Deuteronomy 16:2

2 You are to sacrifice the Pesach offering from flock and herd to ADONAI your God in the place where ADONAI will choose to have his name live.

Deuteronomy 16:2 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 16:2

Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy
God
In the month Abib, and in the night of that month they came out of Egypt, even on the fourteenth day of it at night, between the two evenings, as the Targum of Jonathan; which was a lamb, and typical of Christ, the passover sacrificed for us, ( 1 Corinthians 5:7 )

of the flock and the herd;
that is, you shall sacrifice also the offerings which were offered throughout the seven days of unleavened bread, and these were both sheep and oxen, ( Numbers 28:19 Numbers 28:24 ) and are expressly called passover offerings and peace offerings, ( 2 Chronicles 30:21-24 ) ( 2 Chronicles 35:7 2 Chronicles 35:8 2 Chronicles 35:9 ) , for what was strictly and properly the passover was only of the flock, a lamb, and not of the herd, or a bullock; though Aben Ezra says there were some that thought that in Egypt it was only a lamb or a kid, but now it might be a bullock; which he observes is not right. It may be indeed that the word "passover" here is a general term, comprehending the whole passover solemnity, and all the sacrifices of the seven days: the Jews commonly understand this clause of the Chagigah, or feast of the fifteenth day, the first day of unleavened bread, and so the Targum of Jonathan,

``and the sheep and the oxen on the morrow;''

some distinguish them thus, the flock for the duty of the passover, the herd for the peace offerings, so Aben Ezra; or as Jarchi interprets it, the flock of the lambs and kids, and the herd for the Chagigah or festival; in the Talmud ^F13; the flock, this is the passover; the herd, this is the Chagigah, so Abendana: there was a Chagigah of the fourteenth day, which was brought with the lamb and eaten first, when the company was too large for the lamb, that their might eat with satiety ^F14; but this was not reckoned obligatory upon them ^F15, but they were bound to bring their Chagigah on the fifteenth day:

in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name
there;
that is, at Jerusalem, as the event has shown; hence we read of the parents of our Lord going up to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover, ( Luke 2:41 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 70. 2.
F14 Jarchi in loc. Maimon. Hilchot Corban Pesach, c. 8. l. 3.
F15 T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 71. 1, 2. Maimon. ut supra, (^F14) c. 10. sect. 13. Aruch in voc. (gx) , fol. 58. 1.

Deuteronomy 16:2 In-Context

1 "Observe the month of Aviv, and keep Pesach to ADONAI your God; for in the month of Aviv, ADONAI your God brought you out of Egypt at night.

2 You are to sacrifice the Pesach offering from flock and herd to ADONAI your God in the place where ADONAI will choose to have his name live.

3 You are not to eat any hametz with it; for seven days you are to eat with it matzah, the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste. Thus you will remember the day you left the land of Egypt as long as you live.

4 No leaven is to be seen with you anywhere in your territory for seven days. None of the meat from your sacrifice on the first day in the evening is to remain all night until morning.

5 You may not sacrifice the Pesach offering in just any of the towns that ADONAI your God is giving you;