O.T. Passover--Beginning or End of 14th?

by Garry D. Pifer

Mr. Armstrong understood and taught the first Passover recorded in Exodus 12 was observed at the evening beginning the fourteenth of the first month, Abib or Nisan.  In the May 1, 1990, PGR, Mr. Tkach explained the Passover lambs were killed as the fourteenth was ending and that the roast lamb was eaten on the fifteenth.  Which is true?

God commanded Moses to instruct the congregation of Israel regarding the Passover.  Exodus 12:3,  “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying; ‘On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.’” Then dropping down to verse 6, ‘Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.  Then the whole assembly of the Congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.’  (NKJV) The KJV renders this, “And the whole assembly of the Congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”  (Margin–between the two evenings)

The question we have to answer is, “Which evening, at the beginning or the ending of the fourteenth?”  The Hebrew word translated “evening” or “twilight” is ereb, #6153 in Strong’s Hebrew dictionary.  It is defined, “from #6150 dusk + day, even (-ing, tide) night.” #6150 is arab, “a prim. root (rather identical with #6148 through the idea of covering with a texture) to grow dusky at sundown; be darkened, (toward) evening.”

Mr. Armstrong and the Church taught that the “evening” in question was at the beginning of the day, the beginning of the fourteenth.  In the article, “The Jews Don’t Observe Passover” by Ernest L. Martin, which appeared in the April 1963 Good News, page 11, Leviticus 23:32 is quoted showing, as we understand, that the day begins at sunset and runs until the next sunset.  “—from even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.”  This was our basis for saying Passover was at the beginning of the fourteenth.  However, if we read the rest of Lev. 23:32 regarding the Day of Atonement it shows something else we need to consider.  Notice!  “It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.”  Did you catch that?  It says “—in the ninth day of the month at even—.”  This was the END of the day because the Day of Atonement is the TENTH day of the month (see verse 27).  So, here we see the expression, using the same Hebrew word as in Ex. 12:6, means at the end of the day.

Let’s go back to Ex. 12 and notice a few additional verses.  Verse 15 says, “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread;” Leviticus 23:6 clearly tells us which seven days, “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.”  I call your attention to verse 18 of Ex. 12, “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.”  To have these seven days begin on the fifteenth and run seven days this would have to mean from the end of the fourteenth until the end of the twenty first.

Now to throw more confusion into the “murky waters” let’s look at Deuteronomy 16.  Verse 1, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover—.”  Verse 3, “Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it, seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith—.”  Verse 4, “And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coasts seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.”  Verse 6, “But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.”  Verse 8, “Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God; thou shalt do no work therein.”  Did you catch that?  Verse 4 says “which thou sacrificedst the first day at even” which indicates at the beginning of the day, the first day.  Which first day?  The first day of the seven days of unleavened bread.  So, the term “at even”here indicated the beginning of the day but it also indicates the lamb sacrificed at sunset ending the fourteenth and at the beginning of the fifteenth.

Let’s return again to Exodus 12 and notice some more details we are given regarding this first Passover.  Verse 7 instructs the Israelites regarding putting the blood on the door posts.  Verse 8 tells them they were to eat the flesh “that night, roast with fire and unleavened bread—.”  Verse 10 gave instructions regarding the burning of any leftovers the next morning.

Now verse 11 is interesting.  “And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in hast; it is the Lord’s Passover.”  In the NKJV “with your loins girded” is rendered “with a belt on your waist.” And a marginal note is given, “made ready to travel.”  The Living Bible, a paraphrase, has it this way, “Eat it with your traveling clothes on, prepare for a long journey, wearing your walking shoes and carrying your walking sticks in your hands; eat it hurriedly.  This observance shall be called the Lord’s Passover.”  It appears they were to be ready to leave as soon as the word came down from Moses and Aaron.

Verse 13 clearly shows that it was the blood of the sacrificed lamb that saved them from having their firstborn killed as the death angel passed over.  Verse 14 says, “And this day shall be unto you for a memorial;—.”  Verse 15, “Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread—.”  Verse 16, “And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you—.” 

Verse 17 has an interesting expression in it.  “And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.”  What does this expression “ in the selfsame day” mean?  The NKJV renders this “—on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt.”  The same expression is used in verses 41 and 51.  In a recap at the end of chapter 12 we begin with verse 43.  “And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, this is the ordinance of the Passover—.”  Then they are told no stranger is to eat of it, the servant must be circumcised to eat of it.  It was to be eaten in “one house,” verse 46, and no bones were to be broken.  Verse 47 says “all the congregation of Israel shall keep it.”  Verse 48 repeats that “no uncircumcised  person shall eat of thereof.”  Now, in verse 50, we read, “Thus did all the children of Israel, as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.”  There appears to be a direct reference to the preceding verses regarding the specifics of the Passover.  Now, we come to verse 51.  “And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.”  The NKJV says, verse 51, “So it came to pass, on that very same day, that the Lord brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies.”  This statement “on the selfsame day” strongly suggests that the Israelites came out of Egypt on the same day they ate the Passover.

But, doesn’t the Bible say they left Egypt the next night?  Let’s look at some scriptures which we have understood to say that.  Numbers 33:3 “And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with and high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.”  Does “on the morrow” mean 24 hours later?  We have assumed so.  The Hebrew word translated “morrow” is mochorath, or mochoratham, #4283 in Strong’s.  Strong’s defines this word, “Fem. from the same as 4279; the morrow or (adv.) tomorrow: –morrow, next day.”  Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, article TOMORROW, says, “Mahorat (4283) the next day.  Closely related to the noun mahar is this adverb, which occurs about 32 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.  About 28 times mahorat is joined to the preposition min to mean ‘on the next day.’  This is the form and meaning in its first biblical appearance.  (Gen. 19:34).”  Genesis 19:33-34 is the story of Lot’s daughters getting him drunk and sleeping with him.  Verse 33, “And they made their father drink wine that night–“. And then verse 34, “And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father—.”   The NKJV, “It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Indeed I lay with my father last night—.”   Clearly, the expression “on the morrow” can indicate, as we see here in Genesis 19, the very next morning following the event talked about.

Numbers 33:3 would seem to clearly say the Israelites departed the very next morning after eating the Passover.  It also tells us specifically that is was the fifteenth.  This would necessitate the Passover lamb being killed at the end of the fourteenth, not at the beginning.

Another scripture we must look at is Deuteronomy 16:1.  “Observe the month Abib, and keep the Passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.”  Wouldn’t this have to be after sunset 24 hours later as we taught and believed?  We taught that the Passover was observed at the beginning of the fourteenth and 24 hours later at the beginning of the fifteenth the Israelites were brought out by night.  Let’s consider the word “night.”  The Hebrew word translated night is laylah (#3915 in Strong’s).  Vine’s defines it thus, “NIGHT, laylah (3915) ‘night’.  Cognates of this noun appear in Ugaritic, Moabite, Akkadian, Aramaic, Syrian, Arabic, and Ethiopic.  The word appears about 227 times in biblical Hebrew in all periods.  Laylah means ‘night’, the period of time during which it is dark; ‘And god called the light day, and the darkness he called night’ (Gen. 1:5 –the first biblical appearance).  In Exodus 13:21 and similar passages the word means ‘by night’ or ‘during the night’—.”  Later Vine’s continues, “During Old Testament times the ‘night’ was divided into three watches; (1) from sunset to 10 PM (Lam. 2:19) (2) from 10 PM to 2 AM (Judges 7:19), and (3) from 2 AM to sunrise (Exod. 14:24).”  The word night doesn’t necessitate the Israelites departing as soon as it got dark but can mean while still dark toward sunrise.

This of course brings to mind the instruction given to the Israelites in Exodus 12:22, “—and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until morning.”  We have assumed and taken for granted this would have to have been after sunrise.  But, does it mean that?  Let me quote from Vine’s article “MORNING.”  “MORNING.  A noun.  Boqer (1242) ‘morning.’  This word occurs about 214 times and in every period of biblical Hebrew.  This word means ‘morning’ though not the period of time before noon.  Rather it indicates the point of time at which night is changing to day or that time at the end of the night.”  He then quotes Ex. 10:3 regarding Moses streching his rod over the land of Egypt, “and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.”  Continuing, “Boqer can represent the time just before the rising of the sun.”  Dropping down, “In the ancient Near East the night was divided into three watches.  The last period of the night was called the morning watch (Exod. 14:24).  It lasted from 2:00 AM until sunrise and is such a context the word indicates this period of time.”  Later in the article, “Thus, Moses ‘rose up early in the morning’ and went up to Mount Sinai; he arose before daybreak so he could appear before God in the ‘morning’ as God had commanded (Exod. 34:2, 4).”  Near the end of this article, “Boqer can mean ‘morrow’ or ‘next day.’  This meaning first appears in Exod. 12:10, where God tells Israel not to leave any of the Passover ‘Until the morning, and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire (cf. Lev. 22:30).”

With the explanations of “night” and “morning” we see that the Israelites could have departed after 2:00 AM while it was still night but when it would have been morning or in the morning watch.  Was this logistically possible?  We have understood that the Israelites spent the “day” portion of the fourteenth “spoiling” the Egyptians.  Did they, or is this an assumption?

Exodus 12:35-36.  “And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required.  And they spoiled the Egyptians.”  The question is when?  The NKJV says, verse 35, “Now the children of Israel HAD done according to the word of Moses, and they HAD asked—.”  (Emphasis mine.)  And verse 36, “And the Lord HAD given the people favor—.”  So, was it on the day portion of the fourteenth, as we have taught or could this have been at an earlier time?  Notice Exodus 3:21-22, “And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be when you go, that you shall not go empty handed.  But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters.  So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”  (NKJV)

Also, the command to the Israelites had been repeated in chapter 11.  Let’s read verse 2.  “Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.”  Verse 3 continues, “And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians.  Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.”  This instruction was again given prior to the events of that night, i.e. the lamb being killed and the blood being put on the doorposts, the death angel passing over, etc., as the rest of the chapter shows.

Clearly the “words of Moses” referred to in Exodus 12:35 had been given much earlier.  When it says in the KJV, “And the children of Israel did—.”  it can indicate past tense.  The NKJV, as quoted earlier, says “had done.”  The New American Standard renders it “had done.”  The RSV says “had also done.”  Moffatt says, “had also done” and “they had asked.”

The following chronology fits the scriptures.  On the tenth day a lamb was selected and penned up.  It was killed at the end of the fourteenth, at twilight, at even.  The blood was put on the door posts.  The lamb was roasted, taking several hours.  With anticipation, nervousness, apprehension and some fear the Israelites waited and watched, as verse 42 says in Exodus 12, “It is a night to be much observed.”  The NKJV says, “It is a night of solemn observance.”  The marginal rendering is “night of vigil.”  They had their traveling clothes on and hastily ate the meat when it was finally cooked, after a few hours.  At midnight the death angel passed over sparing the Israelite firstborn because of the blood on the doorposts.  Pharoah called for Moses and Aaron “by night,” verse 31, and told them to go.  Verse 31 says the Egyptians “were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste—.”  The Israelites took their meager possessions, the items they had plundered from the Egyptians, and their flocks and herds (which would have been penned up and were also protected by the blood on the doorposts) and departed “by night” during the “morning watch.”

Another thing we must look at is the “killing of the lambs.”  In Exodus 12:6 it says, “—and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”  The indication is that each family or group (as two households could go together, verse 4) was responsible for killing the lamb they were to roast and for putting the blood on the doorposts.  Later, however, we find that the priests and Levites are the ones to kill the passover.  Notice Ezra 6:19-20, “And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.  For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.”  In 2 Chronicles 30 we find at the time of Hezekiah the passover couldn’t be kept in the first month because the priests “had not sanctified themselves sufficiently,” verse 3.  Consequently they kept the passover in the second month.  Verse 17, “For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had charge of the killing of the passovers for everyone that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord.”  In 2 Chronicles 35 “Josiah kept a passover unto the Lord,” verse 1.  Verse 2 says, “And he set the priests in their charges—.”  In verse 3-6 he gave instructions to the Levites regarding the preparations and in verse 6 he says, “So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”  Verse 11, “And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.”  Verse 13 say they roasted the passover and divided among all the people.  Verse 14 indicates that in addition to preparing the passover they also had the burnt offerings to take care of and they “were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night.”

With the priest and the Levites killing the lambs it would have become impossible for all the lambs to have been killed “at even,” or twilight, or “between the two evenings.”  Consequently, we find they began earlier in the afternoon, beginning as early as 3:00 PM.  The Jewish historian Josephus tells us what was occurring, “So these high priest, upon the coming of that feast which is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth hour till the eleventh,—.”  (Wars of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter 9, Section 3) If the Passover was observed at the beginning of the fourteenth the lambs would have been being killed on the thirteenth.  The command in Exodus 12:6 was to keep the lambs up until the fourteenth and it was killed at twilight.  In order for all the lambs to be killed on the fourteenth and the priest and Levites to begin as early as 3:00 PM this has to be toward the end of the fourteenth.