Exodus 12:11

11 Here is how you must eat it: dressed for travel,^[a] your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord's Passover.

Exodus 12:11 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 12:11

And thus shall ye eat it
After the following manner, in the habit and posture described: the Targum of Jonathan adds,

``at this time, and not in ages following;''

for these rites were peculiar to the passover in Egypt, and not to be observed in later times:

with your loins girded;
that is, with their garments girt about their loins, for the better convenience in travelling; for in those countries they wore long loose garments, which reached to their feet, and unless girt up, were a great hinderance in walking; and may denote the saints being girt with the girdle of truth, and their readiness and fitness to perform every good work:

your shoes on your feet;
which used to be put off at feasts, in order to have their feet washed, which was frequently done at such times, as we learn from many instances in Scripture, which could not be done unless the shoes were off, ( Genesis 18:4 Genesis 18:5 ) ( Luke 7:44 ) ( John 13:5 ) , besides, it is highly probable that the Israelites in Egypt did not wear shoes in common, it being a hot country, and they in a state of poverty and bondage; but now being about to depart the land, and to take a journey, they are ordered to have their shoes on, to be ready for it: and was a token of their deliverance and freedom, and joy on that occasion; and may, in an evangelic sense, denote the feet of the saints being shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, ( Ephesians 6:15 ) ,

and your staff in your hand;
such as travellers make use of to support and assist, protect and defend them, in their journey, and may be expressive of faith in the word and promises of God, which are the support of his people in their passage through this world, ( Psalms 23:4 )

and ye shall eat it in haste;
because upon slaying the firstborn the Egyptians would be urgent upon them to depart immediately. Aquila renders it, "with fear", and so the Targum of Jonathan; but the other sense suits best with the circumstances of the Israelites:

it [is] the Lord's passover;
which he has commanded, and is a sign and token of his passing over the houses of the Israelites, when he destroyed the firstborn in all the houses of the Egyptians, and which is explained in the following verse, and the reason of its name given; the act of passing was his, the ordinance was appointed by him, and it was typical of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true passover, ( 1 Corinthians 5:7 ) .

Exodus 12:11 In-Context

9 Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire-its head as well as its legs and inner organs.

10 Do not let any of it remain until morning; you must burn up any part of it that does remain until morning.

11 Here is how you must eat it: dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord's Passover.

12 "I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn [male] in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.

13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy [you] when I strike the land of Egypt.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit it: with your loins girded