Exodus 13:3-10

"And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day ye go forth in the month of Abib. And it shall be when Jehovah shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast unto Jehovah. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and there shall be no leavened bread. seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee, in all thy borders. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying, It is because of that which Jehovah did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the law of Jehovah may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath Jehovah brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year."

"And Moses said unto the people ..." No distinction is intended here as regards the instructions that God gave to the people through Moses, from other instructions originating solely with Moses. Despite the fact of its not being specifically stated here that Moses had first received these instructions from God, yet that is certainly the meaning. The omission of any direct reference in this verse to what God commanded was due solely to the condensation of the narrative. Rawlinson affirmed that this was to "avoid unnecessary repetition."[4]

PHYLACTERIES

The entire first sixteen verses of this chapter were divided by the Jews, with Exodus 13:1-10 as a unit and Exodus 13:11-16 as another, the same being two of the four O.T. texts from which phylacteries were made. The other two were Deuteronomy 6:19 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. Many have described how these passages were written upon pieces of parchment and made into compact little rolls which were encased in tiny boxes and worn as "frontlets" between the eyes and fastened to the left arm above the elbow (closest to the heart), in a literal interpretation of what is commanded in these places. Esses tells us that these passages (Exodus 13:1-16) were always the ones worn on the left arm.[5] The Jewish literalization of the command here at last resulted in some bizarre behavior. The Pharisees of Jesus' time, having a desire to appear righteous in the eyes of men, enlarged the size of these religious ornaments and paraded them publicly as an exhibition of their "holiness." "But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the chief places at feasts, etc." (Matthew 23:5,6).

It may be doubted that God intended a literal construction of the words here, because, he stated the purpose as, "that the law of Jehovah may be in thy mouth" (Exodus 13:9), indicating that it was "in the hearts" of men that he desired his words to be remembered and honored. Hywel R. Jones thought that the literal construction of these words arose during "intertestamental times." Of the true meaning, he said that, "The words are pure metaphor, standing as a further witness of the essential inwardness of true religion in the O.T."[6]

"In the month of Abib ..." Harford identified this as an old Canaanite name of this month[7] but it comes from Hebrew roots, and Rawlinson affirms that there is no need whatever to suppose "a foreign derivation of the word."[8] The real significance of "Abib" in this passage is that it establishes the author of Exodus as living long, long before the exile, after which the month was called Nisan. It is this truth that the critics wish to get rid of by the allegation that Abib is a FOREIGN term.

Note: Exodus 13:7,8 are mere repetitions of commandments given in Exodus 12:26,27. Repetition is a necessity in the teaching and instruction of men, regardless of their age, social condition, or historical sequence. Jesus Christ himself constantly used repetition in his revelation of the Holy Gospel, a fact that denies every allegation of so-called "doublets" in the sacred Gospels. What the N.T. critics call "doublets" are nothing more than the usual repetition of Jesus on various occasions of teaching already given, using exactly the same words, or very similar words. It is further proof of this that the very same procedure is observable here.