1Beachte den Ährenmonat , daß du das Pessah bereitest dem Ewigen, deinem Gott; denn im Ährenmonat hat dich der Ewige, dein Gott, aus Mizraim geführt, des Nachts. 2Und du sollst dem Ewigen, deinem Gott, das Pessah schlachten, Schafe und Rinder, an dem Ort, den der Ewige erwählen wird, seinen Namen daselbst wohnen zu lassen. 3Du darfst dabei nicht Gesäuertes essen; sieben Tage sollst du Ungesäuertes dabei essen, Brot des Elends; denn in Hast bist du aus dem Land Mizraim gezogen - auf daß du des Tags gedenkst, an dem du aus dem Land Mizraim zogst, alle Tage deines Lebens. 4Und es soll bei dir kein Sauerteig gesehen werden in deinem ganzen Gebiet, sieben Tage, und es soll nichts von dem Fleisch, das du am Abend, am ersten Tag, schlachtest, über Nacht bleiben bis zum Morgen. 5Du kannst das Pessah nicht in einem deiner Tore schlachten, die der Ewige, dein Gott, dir gibt, 6sondern an dem Ort, den der Ewige, dein Gott, erwählen wird, seinen Namen daselbst wohnen zu lassen, dort sollst du das Pessah schlachten, am Abend, wenn die Sonne untergeht, um die Zeit, da du aus Mizraim zogst. 7Und du sollst es kochen und essen an dem Ort, den der Ewige, dein Gott, erwählen wird; am Morgen kannst du dich dann wenden und heimgehn zu deinen Zelten. 8Sechs Tage sollst du Ungesäuertes essen, und am siebten Tag ist eine Festversammlung dem Ewigen, deinem Gott, da sollst du keine Arbeit verrichten. 9Sieben Wochen sollst du dir zählen; vom «Anheben der Sichel am Getreidestand» sollst du beginnen, sieben Wochen zu zählen. 10Dann sollst du das Wochenfest feiern dem Ewigen, deinem Gott, gemäß der Edelmutsgabe deiner Hand, die du geben magst, je nachdem der Ewige, dein Gott, dich segnen wird. 11Und du sollst dich freuen vor dem Ewigen, deinem Gott, du und dein Sohn und deine Tochter, dein Knecht und deine Magd, sowie der Lewite, der in deinen Toren ist, und der Fremdling, die Waise und die Witwe, die in deiner Mitte wohnen, an dem Ort, den der Ewige, dein Gott, erwählen wird, seinen Namen daselbst wohnen zu lassen. 12Und du sollst gedenken, daß du Knecht warst in Mizraim; darum sollst du diese Gesetze wahren und üben. 13Das Fest der Hütten sollst du dir begehen sieben Tage, wenn du hereinholst von deiner Tenne und deiner Kelter. 14Und du sollst dich deines Festes freuen, du und dein Sohn und deine Tochter, dein Knecht und deine Magd, sowie der Lewite und der Fremdling, die Waise und die Witwe, die in deinen Toren sind. 15Sieben Tage sollst du feiern dem Ewigen, deinem Gott, an dem Ort, den der Ewige erwählen wird; denn der Ewige, dein Gott, wird dich segnen in all deinem Ertrag und in allem Tun deiner Hände, daß du ganz in Freuden sein sollst. 16Dreimal im Jahr soll all dein Mannsvolk erscheinen vor dem Angesicht des Ewigen, deines Gottes, an dem Ort, den er erwählen wird: Am Fest der ungesäuerten Brote, am Wochenfest und am Fest der Hütten. Man soll aber nicht leer erscheinen vor dem Angesicht des Ewigen; 17ein jeder nach dem, was er zu geben vermag, nach dem Segen des Ewigen, deines Gottes, den er dir gegeben. 18Richter und Amtmänner sollst du dir einsetzen in allen deinen Toren, die der Ewige, dein Gott, dir gibt, nach deinen Stämmen, und sie sollen das Volk richten in gerechtem Gericht. 19Du sollst das Recht nicht beugen, du sollst kein Ansehen kennen und keine Bestechung annehmen; denn die Bestechung blendet die Augen der Weisen und verkehrt die Worte der Gerechten. 20Gerechtigkeit, Gerechtigkeit, ihr sollst du nachgehn, auf daß du lebst und das Land in Besitz nimmst, das der Ewige, dein Gott, dir gibt. 21Du sollst dir keinen Weihbaum, keinerlei Baum pflanzen neben dem Altar des Ewigen, deines Gottes, den du dir errichten wirst; 22und du sollst dir kein Standmal aufrichten, was der Ewige, dein Gott, haßt.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER. (Deu. 16:1-22)
Observe the month of Abib--or first-fruits. It comprehended the latter part of our March and the beginning of April. Green ears of the barley, which were then full, were offered as first-fruits, on the second day of the passover.
for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee out of Egypt by night--This statement is apparently at variance with the prohibition (
Exod 12:22) as well as with the recorded fact that their departure took place in the morning (
Exod 13:3;
Num 33:3). But it is susceptible of easy reconciliation. Pharaoh's permission, the first step of emancipation, was extorted during the night, the preparations for departure commenced, the rendezvous at Rameses made, and the march entered on in the morning.
2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover--not the paschal lamb, which was strictly and properly the passover. The whole solemnity is here meant, as is evident from the mention of the additional victims that required to be offered on the subsequent days of the feast (
Num 28:18-
Num 28:19;
2Chr 35:8-9), and from the allusion to the continued use of unleavened bread for seven days, whereas the passover itself was to be eaten at once. The words before us are equivalent to "thou shalt observe the feast of the passover."
3 seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread--a sour, unpleasant, unwholesome kind of bread, designed to be a memorial of their Egyptian misery and of the haste with which they departed, not allowing time for their morning dough to ferment.
5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates--The passover was to be observed nowhere but in the court of the tabernacle or temple, as it was not a religious feast or sacramental occasion merely, but an actual sacrifice (
Exod 12:27;
Exod 23:18;
Exod 34:25). The blood had to be sprinkled on the altar and in the place where the true Passover was afterwards to be sacrificed for us "at even, at the going down of the sun"--literally, "between the evenings."
6 at the season--that is, the month and day, though not perhaps the precise hour. The immense number of victims that had to be immolated on the eve of the passover--that is, within a space of four hours--has appeared to some writers a great difficulty. But the large number of officiating priests, their dexterity and skill in the preparation of the sacrifices, the wide range of the court, the extraordinary dimensions of the altar of burnt offering and orderly method of conducting the solemn ceremonial, rendered it easy to do that in a few hours, which would otherwise have required as many days.
7 thou shalt roast and eat it--(See on
Exod 12:8; compare
2Chr 35:13).
thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents--The sense of this passage, on the first glance of the words, seems to point to the morning after the first day--the passover eve. Perhaps, however, the divinely appointed duration of this feast, the solemn character and important object, the journey of the people from the distant parts of the land to be present, and the recorded examples of their continuing all the time (
2Chr 30:21 2Chr 35:17), (though these may be considered extraordinary, and therefore exceptional occasions), may warrant the conclusion that the leave given to the people to return home was to be on the morning after the completion of the seven days.
9 Seven weeks shalt thou number--The feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS: the feast of pentecost (see on
Lev 23:10; also see
Exod 34:22;
Acts 2:1). As on the second day of the passover a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was offered, so on the second day of pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (
Exod 23:16;
Num 28:26), a freewill, spontaneous tribute of gratitude to God for His temporal bounties. This feast was instituted in memory of the giving of the law, that spiritual food by which man's soul is nourished (
Deut 8:3).
13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days--(See on
Exod 23:14;
Lev 23:34;
Num 29:12). Various conjectures have been formed to account for the appointment of this feast at the conclusion of the whole harvest. Some imagine that it was designed to remind the Israelites of the time when they had no cornfields to reap but were daily supplied with manna; others think that it suited the convenience of the people better than any other period of the year for dwelling in booths; others that it was the time of Moses' second descent from the mount; while a fourth class are of opinion that this feast was fixed to the time of the year when the Word was made flesh and dwelt--literally, "tabernacled"--among us (
John 1:14), Christ being actually born at that season.
15 in all the works of thine hands . . . rejoice--that is, praising God with a warm and elevated heart. According to Jewish tradition, no marriages were allowed to be celebrated during these great festivals, that no personal or private rejoicings might be mingled with the demonstrations of public and national gladness.
16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God--No command was laid on women to undertake the journeys, partly from regard to the natural weakness of their sex, and partly to their domestic cares.
18 Judges and officers shalt thou make--These last meant heralds or bailiffs, employed in executing the sentence of their superiors.
in all thy gates--The gate was the place of public resort among the Israelites and other Eastern people, where business was transacted and causes decided. The Ottoman Porte derived its name from the administration of justice at its gates.
21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove--A grove has in Scripture a variety of significations--a group of overshadowing trees, or a grove adorned with altars dedicated to a particular deity, or a wooden image in a grove (
Judg 6:25;
2Kgs 23:4-6). They might be placed near the earthen and temporary altars erected in the wilderness, but they could not exist either at the tabernacle or temples. They were places, which, with their usual accompaniments, presented strong allurements to idolatry; and therefore the Israelites were prohibited from planting them.
22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image--erroneously rendered so for "pillar"; pillars of various kinds, and materials of wood or stone were erected in the neighborhood of altars. Sometimes they were conical or oblong, at other times they served as pedestals for the statues of idols. A superstitious reverence was attached to them, and hence they were forbidden.
