, seen throughout Old Testament history (one such example of this is found in Joshua 8:27). In contrast to the cursing of Ham’s descendants, Noah subsequently blesses the descendants of his other two sons, Shem and Japheth, who would remain in close geographic proximity and maintain friendly relations (Genesis 9:25-27). The initial descendants of Noah’s three sons and their geographic dispersal is recorded in Genesis 10:1-32.

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

Genesis 12:1-3,7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-21; 22:15-18

THE GENESIS NARRATIVE reveals that the Abrahamic Covenant is a complex of unconditional promises that are stated and reiterated over a period of years within a series of six recorded encounters between God and Abraham. Each successive restatement expands upon and enlarges the promised provisions of the primary, central core of the covenant.

The first passage, Genesis 12:1-3, records God’s initial encounter with Abraham, in which He communicates His commission and His initial promised blessings to Abraham. The narrative records the divine instruction for Abraham to leave his home in Mesopotamia and go to the land which I will show you. Although the promises contained within the Abrahamic Covenant are unconditional (see below), the establishment of the covenant itself is conditioned upon Abraham’s initial act of obedience to this command. Every provision and promise is contingent upon Abraham’s voluntary abandonment of his home and relocation to the land that God promises to reveal. Without this initial act of obedience on Abraham’s part, the covenant would not have been established, and the Genesis narrative (and world history) would have taken a different turn. However, Abraham is obedient (12:4-6).

This initial iteration of the covenant contains promises of personal blessing (I will bless you) in specific relation to numerous offspring (make you a great nation), reputation (make your name great) and universal influence (you shall be a blessing and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed) (12:2-3). This universal influence would extend to divine, retributive justice in regard to how Abraham (and by implication, his offspring) is treated by others (I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse).

The first expansion of the Abrahamic Covenant’s promises is revealed in Genesis 12:7. Following Abraham’s arrival in the land of Canaan, the Lord promises that Abraham’s descendants would inherit the land as a gift (to your descendants I will give this land). Abraham later identifies this promise as a divine oath, a solemn, unconditional guarantee (24:7).

The second expansion of the Abrahamic Covenant’s promises is contained in Genesis 13:14-17. After Lot departs for richer pastures, the Lord again appears to Abraham and recon-firms His intention to give the entirety of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants. While not providing specifics concerning borders, the Lord commands Abraham that the land, in every direction, belongs to him and to his descendants. Abraham is divinely encouraged to expand his depth of view by walking the length and breadth of the land. One expansion of the covenant promises relayed here is the revelation of Abraham’s personal possession of the land, which had previously only been promised to his descendants. Another expansion is the eternal duration of his offspring’s ownership of the land (I will give it to you and to your descendants forever). The Lord also defines the parameters of what He had previously meant by the promise of a great nation in 12:2 (I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth—13:16).

The third expansion of the Abrahamic Covenant’s promises is contained in Genesis 15:1-21. Abraham, frustrated by his continued childlessness, is divinely reassured that he will indeed have a physical heir (15:1-4). This is followed by another mention of numerous offspring, like the stars (15:5). In response to a second divine verbal reassurance, this time concerning the gift to Abraham of the land, Abraham requests additional, more tangible assurance (15:7-8).

God then leads Abraham through a solemn covenant ritual designed to remove all doubt. The ritual, described in 15:9-17, corresponds to the ancient Near Eastern covenant practice of blood covenant (Pentecost, Thy Kingdom Come, p. 57), with one similarity being the cutting of the animals and placing of the severed sections in two parallel rows. However, both parties to the covenant would normally walk between the rendered animal pieces, indicating the mandatory nature of the covenant and the severe penalty for future infraction. In this unique instance, Abraham is rendered impotent, completely passive, and unable to move (15:12). God alone binds Himself to the covenant by passing as a flaming torch through the animal pieces (15:17), graphically demonstrating the unconditional nature of the covenant. As Pentecost notes, Abraham is not a participant in the covenant but a recipient of the covenant (Thy Kingdom Come, p. 58).

Chisholm sees this ritual as a land grant, marking the actual transfer of the land to Abraham’s offspring as well as (by implication) the ratification of the promise of offspring (Chisholm, Evidence from Genesis, pp. 41-42). The actual geographic borders of the Promised Land are specified at this time, extending from the river of Egypt in the south to the great river, the Euphrates, in the north (15:18). In addition, the current inhabitants of the land are enumerated, in prophetic preparation for their displacement (15:19-21).

During this covenant ritual, the Lord prophetically reveals to Abraham that while he would die peacefully at an advanced age, his descendants would be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they would be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years. The oppressor nation would experience divine judgment, however, and Abraham’s descendants would not depart empty-handed. They would return to the Promised Land when the iniquity of Canaan’s current inhabitants had sufficiently ripened (15:13-16). This prophecy would be fulfilled with the nation of Israel’s Egyptian sojourn, enslavement, and exodus, as well as their conquest of the land (recorded in the books of Exodus through Joshua).

The fourth expansion of the Abrahamic Covenant’s promises is contained in Genesis 17:1-21. God again appears to Abraham, identifying Himself as God Almighty (Hebrew, el shaddai), the one who grants fertility and life (Chisholm, Evidence from Genesis, p. 42). This encounter adds the requirement of circumcision, a physical sign of the covenant, on the eighth day for Abraham and his male descendants (17:10-14). This is to serve as a vivid reminder, in blood, to every descendant of Abraham of God’s everlasting covenant (17:7).

At this time, in conjunction with the reiteration of the promise of innumerable descendants, the Lord changes Abraham’s name from Abram (exalted father) to Abraham (father of multitudes). The covenant blessing is expanded to incorporate not just a single nation to issue forth from Abraham, but nations, as well as kings. Reiterated, as well, is the promise of Abraham’s and his descendants’ eternal possession of the land (17:1-8). And another promise is added to the covenant complex—that of a personal relationship with Israel (I will be their God—17:8).

The fifth and climactic expansion of the Abrahamic Covenant is found in Genesis 22:15-18, in conjunction with the famous narrative of the binding of Isaac, the ultimate test of the faith of Abraham, the father of multitudes (22:1-13). Having been prepared to obediently sacrifice his only son, the son of promise, Abraham is divinely recognized as the worthy recipient of the covenant promises (22:16).

Using the most intensive form of divine oath (by Myself I have sworn—22:16), the Lord restates and ratifies four separate components of the covenant. First, hearkening back to the initial promise of 12:2, the Lord restates His intention of divine blessing. Second, echoing the promises of Genesis 13:16, 15:5, and 17:2-6, God restates His promise of innumerable descendants. Third, summarizing the promises of possession of the land in Genesis 12:7, 13:15, 15:18, 17:8, and with veiled reference to the nations mentioned in 15:19-21, the Lord promises Abraham’s descendants possession of enemy cities. Fourth, hearkening back to the initial set of promises concerning universal influence in 12:3, the Lord reaffirms that all nations would be blessed through the seed of Abraham (22:15-18).

The influence of the Abrahamic Covenant is woven throughout the tapestry of Scripture, from the twelfth chapter of Genesis through the final chapter of Revelation. It forms the foundational basis for every subsequent covenant in the Bible. Absent this covenant (or through the neutering of the covenant through the spiritualization of its promises), Israel’s right to the land is incomprehensible, the messianic age could never be anticipated, and the bringing together of Jews and Gentiles in spiritual union would be unthinkable. Echoes of the Abrahamic Covenant’s celebrated themes of blessing resound from the exodus through conquest, from kingdom to exile, from incarnation to resurrection, and from the nation of Israel to the universal dominion of the Messiah.

GOD’S PROMISES CONCERNING ISHMAEL

Genesis 16:7-13; 17:20; 21:18

THE GENESIS NARRATIVE RECORDS three divine prophetic promises concerning the destiny of Ishmael. The first promise is found in 16:7-13. Abraham’s firstborn son is Ishmael, a product of the man of faith prematurely taking genealogical matters into his own hands with Sarah’s maid, Hagar. Pregnant and desperate to flee Sarah’s harsh treatment, Hagar encounters the angel of the Lord. This is the first reference within the Old Testament to a physical manifestation of God Himself—that is, a preincarnate appearance of the second person of the Trinity (Genesis 18:1-2; 19:1; 22:11-12; 31:11-13; Exodus 3:1-4; Numbers 22:22; Judges 2:1-4; 5:23; 6:11,16,22; 13:22-23; Zechariah 3:1-2; 12:8).

Hagar is instructed to return to Sarah and to her work, for she would be divinely blessed with innumerable descendants, beginning with the son currently in her womb. His name is to be Ishmael, meaning God hears (to which Hagar enthusiastically responds by christening the Lord with a name that means a God who sees). Ishmael would live as a wild donkey, a roaming, free spirit, hostile by nature and at odds with most of society, experiencing continuous conflict. He would dwell to the east of all his brothers (16:7-12). Twenty-one chapters later in the narrative, Ishmaelites are the means by which Joseph, Abraham and Sarah’s great-grandson, is carried off to Egypt (37:28).

The second promise concerning Ishmael is found in 17:20. While Abraham receives divine instruction regarding circumcision, the sign of the covenant, along with an encouraging reminder of his wife’s prophesied pregnancy with Isaac, Abraham expresses concern that Ishmael not be divinely neglected. God responds that He has heard Abraham’s concern that God hears (Ishmael) not be overlooked. As Abraham’s son, Ishmael would also experience divine blessing and would become the father of twelve princes, who together would flourish into a great nation of innumerable descendants (17:20).

The third promise concerning Ishmael is found in 21:18. It is a reconfirmation to Hagar, discouraged after having been sent away, of God’s promise, previously made to Abraham, that Ishmael would flourish into a great nation (21:18). Indeed, Ishmael’s 12 sons are listed in 1 Chronicles 1:28-31.

The apostle Paul later uses Genesis’ account of Ishmael’s birth as typological of the Torah, in contrast to the typological use of Isaac, the son of promise, in reference to the believer’s freedom in the Messiah (Galatians 4:21-31).

ISAAC AS A TYPE OF MESSIAH

Genesis 22:1-13

REGARDING ABRAHAM’S divinely initiated and subsequently aborted sacrifice of his son, commonly known in Jewish tradition as the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, the rabbinic teaching has always viewed the willing sacrifice of Abraham, and especially Isaac’s willingness to offer himself, as an act of vicarious atonement throughout the future history of their descendants, the nation of Israel. The righteousness of the patriarchs could be vicariously applied to their descendants in time of spiritual need.

The rabbis were not completely off base when they saw a picture of atonement in Isaac. The events of Genesis 22 are a prime example of what Scripture calls a mere shadow of what is to come (Colossians 2:17). Isaac was a prophetic type, a picture, of the Messiah. Jesus was not only the ultimate Israel, the ultimate David, and the ultimate Moses, but also the ultimate Isaac. Both Isaac and Jesus were the sons of promise. Both men had miraculous births. Both were obedient and willing sons who were prepared and ready to lay down their lives at their Father’s behest. Both sons even carried the wood for their own sacrifice.

Both Isaac and Jesus had fathers who were prepared to slay them to fulfill a larger purpose. As Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son, so too was God willing to sacrifice His only Son. Yet God did not demand of Abraham what He demanded of Himself. The Lord provided a substitute sacrifice for the son of Abraham, a ram caught in the thicket. However, there was no alternative sacrifice for the Son of God. Jesus became the Lamb of God, slain for the sin of the world (John 1:29). If indeed Christ Himself was the angel of the Lord who called to Abraham, then He was not willing that Abraham slay his son. Yet He was willing to let the Father sacrifice Him on our behalf.

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT AND ISAAC

Genesis 26:2-5

FOLLOWING THE DEATH of Abraham, the Lord appears to Isaac to reaffirm the Abrahamic Covenant with Abraham’s heir, saying, I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. Instructing Isaac to remain in the land of his inheritance, the Lord reaffirms the covenant blessings of His personal presence, numerous descendants (as the stars of heaven), universal blessing (by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed), and permanent ownership of the land (to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands) (26:2-5). The appearance concludes with a reminder of the unconditionality of the Abrahamic Covenant, which was based upon Abraham’s initial act of obedience to God (Genesis 12:4).

ISAAC’S BLESSING OF JACOB

Genesis 27:27-29

HAVING EARLIER OBTAINED Esau’s birthright through a trade (25:27-34), Jacob now steals his older brother’s rightful blessing through duplicity and deception (27:1-26). Taking advantage of his father Isaac’s blindness by disguising himself as Esau, Jacob comes before his father. He then receives the prophetic blessing meant for Isaac’s firstborn son, Esau (27:27-29). Isaac’s blessing of Jacob is fourfold: First, blessing is granted in the area of agricultural and economic prosperity. Second, blessing is granted in the area of intercultural relations with other nations and clans. Third, Jacob is granted his father’s patriarchal authority over Esau and his descendants. And fourth, Isaac transfers the inheritance of the Abrahamic Covenant upon his son by quoting God’s foundational promise of reciprocal blessing and cursing (originally made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3).

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT AND JACOB

Genesis 28:3-4,13-15; 35:9-13

JACOB, PRIOR TO FLEEING the retributive wrath of his brother Esau for the theft of their father’s blessing, is summoned into Isaac’s presence for an additional, final blessing. Whereas earlier Isaac had unknowingly transferred the inheritance of the Abrahamic covenant upon Jacob (27:29), here he grants a blessing to Jacob with purpose and intention. The patriarch petitions the Lord for Jacob and his progeny to receive the blessing of Abraham, summarized as the multiplication of Jacob’s seed and possession of the land which God gave to Abraham (28:3-4).

Shortly thereafter, Isaac’s blessing is confirmed to Jacob by the Lord through a divine reaffirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant. After Jacob departs the land of promise and while he is resting on his journey toward Haran, the Lord appears to him and identifies Himself as the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. At this time, Jacob is unconditionally promised inheritance of the land, the multiplication of his descendants (like the dust of the earth), universal blessing (in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed), and the continued presence and protection of the Lord (28:13-15).

Many years later, in the same location (which Jacob had commemoratively called Bethel, house of God—28:19), the Lord appears again to bless Jacob and to recon-firm both the Abrahamic Covenant as well as Jacob’s name change to Israel. Identifying Himself to Jacob as God Almighty (Hebrew, el shaddai), the Lord reiterates His unconditional promise of numerous (and royal) descendants (a nation and a company of nations shall come forth from you, and kings shall come forth from you). In addition, He reiterates His unconditional promise, made previously with both Abraham and Isaac, of Jacob’s and his progeny’s possession of the land (35:9-13).

This passage, the final patriarchal reconfirmation of the Abrahamic Covenant in the Genesis narrative, is designed to recall God’s specific, confirming appearance to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, in Genesis 17:1-8. Chisholm points out striking parallels between the two texts (Chisholm, Evidence from Genesis, p. 52). These similarities include the Lord’s identification of Himself as God Almighty (35:11; 17:1); the changing of the patriarch’s name (from Jacob to Israel in 35:10 and Abram to Abraham in 17:5); the promise of numerous descendants, including kings (35:11; 17:2,6); and the promise of land inheritance (35:12; 17:8).

JACOB WRESTLES WITH GOD

Genesis 32:9-31

THIS FAMOUS PASSAGE describes an unforgettable turning point in Jacob’s life, centered within a moment of crisis. Having been long absent from his homeland, the land of promise, and now on its outskirts, Jacob prays, on the basis of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3; 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15), for divine deliverance from the vengeance of his long-estranged brother, Esau (32:9-11). Having sent the entirety of his travel party on ahead, Jacob was left alone (32:24).

Sometime that evening, Jacob has an unexpected visitor. Rather than spending the night in fearful contemplation of Esau’s potentially hostile reaction to his return, Jacob finds himself preoccupied in a wrestling match with this visitor. The match lasted through the night until daybreak (32:24). With dawn approaching and the contest between the two wrestlers ongoing, the mysterious figure dislocates the socket of Jacob’s thigh, severely disabling Jacob. He then demands that Jacob break off the contest. Jacob, however, continues to cling furiously, unwilling to allow the mysterious figure to depart without giving Jacob a blessing (32:25-26). At some point during the wrestling match, perhaps at the moment of his crippling injury, Jacob realizes that his opponent is no mere man, but the angel of the Lord, a physical manifestation of God Himself—that is, a preincarnate appearance of the second person of the Trinity (Genesis 18:1-2; 19:1; 22:11-12; 31:11-13; Exodus 3:1-4; Numbers 22:22; Judges 2:1-4; 5:23; 6:11,16,22; 13:22-23; Zechariah 3:1-2; 12:8).

The angel of the Lord renames Jacob Israel (God fights, or he who fights [wrestles] with God), for Jacob, now Israel, had striven with God and with men and [had] prevailed (32:28). Israel then receives the divine blessing (32:29). He names the location Peniel (face of God), saying, I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved (32:30). This was an unforgettable encounter with the divine in which not only Jacob’s name was changed, but his lifestyle as well.

The name Israel is a double-sided prophetic portrait. On one side is the history of the stubborn, stiff-necked nation of God’s chosen people, he who fights with God—a nation that has wrestled with the Lord from their national inception at Sinai. On the other side are the promises of that nation’s God, a deity whose fierce passion and covenant commitment to His people knows no limitation and whose ardor for His chosen people guarantees their eventual restoration. He is the God who fights tirelessly and unceasingly on Israel’s behalf.

JOSEPH’S PROPHECY ABOUT HIS BROTHERS

Genesis 37:5-11

JOSEPH WAS JACOB’S ELEVENTH SON, but as the firstborn of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel, Joseph was clearly his father’s favorite. Joseph’s multicolored coat was an indication that Jacob sought to elevate Joseph to firstborn status (37:3). Certainly the matter of a younger son supplanting elder siblings had durable family precedent with Isaac and Ishmael and with Jacob and Esau.

At the age of 17, Joseph is given two prophetic dreams. In the first dream, the harvested sheaves belonging to Joseph’s brothers bow down before his own sheaf. In the second dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow before Joseph. Joseph’s brothers react to the dreams with hatred and jealousy, for they realize both dreams indicated that Joseph’s whole family would one day prostrate themselves before him in submission (37:5-11).

The brothers’ jealousy and contempt for Joseph leads to his being sold into slavery (37:18-36). The Genesis narrative records how Joseph, over the next 20 years, rose in Egypt from his roles as both slave and convict to eventual ruler of the nation, second only to Pharaoh (39–41). Joseph’s prophetic dreams later found fulfillment when his brothers traveled to Egypt during a famine and, not yet recognizing him, bowed before Joseph to beg for food (42:6).

In the book of Acts, Stephen presents Joseph as a prophetic type of the Messiah (7:9-16). Although Joseph had been rejected by his own family, he had been accepted by foreigners in a foreign land, Egypt, and exalted by God’s hand. Moreover, Stephen argues that Joseph, who eventually had progressed from rejection to exaltation, became the savior of those who had rejected him. Joseph’s brothers did not recognize Joseph the first time they saw him. It was not until their second visit that they recognized their brother (Genesis 42–45). In other words, the sons of Israel did not perceive that their own brother was their savior until their second appearance before him.

Stephen’s parallel is clear: The first time the descendants of the sons of Israel saw Jesus, they likewise did not recognize Him. It will take a second viewing for perception to dawn. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the Jewish people will not perceive that Jesus is their Messiah until His glory is eminently manifest upon His return.

JOSEPH, THE CUPBEARER, AND THE BAKER

Genesis 40:12-13,18-19

WHILE JOSEPH IS IN PRISON, two fellow prisoners approach him and ask him to interpret their recent dreams. After the first man, Pharaoh’s former cupbearer, relays the details of his dream, Joseph interprets it as predicting the cupbearer’s restoration to royal favor in three days’ time (40:12-13). Indeed, the cupbearer is later restored to his former position (verse 21).

When the second man, Pharaoh’s former chief baker, relays the details of his dream, Joseph interprets it as predicting the baker’s execution in three days’ time (verses 18-19). As Joseph predicted, the baker is later executed (verse 22).

JOSEPH’S PROPHECY ABOUT EGYPT

Genesis 41:1-32

TWO YEARS AFTER JOSEPH’S successful interpretation of the cupbearer’s and baker’s dreams, he is summoned from prison to appear before Pharaoh to interpret two dreams that puzzled Pharaoh. The cupbearer, who until this time had forgotten about Joseph, had suggested that Pharaoh allow Joseph the opportunity to interpret these dreams. Joseph correctly interprets the dreams to indicate that Egypt will experience seven years of agricultural plenty, which will be followed by seven years of famine. Joseph then makes recommendations as to how the nation could prepare for the next 14 years. Pharaoh responds by elevating Joseph to ruler of the nation, second only to Pharaoh. The text records the occurrence of seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, just as Joseph predicted (41:47-57).

JACOB PROMISED BLESSING IN EGYPT

Genesis 46:1-6

HAVING JOYOUSLY DISCOVERED that his son Joseph, whom he had believed to be dead for two decades, is alive, Jacob, along with the entire family, emigrates to Egypt to live under Joseph’s munificence. On the way to Egypt, Jacob offers sacrifices to God at Beersheba (46:1). That evening the Lord reassures Jacob of His divine blessing. Jacob is not to be afraid of an Egyptian sojourn, for while Jacob’s family is in Egypt, God would forge them into a great nation (46:3). The Israelites’ time in Egypt would be temporary, was for their benefit, and would be divinely superintended (46:2-4). That Jacob understood God’s reassurance concerning the temporary nature of his family’s time in Egypt is evidenced by Joseph’s deathbed request that his bones accompany the Hebrews upon their eventual exodus from Egypt back into the land of promise (Genesis 50:24-25).

A special reassurance is that Jacob is about to see his son, Joseph, and that the two would not part again before Jacob’s death (46:4). The narrative of Genesis 46:29 relays how Joseph, riding to meet his beloved father in his royal chariot, is emotionally reunited with his Father.

JACOB BLESSES HIS 12 SONS

Genesis 49:1-28

ON HIS DEATHBED, Jacob delivers his final blessing to his 12 sons. Just as Isaac’s blessing of Jacob took the form of a prophetic oracle, so did Jacob’s blessing of his sons. Jacob’s words are fraught with prophetic significance; indeed, the patriarch himself emphasizes the prophetic content of his remarks by identifying them as revealing what the future holds for his family in the days to come (Hebrew, b’acharit hayyamim, the end of days—49:1-2).

Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn and heir, was disinherited from the position of family preeminence (49:3-4) because of his affair with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (35:22). The tribe of Reuben would never reassert preeminence throughout Israel’s history.

Simeon and Levi, the next eldest brothers, are treated together (49:5-7). Correctly characterized by their father as violent and angry (34:25-29), they too are passed over for the mantle of family preeminence. Both tribes are predicted to be scattered in the land. Simeon would eventually be subsumed within the larger tribe of Judah, while Levi, as the eventual priestly tribe, would never possess a geographic tribal inheritance. Rather, the Levites would live throughout Israel’s territory.

Judah, the fourth son, is dealt with next (49:8-12). It is Judah, the lion, to whom the mantle of tribal leadership is passed. Judah is recognized as being worthy to receive the privileges of the firstborn. (For more on this, see the commentary for 49:10-12.)

The tribe of Zebulun would be a haven for ships, enriched by maritime trade (49:13). Although the tribe of Issachar was naturally equipped for hard work, they would not live up to their potential (49:14-15). Dan would provide leadership to Israel (49:16-17). Gad would both be attacked and counterattack (49:19). Asher’s tribal territory would prove abundantly fertile (49:20). Naphtali would be a speedy doe, roaming free (49:21).

Joseph receives a superior, double blessing. The tribe of Joseph would be characterized by prosperity and military capability, broadly blessed in every way. Joseph is the one distinguished among his brothers (49:22-26).

Finally, Benjamin is characterized as a tribe of violent warriors (49:27).

The section concludes with the affirmation that every son/tribe was blessed with the blessing appropriate to him (49:28).

THE MESSIAH FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

Genesis 49:10-12

WITHIN JACOB’S PROPHETIC blessings of his 12 sons is the promise that Judah’s tribe will rightfully rule (possess the scepter, the symbol of royalty—49:10) over the rest of the tribes until a particular moment in history, the coming of Shiloh (49:10). The mysterious term Shiloh can be translated as to whom it belongs (as it is usually translated in Ezekiel 21:27 concerning the royal crown of Israel’s prince).

Shiloh has traditionally been understood as a messianic title, a pseudonym for Messiah. The first-century Aramaic paraphrases of the Scripture, the Targums, consistently treat this as a messianic prophecy. Targum Onkelos reads, Kings shall not cease from the house of Judah…until Messiah come, whose is the kingdom (quoted in Kac 19). The Palestinian Targum likewise reads, Kings shall not cease from the house of Judah…until the time that is King Messiah shall come, whose is the kingdom (as quoted in Kac 19-20). Targum Jonathan holds this interpretation of the verse as well, reading much the same as the other Targums, yet adding the expectation that because of him [Messiah] nations shall melt away.

In addition, the Midrash, a vast corpus of homiletical commentary, holds this interpretation of the passage (Midrash Rabbah, Genesis XCVII, new version; XCVIII, 8, 9; Midrash on Proverbs, chapter 19, 21, as quoted in Huckel, The Rabbinic Messiah, elec. ed.; see also Santala, Messiah in the Old Testament, pp. 50-53). Furthermore, the Talmud (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b), the Jewish oral law, and Rashi, the eleventh-century rabbinic goliath, all take Shiloh with reference to King Messiah (Kac 20).

The point is patently emphasized through the genealogies recorded within the Gospels—whether through Jesus’ adopted father (Matthew 1:1-17) or his mother (Luke 3:23-38)—that Jesus belongs to the tribe of Judah. Interestingly, if Jesus had not come prior to the destruction of the temple and the accompanying loss of all its stored genealogical records that would occur a mere 75 years hence, any claims that He had to tribal descent from Judah would have been hopelessly unverifiable. God’s timing for the appearance of Shiloh, the one to whom it belongs, was impeccable.

EXODUS

THE BOOK OF EXODUS TELLS THE DRAMATIC STORY of the call of Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. It includes numerous specific prophecies about Israel’s destiny as well as the prophetic typology of the Passover meal and the tabernacle. In this book we find the biblical foundations of Judeo-Christian ethics and religion.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF MOSES’ APPOINTMENT

Exodus 3:10

AT THE AGE OF 80, Moses encounters the visible manifestation of God’s presence, the Shekinah glory, in a flaming bush. The Lord reveals Himself to Moses as the God of Israel’s fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The mention of the patriarchs would have served as an electrifying reminder that God had not forgotten the ancient promises He had made in the Abrahamic Covenant. God reassures Moses that He has seen and heard the affliction and sorrows of His people and that His compassion toward them is now leading Him to decisive action on their behalf. God indicates His direct involvement in the rescue operation that will not only free the people of Israel from slavery but also bring them out of Egypt and into their inheritance, the land of promise (3:1-8).

In Exodus 3:9-10, God reiterates His identity as the One who sees and hears His people and feels compassion for them. He then reveals that the method by which He will decisively intervene is through His chosen instrument of redemption, Moses. Moses is told to return to Egypt to deliver the Hebrews. In a bit of literary foreshadowing, although there are two components to God’s plan, deliverance from Egypt and entrance into Canaan, Moses specifies that his divine commission extended only to the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt and not to their deposition into the Promised Land. Indeed, Moses later delivers God’s people from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 12:37-50), but he was not the one to lead them into Canaan (Deuteronomy 32:48-52).

THE CONFIRMATION OF MOSES’ APPOINTMENT

Exodus 3:12–4:9

MOSES OBJECTS TO HIS ROLE in God’s exodus plan. He is all too aware that he is not the same man he was 40 years ago. No longer an Egyptian prince and now an obscure shepherd, he no longer possesses his former sense of divine destiny. His first of several objections to God is that he is personally unable to accomplish a task of this magnitude.

God responds to Moses’ first objection with the assurance of His abiding personal presence, which will empower Moses. Moses’ ability to deliver Israel will be confirmed when he leads the Hebrews back to this very same mountain for the purpose of worship. The Israelites would not go directly from Egypt to the land of promise, but would first enjoy a roughly 150-mile detour to Mount Sinai (3:12).

In response, Moses then raises his second objection. He reasons that arriving at Mount Sinai would indeed prove confirmation of his commission after the fact. But until that point, what would motivate the Hebrews to trust that Moses could actually deliver them? While he himself might be aware of God’s personal abiding presence, how would the people be certain of Moses’ divine commission (verse 13)?

To this objection God responds with the revelation of the essence and substance behind His personal name. He identifies Himself as I AM WHO I AM (verse 14). The personal name of the Lord is YHWH, often presumed to be pronounced Yahweh, Yahveh, or Jehovah. (The actual pronunciation of the Lord’s personal name is today a matter of uncertainty; the ancient Hebrew priesthood so guarded the ineffable name of God that with the passage of time following the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, knowledge of its correct articulation was lost. The uncertainty stems from the lack of vowels in the basic construction of Hebrew words.) Moses is to remind the people that this is the name by which God has always wished to be known and worshipped, the name that expresses His character as the God who both remembers His covenant and keeps His promises (verses 14-15).

Moses is instructed to go to Pharaoh, together with the Hebrew leaders, and request of the king not their wholesale freedom from slavery, but rather, a brief departure. They are to petition Pharaoh for three days’ vacation from their tasks that they may worship the Lord outside the borders of Egypt. God then says Pharaoh will not grant even this minimal request (verses 16-19).

After a demonstration of God’s wonders (at this point unspecified), the Hebrews will be free. And the Egyptians will be so favorably disposed toward them that they will not allow the Israelites to leave empty-handed. The Hebrews will receive from their taskmasters the recompense due for their labors (3:20-22), thus fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham that Israel would leave Egypt possessing great wealth (Genesis 15:14).

Despite the divine assurance of such a wondrous outcome, Moses raises a third objection to his role in God’s plan. He is still uncertain that the Hebrews will believe him or that he can inspire their confidence so they will grant him authority to lead them (4:1).

To answer this objection, God enables Moses to perform three authenticating supernatural signs that establish his credentials as the Lord’s spokesman (4:2-9). First, Moses is empowered to change his shepherd’s staff into a snake and back again. Second (just in case the first sign is insufficient to generate the people’s trust), Moses is empowered to make the flesh of his hand leprous and then normal again. And third (in case the first two signs prove insufficient), Moses is empowered to turn the water of the Nile River into blood. Interestingly, unlike the first two signs, this one is not immediately reversible. This sign, however, serves as a warm-up for the first plague (7:17-21).

The subsequent narrative in Exodus provides a series of substantial confirmations of Moses’ divine appointment. Moses’ messages are confirmed through mighty and numerous signs and wonders. However, neither the message nor the authenticating signs make a sufficient impression upon Pharaoh. This provokes the Lord to exercise great judgments of destruction upon Egypt.

THE FIRSTBORN OF EGYPT TO DIE

Exodus 4:22-23

FROM THE OUTSET OF Moses’ mission, the Lord makes clear His divine intention to exercise powerful leverage with Pharaoh. The highest of stakes would be in play—the future of the firstborn sons of Egypt (Exodus 11:5; 12:12). This is appropriate because, in relation to God, Israel is His son…my firstborn. This powerful term, used elsewhere in Scripture (Jeremiah 31:9-20; Hosea 11:1), illustrates the Hebrews’ uniquely intimate relationship to God (4:22-23).

The fulfillment of this expressed intention is relayed in 12:29-30 with the unleashing of the tenth plague. At midnight the plague suddenly begins to roil the nation. Not one home is left unaffected by the abrupt loss of all the firstborn males, from the royal court of Pharaoh to the prison house. Each family loses at least one member as firstborn sons, fathers, and grandfathers are struck down. Even the firstborn of the cattle are killed.

THE REASSURANCE TO MOSES

Exodus 6:1-8

BECAUSE THE HEBREWS’ situation had deteriorated so rapidly since Moses’ arrival on the scene, Moses questions God as to his call and purpose as their deliverer, reminding the Lord that contrary to his expectation, the people had not yet been delivered from bondage in any way (5:22-23).

The Lord replies to Moses with immediate reassurance. Moses will now see what God will do. Because Pharaoh rejected the Lord’s initial request, the Lord will now make the king an offer he cannot refuse. This would result in Pharaoh not just passively letting the Hebrews go, but forcefully driving them out. Moses is reminded of the Lord’s identity as the covenant God and of His powerful, timeless commitment to the Israelites. The Lord will neither forget His promises nor ignore His covenantal obligations (6:1-2).

The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, knew the Lord as the architect of the Abrahamic Covenant and guarantor of its promises. However, they had not lived long enough to witness the fulfillment of those promises, as Moses’ generation soon would. God was about to reveal much more of Himself and His power to the patriarchs’ descendants than they themselves had ever experienced. Moses was reassured of God’s compassion toward His people and once again reminded that God had not abandoned His covenantal promise to bring the Hebrews back into Canaan (6:3-5).

God continues with a sevenfold declaration of purpose, pledging Himself to seven related promises:

1. I will separate you from the burdens of Egypt.

2. I will deliver you from slavery.

3. I will redeem you with a magnificent display of power.

4. I will make you My people.

5. I will be your God—that is, the relationship between the Lord and His people will be formalized and take on a new and deeper dimension.

6. I will bring you into the Promised Land.

7. I will give you that land as an inheritance (6:6-8).

The divine promises found in this passage form the basis for the names of the four cups that are consumed during the contemporary Passover seder meal. Each cup is named after one particular promise or set of promises: the cup of sanctification, the cup of deliverance, the cup of redemption, and the cup of consummation. Each promise that God made to Moses found fulfillment in Israel’s history as expressed through the narrative of exodus, wandering, and conquest (Exodus through Joshua).

THE TEN PLAGUES UNLEASHED ON EGYPT

Exodus 7:1–12:36

WHEN MOSES AND AARON ask Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go, Pharaoh challenges the brothers to work a miracle. Throughout the narrative, the Lord repeatedly mentions the impact His actions and reactions will have on the Egyptians’ minds (Exodus 7:5,17; 8:10,22; 14:18). He is not unconcerned with establishing and maintaining His reputation among the Egyptians, and He freely demonstrates His power to make a lasting impression.

As Moses had done with his staff at Sinai, so now Aaron does with his own staff. He casts it down before Pharaoh, and it becomes a serpent. Pharaoh summons his wise men (sacred scribes educated in both human wisdom and supernatural secrets) and sorcerers (the priests of the Egyptian religious cults) who served as the magicians of Egypt. Through the exercise of demonic power, they are able to duplicate God’s sign and transform their rods into serpents as well. Jewish tradition records the names of two of the magicians who opposed Moses, Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8). However, in this initial supernatural power encounter between God and the Egyptian deities, the superiority of the Lord is demonstrated when Aaron’s rod swallows the rods belonging to the magicians and sorcerers (7:11-12).

The Lord could have delivered the Hebrews from Egypt with one powerful and dramatic act, but He chose to prolong the process through a series of ten plagues delivered over an approximate period of six to nine months, spanning the late summer or early fall of 1446 B.C. through the spring of 1445 B.C. With each plague the intensity of God’s judgment on Egypt escalates and there is a marked increase in the people’s suffering and the land’s devastation.

The ten Egyptian plagues serve four divine purposes. The first and most obvious purpose for the plagues is to compel Pharaoh to release the Hebrews from bondage. The second is to punish the Egyptians for their harsh treatment of the Hebrews. This purpose references the reciprocal conduct clause of the Abrahamic Covenant, which states that God will curse those who curse Israel (Genesis 12:3). The third is to demonstrate God’s sovereign power and absolute authority to both the Hebrews and the Egyptians (Exodus 9:14,16; 10:2).

The fourth reason is to demonstrate the Lord’s superiority over Egypt’s many false gods (Exodus 12:12; 18:11; Numbers 33:4). There were some 80 ancient Egyptian gods, each one the personification of some animal or object. In addition, Pharaoh himself was considered to be the incarnation of the god Horus, with the court magicians serving as his priests. Each of the ten plagues was designed to challenge a specific god or several gods within the Egyptian pantheon and ultimately, topple the credibility of Pharaoh’s own divinity as well.

THE TYPOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PASSOVER

Exodus 12:1-36,39,46-47

INTERRUPTING THE TENTH PLAGUE narrative are instructions for the observance of the Feast of Passover, the most frequently mentioned holiday in the Old and New Testaments (for example, Numbers 9:1-5; Joshua 5:10; 2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chronicles 30:1-27; 35:1-19; Ezra 6:19-22; Luke 2:41-43; John 2:13,23; 6:4; 11:55–12:1). This is the initial festival in Israel’s annual cycle of seven festivals (see Leviticus 23). The holiday serves as the catalyst for the inauguration of a new religious calendar system for the Hebrews. The Passover is observed in the first month of the new year. This month is called Aviv (Exodus 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:1), but following the Babylonian captivity, it became known as Nisan (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7). Passover is the annual celebration of new beginnings and a yearly reminder of the Hebrews’ new identity as a people and nation (12:1-2).

In the next section of narrative, Moses relays the divine instructions for Israel’s selection and slaying of the original Passover lambs. On the tenth day of Aviv, each family is to select and set aside a lamb for their household. In the event that a family is too small to consume an entire lamb, they are to join a neighboring family. Jewish tradition determined that ten people comprise the minimum number required to constitute a household large enough to consume a Passover lamb. The reason for this minimum is that the entire lamb had to be eaten the evening of the holiday.

The qualifying requirements for selecting a lamb were that it be either a sheep or a goat, that it be without blemish or physical imperfection of any sort, and that it be one year old. Each household’s lamb was to be set aside for four days of observation and maintenance of its perfect condition. It was then to be killed in the evening on the fourteenth day of Aviv. The text in 12:6 literally reads between the evenings and has been understood in Jewish tradition to mean either the time between sunset and full darkness (that is, twilight), or between three o’clock in the afternoon and sunset. The second rendering was accepted and applied to the Passover sacrifices during the temple era, with the lambs being slaughtered on the afternoon of the fourteenth of Nisan. The blood of the sacrificed lamb was to be stained onto the two side posts and lintel of the home in which the lamb would be eaten that evening. At the corner where the side posts met the lintel, the bloody stain would have formed a cross (12:3-7).

On the evening that the Lord came to destroy the firstborn males of all Egypt, both human and animal, He passed over the houses belonging to the Hebrews on account of the blood on the doorposts. The origin of the term Passover is a stark reminder that the Hebrews were not automatically exempt from the Lord’s judgment simply because of their racial status. Although the Lord had chosen to discriminate between the Egyptians and Hebrews from plagues four through nine, He changed that pattern here. From this point on in the collective life of Israel, Passover would serve as an annual object lesson and a lasting reminder of the necessity of blood to avert God’s wrath. And it was to be celebrated in perpetuity—that is, as long as the Torah was still in effect (12:13-14).

According to 12:22, hyssop, a small plant indigenous to the Middle East mentioned elsewhere in the Torah in relation to purification for sin (Leviticus 14:4,6,49,51-52; Numbers 19:6,18; Psalm 51:7; Hebrews 9:19), was to serve as the paintbrush for applying the lambs’ blood on the Hebrews’ doorposts and lintels. (In most Passover seders today, a sprig of parsley is used to symbolize the hyssop.) This application of blood created a zone of safety from God’s judgment, and no one was to leave the safe house that evening until God’s wrath had passed them over. God moved throughout Egypt that evening in the company of the angel of death, and He restrained the angel from entering any home covered by the blood of a Passover lamb (12:22-23).

Next God gives specific instructions for the eating of this sacred meal. Additional liturgical elements have accrued to the Passover seder throughout the centuries, but three indivisible elements are divinely commanded and non-negotiable, regardless of individual or regional tradition. The meal is to center on the eating of the lamb and be accompanied by both matzah (unleavened bread, Exodus 12:34,39) and some variety of bitter herb (such as horse-radish or endive) symbolizing the bitterness of the slavery experience. The animal is to be roasted with fire, not eaten raw or cooked by boiling, and must be roasted whole with its head, legs, and inner parts intact. And the lamb is to be eaten that same evening; there are to be no leftovers. Anything left over must be disposed of by fire by the following morning (12:8-10).

This meal is to be eaten with the Hebrews’ loins girded (that is, garment folds tucked away into the belt), sandals on, and staff in hand (verse 11). It is also to be eaten in haste. This is not a divine command for the Hebrews to rapidly wolf down their food. In haste simply means with an attitude of trembling expectancy or trepidation.

The term Passover is used in the Scripture to describe not only the festival but also the sacrificed lamb itself. In 12:11 it is also used to describe the actual event itself, the redemptive moment in history when the Lord executed judgment against all the gods of Egypt (12:12).

A second holiday was established in conjunction with Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is celebrated immediately following Passover for the duration of another seven days, commencing on Aviv (or Nisan) 15. Together, the combined observance of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts eight days. Although technically two separate holidays, the Bible usually links them together and often treats them as a single unit (for example, Mark 14:12; Acts 21:3-4).

The observance of this holiday is characterized by the strict removal of leaven out from the home. In the Bible, leaven (yeast) is frequently used as a powerful symbol of sin (see Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:8). With the removal of all leaven from the home and diet for the duration of the holiday, the home is symbolically purified and becomes a sin-free zone. This potent custom is still practiced today in the homes of observant Jewish families. In the event that anyone eats food containing leaven during the holiday, the penalty is quite severe—excommunication or even execution (shall be cut off from Israel—Exodus 12:15).

Both the first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are days of rest. No work is to be done. This seven-day holiday, like the one-day holiday of Passover, is to be observed by Israel in perpetuity as an enduring memorial of the day of Hebrew liberation from Egyptian bondage (12:15-20).

Both Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are to be observed annually, upon the Hebrews’ entrance into the land of covenant promise (12:24-25). Emphasis is placed on the older generations passing down the significance of the observances to the younger generations. For some 3500 years now, the events of Passover have been relayed, generation after generation, from Jewish parents to their children. The meal is an object lesson, a teaching tool for the purpose of recalling God’s mercy, and children have always played a central role in its implementation (12:26-28).

The historical explanation is provided (beginning in 12:34 and continuing in 12:39) for both the centrality of unleavened bread in the Passover ritual and the ensuing seven-day feast. Armies move on their stomachs, and the Hebrews, in their haste to leave (on what was the first day of the seven-day festival) were to grab