Exodus 13:9

9 And it shall be as a sign in thine hand, and as a memorial before thine eyes, and that the law of the Lord be ever[more] in thy mouth; for in a strong hand the Lord led thee out of Egypt, and of the house of servage. (And it shall be like a sign on thy hand, and as a reminder before thine eyes, so that the Lord's law is always in thy mouth; for by a strong hand the Lord led thee out of Egypt, and out of the house of servitude, or of slavery.)

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 ye shall eat therf loaves seven days, nothing dighted with sourdough shall appear at thee, neither in all thy coasts. (ye shall eat unleavened bread for seven days, and nothing made with yeast shall be seen among thee, not in all thy land.)
8 And thou shalt tell to thy son in that day, and shalt say, This it is that the Lord did to me, when I went out of Egypt. (And thou shalt say to thy son on that day, This is done because of what the Lord did for me, when I went out of Egypt.)
9 And it shall be as a sign in thine hand, and as a memorial before thine eyes, and that the law of the Lord be ever[more] in thy mouth; for in a strong hand the Lord led thee out of Egypt, and of the house of servage. (And it shall be like a sign on thy hand, and as a reminder before thine eyes, so that the Lord's law is always in thy mouth; for by a strong hand the Lord led thee out of Egypt, and out of the house of servitude, or of slavery.)
10 Thou shalt keep such a worshipping in time ordained, from days into days, that is, from year into year. (Thou shalt keep this rite in the time ordained, that is, from year to year.)
11 And when the Lord hath brought thee into the land of Canaanites, as he swore to thee, and to thy fathers, and hath given it to thee,
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.