What is Passover?
The Passover celebration is perhaps the oldest observed feast. Passover, the Jewish festival, celebrates the Israelites’ flight from slavery in Egypt in about 1200 BC (Exodus 12). It reminds the people how God saved them from slavery in Egypt. According to tradition, the first Passover ( The Passover of Egypt ), was preordained by Moses at the command of God. The Israelites were commanded to select a he-lamb of the first year, without blemish, to kill it and to sprinkle with its blood the lintel and sidepost of the doors of their dwellings so that the Lord should pass over them when he went forth to slay the first-born of the Egyptians. The lamb thus drained of blood was to be roasted and entirely consumed by the Israelites, who should be ready with loins girded, shoes on feet and staff in hand so as to be prepared for the exodus.
Passover is the Jewish celebration lasting seven to eight days (seven in Israel, eight outside of it) that marks the freedom of the Jews from enslavement by the Egyptians. According to the Old Testament, the Jews, led by Moses, had requested freedom from the Pharaoh of Egypt, but were denied. To punish the Egyptians, God sent the 10 plagues to Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to release the Jews. The last of these plagues, and the most devastating, was to kill the firstborn male in each Egyptian household. The Jews marked their doors with the blood of a sacrificed lamb so that the Angel of Death would know to protect their firstborn sons. This allowed Death to “pass over” the Jews in fulfillment of this last plague. Passover is often translated from the term Pesach which means to “pass over” or “to protect.” In commemoration of avoidance of this last plague and the resulting freedom from Egypt, Jews across the world now celebrate Passover. During the celebrations of Passover, the first tw
by Matt Slick Passover is the religious festival that celebrates the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. The term is derived from the Hebrew pasach which means “to pass over.” When the Jews were in slavery to the Egyptians, the Lord raised up Moses to be their deliverer. Moses told the Pharaoh about the plagues that would descend upon the Egyptian people if Pharaoh would not let God’s people go. Of course, pharaoh refused and the plagues hit Egypt with a fury. The last plague was the death of the first born of each family who lived in Egypt. Since the Jews lived in Egypt, they were subject to this plague the same as the Egyptians. However, the Lord provided a means of protection. If they would take the blood of a lamb and spread it over the doorposts of their homes, the Lord would “passover” them and the firstborn in their homes would be spared. Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass o
Passover is an eight day Jewish holiday, of Biblical origin, marking the birth of the Jews as a people and their emergence as a unique nation in history, devoted to G-d’s will. It celebrates the liberation of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt over 3000 years ago, under the leadership of Moses.
