Why is the english name for the Jewish festival Pesach, Passover?
The source of the name ‘Pesach’ is in Exodus 12:23. “When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.” The Hebrew word used for “pass over” in that verse is Pesach. Hence the holiday is called Pesach and the English translation of the word is pass over or “Passover” BTW Tzvi has erred in his understanding of this matter. Pesach is spelled in Hebrew with the letter ‘samech’ not with ‘tof’ (also known as ‘sof’). If it was spelled with a ‘tof’ it would mean door.
