Exodus 12
The Story of the First Passover
Israel marks doors with lamb's blood, and the Lord passes over their houses as Egypt's firstborn die.
Setting and Context
Passover is both rescue and ordinance. Exodus 12 joins judgment on Egypt with a lasting memorial meal that shapes Israel's identity as a redeemed people.
The Story
The Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron about the beginning of months and the selection of a lamb without blemish. On the fourteenth day they kill it; blood is struck on the two side posts and upper door post of the houses.
They eat the flesh that night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, loins girded, shoes on feet, staff in hand, in haste: it is the Lord's passover. The blood is a token; when the Lord sees the blood, He will pass over.
At midnight the Lord smites all the firstborn in Egypt. There is a great cry. Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and urges Israel to go serve the Lord. The people spoil the Egyptians and begin the Exodus.
Meaning and Importance
God institutes Passover: a lamb without blemish, blood on the doorposts, unleavened bread, and readiness to leave. At midnight the Lord smites Egypt's firstborn, but passes over the blood-marked houses. Pharaoh sends Israel out.
The first Passover teaches salvation under judgment through substituted blood. Israel is spared not by superiority but by God's appointed sign. Remembrance becomes identity: a people redeemed to belong to the Lord.
Biblical Art Connected to This Story
Key KJV Verses
Exodus 12:3
“Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:”
Read Exodus 12Exodus 12:7
“And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.”
Read Exodus 12Exodus 12:13
“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
Read Exodus 12Exodus 12:23
“For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.”
Read Exodus 12Exodus 12:29
“And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.”
Read Exodus 12What This Story Teaches
- Deliverance comes through God's appointed provision.
- Blood marks the difference between judgment and mercy.
- Redeemed people remember with a lasting ordinance.
Questions about First Passover
Where is the first Passover in the Bible?
The first Passover is instituted and described in Exodus 12.
Why did the Lord pass over Israel's houses?
When He saw the blood on the door, He passed over and did not allow the destroyer to enter.
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