Exodus 13:16

16 And it shall be for a token upon thy hand, and for a memorial before thine eyes: That the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.

Exodus 13:16 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 13:16

And it shall be for a token upon thine head, and for frontlets
between thine eyes
These laws observed concerning the setting apart the firstlings of their beasts, the redemption of the firstborn of unclean ones, and of the firstborn of men, will bring the reason of it, the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, and the preservation of the firstborn of Israel, as fresh to remembrance as any token upon the hand, put there to bring things to mind; and it will be as easily and as clearly discerned as anything upon a man's forehead may be seen by another: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt:
which is often mentioned, that it might be observed; it being the signs and wonders which the omnipotent hand of God wrought, especially the last, which worked upon Pharaoh, to let the people of Israel go; and their posterity, in all succeeding ages, would speak of this affair as if personally concerned in it, they being then in the loins of their ancestors, and represented by them, as well as they reaped and enjoyed all the benefits of that wonderful deliverance, the possession of the land of Canaan, and the blessings of it, as well as many other privileges both of a civil and religious kind. And so Maimonides F11 says,

``in every age a man is obliged to consider himself as if he in himself now went out of the bondage of Egypt, as it is said, "and he brought us forth from thence"''

FOOTNOTES:

F11 Hilchot Chametz Umetzah, c. 7. sect. 6.

Exodus 13:16 In-Context

14 And it shall be when thy son asks thee in time to come, saying, What is this? Thou shalt say unto him, With a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery;
15 and it came to pass when Pharaoh was hardening himself to not let us go that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt from the human firstborn to the firstborn of the beast; therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD every male that opens the womb, and I ransom every firstborn of my sons.
16 And it shall be for a token upon thy hand, and for a memorial before thine eyes: That the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.
17 And it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go that God did not lead them through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt;
18 but God led the people round about through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea. And the sons of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010