Exodus 12:20

20 Ye shall not eat anything made with sourdough, and ye shall eat therf bread in all your dwelling places.

Exodus 12:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 12:20

Ye shall eat nothing leavened
Bread or anything else that had any leaven in it: in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread,
that is, if they eat any bread at all, it must be such; otherwise they might eat cakes of almonds or of eggs mixed with sugar, provided there was no leaven used, and this the Jews call the rich unleavened bread F16: this is repeated over and over, that they might be the more careful of observing this precept; but as this was limited for a certain time, it plainly appears to be a mistake of Tacitus F17 the Roman historian, who represents unleavened bread as the bread the Jews eat of in common.


FOOTNOTES:

F16 See Leo Modena's History of the Rites of the Jews, par. 3. c. 3. sect. 5.
F17 Hist. l. 5. c. 4.

Exodus 12:20 In-Context

18 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, at eventide, ye shall eat therf bread, till to the one and twentieth day of the same month at eventide. (In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, from the evening on, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the same month, in the evening.)
19 In seven days nothing dighted with sourdough shall be found in your houses; if any eateth anything dighted with sourdough, his soul shall perish from the company of Israel, as well of comelings, that be heathen men converted to the faith of Jews, as of them that be born in the land. (Yea, for seven days nothing made with yeast shall be found in your houses; if anyone eateth anything made with yeast, they shall perish, or be cut off, from the congregation of Israel, yea, this is for both newcomers, that is, the heathen who be converted to the Jewish faith, as well as for those who be born in the land.)
20 Ye shall not eat anything made with sourdough, and ye shall eat therf bread in all your dwelling places.
21 Forsooth Moses called all the elder men of the sons of Israel, and said to them, Go ye, and take ye a beast by your families, and offer ye pask; (And so Moses called all the elders of the Israelites, and said to them, Go ye, and get ye a beast for your families, and offer ye the Passover;)
22 and dip ye a bundle of hyssop, in the blood which is in the threshold, either in a vessel beside the threshold, and sprinkle ye thereof on the lintel, and ever either (door-)post; none of you shall go out at the door of his house till the morrowtide. (and dip ye a bundle of hyssop in the blood which is on the threshold, or in a vessel beside the threshold, and sprinkle some of it on the lintel, and on both door-posts; and then none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.