Exodus 13:9

9 "And 1it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead *, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with 2a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:9 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 13:9

And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a
memorial between thine eyes
These are not the words of God or of Moses to the children of Israel, but of an lsraelitish parent to his son, telling him that this feast of unleavened bread would serve the same purpose to refresh his memory with what God did for his people of old, as the tying of a thing on the hand, or placing it before the eye, is to a person to bring anything to his remembrance, to which the allusion is; the like figurative phrases may be observed in ( Proverbs 1:9 ) ( 3:3 ) , the Jews understand this literally, and hence the use of phylacteries among them, which they bind upon their left hand, and place upon their foreheads between their eyes, of which (See Gill on Matthew 23:5), but such a practice could be of no use to answer the end next mentioned: that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth;
for surely this cannot be taken literally, but the sense is, that being instructed by the observance of the above feast, and being taught the meaning of it, they might be able to speak of it to their children, and so transmit it from age to age to their latest posterity: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt;
(See Gill on Exodus 13:3).

Exodus 13:9 In-Context

7 "Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders.
8 "You shall tell your son on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'
9 "And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead , that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
10 "Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.
11 "Now when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,

Cross References 2

  • 1. Exodus 12:14; Exodus 13:16; Numbers 15:39; Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:18
  • 2. Exodus 13:3

Footnotes 2

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