Exodus 12:20

20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened, but in every habitation of your ye shall eat unleavened bread.

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.

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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 Beginning the fourteenth day of the first month, ye shall eat unleavened bread from evening, till the twenty-first day of the month, till evening.

19 Seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses; whosoever shall eat anything leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, both among the occupiers of the land and the original inhabitants.

20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened, but in every habitation of your ye shall eat unleavened bread.

21 And Moses called all the elders of the children of Israel, and said to them, Go away and take to yourselves a lamb according to your kindreds, and slay the passover.

22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and having dipped it into some of the blood that is by the door, ye shall touch the lintel, and upon both door-posts, even of the blood which is by the door; but ye shall not go out every one from the door of his house till the morning.