Exodus 23:15

15 You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you at [the] appointed time, the month of Abib, because in it you came out from Egypt, and {no one will} appear before me empty-handed.

Exodus 23:15 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:15

Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread
Which began on the fourteenth of the month Abib or Nisan, and lasted seven days, during which time no leavened bread was to be eaten by the Israelites, or to be in their houses, of which see the notes on:

(See Gill on Exodus 12:15) (See Gill on Exodus 12:18) (See Gill on Exodus 12:19) (See Gill on Exodus 12:10) (See Gill on Exodus 13:6) (See Gill on Exodus 13:7)

thou shall eat unleavened bread, seven days, as I commanded thee, in
the time appointed of the month Abib;
from the fourteenth of the month to the twenty first:

for in it thou camest out of Egypt;
in such haste that there was no time to leaven the dough in the troughs; in commemoration of which this law was given, and this feast was kept:

and none shall appear before me empty;
at this feast and the two following ones; for, besides the offerings and sacrifices appointed, at the feast of passover was brought a sheaf of the first fruits of the barley harvest; and at the feast of pentecost the two wave loaves or cakes of the first fruits of the wheat harvest; and at the feast of tabernacles they appeared with palm tree branches, and boughs of goodly trees, and poured out water fetched from Siloam, before the Lord: but to this appearance the Jewish doctors F2 say,

``there was no measure fixed; for everyone, if he would, might go up and appear, and go away: according to another interpretation, for the burnt offering of appearance, and the peace offerings of the Chagigah, which a man is bound to bring, as it is written, "ye shall not appear empty"; there is no measure from the law, as it is written, "a man according to the gift of his hand", ( Deuteronomy 16:17 ) , but the wise men fix a measure; to the burnt offering a meah of silver, to the Chagigah two pieces of silver:''

some understand this, not of their bringing anything with them to appear before the Lord with, but of what they should be blessed with there; even with the presence of God, and communion with him, and with the blessings of his grace and goodness; so that however they came, they should not remain, nor go away empty, and so have no cause to repent their appearance before him; but the former sense seems best.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 Bartenora in Misn. Peah, c. 1. sect. 1.

Exodus 23:15 In-Context

13 " 'And you will be attentive to all that I have said to you, and you will not {profess} the name of other gods; it will not be heard in your mouth.
14 " 'Three times in the year you will hold a festival for me
15 You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you at [the] appointed time, the month of Abib, because in it you came out from Egypt, and {no one will} appear before me empty-handed.
16 And [you will keep] the Feast of Harvest, [with] the firstfruits of your work, what you sow in the field. And [you will keep] the Feast of Harvest Gathering when the year goes out, when you gather your work from the field.
17 Three times in the year all your men will appear before the Lord Yahweh.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "they will not"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.