Exodus 12:5

5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

Exodus 12:5 in Other Translations

KJV
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
ESV
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,
NLT
5 The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.
MSG
5 Your lamb must be a healthy male, one year old; you can select it from either the sheep or the goats.
CSB
5 You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats.

Exodus 12:5 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 12:5

Your lamb shall be without blemish
Without any spot or defect in it. Maimonides F8 reckons no less than fifty blemishes in a creature, anyone of which makes it unfit for sacrifice, see ( Leviticus 21:21-24 ) . This lamb was a type of Christ, who is therefore said to be our passover sacrificed for us, ( 1 Corinthians 5:7 ) comparable to a lamb for his innocence and harmlessness, for his meekness, humility, and patience, for usefulness both for food and raiment, as well as for being fit for sacrifice; and who is a lamb without spot and blemish, either of original sin, or actual transgression, holy in his nature, harmless in his life: a male of the first year;
anyone within that time, but not beyond it; denoting the strength and vigour of Christ, in the flower of his age, his short continuance among men, and his being tender and savoury food for the faith of his people: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats;
it might be either a lamb, or a kid of the goats; for the most part, or generally, it was a lamb that was taken; so the Jewish canon runs F9,

``he that says to his servant, go and slay for me the passover, if he slays a kid he may eat it; if he slays a lamb he may eat of it; if he slays a kid and a lamb, he may eat of the first.''
The goat being of an ill smell may denote Christ being made sin, and a sin offering for his people; and the taking of a lamb from these may signify the choice of Christ from among the people in the council and covenant of God; the preordination of him to be the lamb slain from the foundation of the world; the preservation of him from the infection of sin in his incarnation, and the separation of him from sinners in his conversation.
FOOTNOTES:

F8 Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 1.
F9 Misn. Pesach. c. 8. sect. 2.

Exodus 12:5 In-Context

3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.
4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.
5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

Cross References 1

  • 1. Exodus 29:1; Leviticus 1:3; Leviticus 3:1; Leviticus 4:3; Leviticus 22:18-21; 2Leviticus 3:12; Numbers 6:14; Numbers 15:8; Numbers 28:3; Deuteronomy 15:21; Deuteronomy 17:1; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:19
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