Exodus 12:7

7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.

Exodus 12:7 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 12:7

And they shall take of the blood
Of the lamb, being received into a basin, ( Exodus 12:22 ) :

and strike it on the two side posts;
with a bunch of hyssop dipped into it:

and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it;
but not on the posts of those houses, the inhabitants of which joined with their neighbours in eating it; though Levi Ben Gersom thinks they were sprinkled as the rest; but to what purpose, when there were no Israelites, and no firstborn in them? the two side posts were the posts of a folding door, on which the two folds were hung, and the upper doorpost is what is afterwards called the lintel, ( Exodus 12:23 ) and has its name in Hebrew from looking out; for, as Aben Ezra says, there was a window over the door, as is the custom throughout the whole country of the Ishmaelites or Arabians; and so Schindler says F15, which perhaps he took from him, that the word signifies either a lintel, or a little window over the door, through which it might be seen who called or knocked at the door; and adds, in Egypt, as now in Arabia, there were windows over the doors of houses. The sprinkling the blood of the paschal lamb was typical of the sprinkling of the blood of Christ upon the hearts and consciences of his people, and of their peace, safety, and security by it from the wrath of God, and the vengeance of divine justice; of the further use of this rite, see ( Exodus 12:22 Exodus 12:23 ) , Aben Ezra mentions it as the opinion of some, that the sprinkling of the blood on those places was to show that they slew the abomination of the Egyptians openly; but he himself gives a much better reason for this rite, namely, that it was to be a propitiation for everyone that ate in the house, and was a sign to the destroyer, that he might look upon it in like manner, as it is said ( Ezekiel 9:4 ) , "set a mark" this seems to be peculiar to the passover in Egypt, and was not used in later times.


FOOTNOTES:

F15 Lex. Pentaglott. col. 1938.

Exodus 12:7 In-Context

5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
6 “Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.
7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal.
8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.
9 Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire.
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