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.
Exodus 12:46
Exodus 12 [37.] The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, besides children. A mixed multitude went up also with them, with flocks, herds, and even very much livestock. They baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought out of Egypt; for it wasn’t leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, and couldn’t wait, and they had not prepared any food for themselves. Now the time that the children of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years. At the end of four hundred thirty years, to the day, all of Yahweh’s armies went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed to Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of Yahweh, to be much observed of all the children of Israel throughout their generations.
Exodus 12 [43.] Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it, but every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it. 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. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. When a stranger shall live as a foreigner with you, and will keep the Passover to Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and 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.” All the children of Israel did so. As Yahweh commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did. That same day, Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
Exodus 13 [1.] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”
Meaning:
On the night Israel left Egypt, God gave Moses and Aaron “the ordinance of the Passover”. Each household was to kill a lamb without defect, put its blood on the doorposts, and eat the meat roasted with fire that same night (Exodus 12:5-8). God promised, “when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13).
- Eaten in one house
The Passover was a family meal. Each lamb belonged to one household, and those who shared it were joined together under the protection of its blood. The meal marked a people saved together, and the surrounding verses explain that even a foreigner could share it if he joined the covenant community (Exodus 12:49).
- “You shall not carry any of the meat outside of the house”
It was a sacred meal, eaten only by the family gathered inside. What was left by morning was to be burned (Exodus 12:10).
- “Do not break any of its bones”
The lamb was roasted whole, “with its head, its legs and its inner parts” (Exodus 12:9), and none of its bones was to be broken, even after the meal. The same rule is repeated for the later celebration of Passover: they shall “nor break a bone of it” (Numbers 9:12). The unbroken lamb was a picture of wholeness and completeness.
- Fulfilled in Jesus
John saw this rule fulfilled at the cross. The soldiers broke the legs of the two men crucified with him, but finding Jesus already dead, they did not break his. John writes that these things happened “that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 19:36). The psalm of the righteous sufferer also says, “He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken” (Psalm 34:20). Jesus was the true Passover Lamb. John the Baptist had pointed to him, saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
The Significance of Exodus 12:46
- Christ our Passover
Paul wrote, “Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place” (1 Corinthians 5:7). As Israel was saved from judgment by the blood of the lamb, believers are saved by the blood of Christ, “as of a faultless and pure lamb” (1 Peter 1:19).
- Gathered into one household
The Passover was eaten in one house by one family. Those who trust in Christ are gathered into one family of God and share in the Lord’s Supper, which Jesus gave at a Passover meal (Luke 22:19-20). Because there is one loaf, “we, who are many, are one body” (1 Corinthians 10:17).
Cross-References:
John 19:36: "A bone of him will not be broken." John’s quotation of the Passover rule at the cross.
Exodus 12:5: "Your lamb shall be without defect," The kind of lamb God required.
1 Corinthians 5:7: "Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place." Jesus the Passover Lamb.
John 1:29: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John the Baptist’s witness.
Conclusion: The Passover lamb had to be eaten in one house, kept within the household, and roasted whole without breaking any of its bones. These rules marked it as a sacred, complete sacrifice that saved God’s people on the night of the Exodus. John saw them fulfilled when Jesus died at Passover with no bone broken, showing him to be the true Lamb of God.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible