Exodus 12:43-49

⮝ Exodus 12

⮜ Law Analysis overview

43 YHWH said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it, 44 but every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. 45 A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it. 46 It must be eaten in one house. You shall not carry any of the meat outside of the house. Do not break any of its bones. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 When a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, and would like to keep the Passover to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. He shall be as one who is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. 49 One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.” Exodus 12:43-49WEB

Classification

The Command

This passage contains a mix of positive and negative commands, directed toward Israel, explaining who may eat the Passover.

Categories

These commands are part of the Typological/Ceremonial Law inasmuch as they pertain directly to participation in the Passover, but they also have some bearing on the Civil/Judicial Law because they relate to the legal distinction between native Jews and foreigners.

These commands fit in with the laws pertaining to Jew/Gentile Distinction and Sacrificial Regulations.

These commands contribute to an understanding of Feasts, Holidays, and Sacrifices (especially the Topic: Passover), and to the status of Foreigners in Israel, and to the Circumcision.

Fulfillment

The command to observe the Passover has its ultimate fulfillment in the final Passover Lamb, Jesus (See 1 Cor 5:7). His Passover meal is remembered by the Sacrament of Communion.

The requirement that foreigners who desire to participate in the Passover be circumcised is now carried out by requiring that those who participate in the salvation afforded by our Final Passover, Jesus, to be circumcised in heart, which is to say that they should believe in Jesus and have a heart which is submitted to Him as Lord and softened by repentance. (See Deut 10:16, 30:6, Jer 4:4, Acts 7:51, Phil 3:3, Col 2:11, and contexts).

Notes on Interpretation/Application

Circumcision and Citizenship

The passage at hand here, Exodus 12:43-49, starts by issuing a broad negative in v43, "no foreigner shall eat of it". But immediately qualifies the statement with a positive exception in v44, "a servant who is bought for money may eat of it after he is circumcised".

Then it restates the negative in v45. This time, "A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it".

This is followed by a positive imperative, "All the congregation shall eat of it". And then by another exception to the negative "If a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, and would like to keep the Passover to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it."

The last part of this, v48b-49, give the final analysis of the rule for a circumcised foreigner: "He shall be as one who is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you."

The statements here, if taken on the assumption that citizenship in Israel belongs only to native born Israelites, appear to double-back on themselves repeatedly, immediately contradicting themselves and walking the goalpost back with each statement. Why not rather simply say what is said in verses 47-49?

God's word is perfect, and every part is meaningful. These statements only make sense if read with the understanding that all those who enter into God's covenant are Israel. Only then can the foreigner truly be "as one who is born in the land", and only then can there truly be "one law...to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you". When read this way, the statement "No foreigner shall eat of it" is not at odds with the statement "when a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, and would like to keep the Passover to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it". And the statement, "Every man's servant...when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it" is not at odds with the statement, "A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it". The foreigner ceases to be a foreigner when he enters into covenant with God by circumcision.

This principle is explained to us in Romans 9:6-8, that it is not the children of the flesh who are considered Abraham's descendants (for the sake of the promise by God to Abraham, that God would make him a great nation), but rather that it is the children of the promise, which includes all those who have entered into covenant and are saved.

Interpretation 2