Deuteronomy 16:3

Deu 16:3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, [even] the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

Ver. 3. Even the bread of afliction.] Or, Of poverty; as who should say, poor folk’s bread, illleavened, ill-prepared.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16:3 Although yeast frequently symbolizes corruption (Lev 6:14-17; Matt 16:11-12), it was avoided at the original Passover because the Israelites had no time to wait for yeast bread to rise (see Exod 12:10-14). The elements of the yearly Passover celebration reminded the Israelites of what God had done for them.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which signified that affliction, which thou hadst in Egypt.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread--a sour, unpleasant, unwholesome kind of bread, designed to be a memorial of their Egyptian misery and of the haste with which they departed, not allowing time for their morning dough to ferment.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. Bread of affliction] Because, being baked without leaven, it was unsavoury, and put them in mind of their afflictive bondage in Egypt.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3, 4. See introd. note.

bread of affliction] The affliction of Israel in Egypt, Exo_3:7; Exo_4:31, culminating in the haste or trepidation (Driver) with which they ate their last meal there. So P, Exo_12:11; cp. for the meaning of the word, Deu_20:3; 1Sa_23:26; Isa_52:12.

no leaven … neither shall any of the flesh … remain] The two prohibitions are connected because anything fermenting or putrefying was not admissible in sacrifice (W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem. 221 n.). Cp. P, Exo_12:19.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it,.... With the passover, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; that is, with the passover lamb, nor indeed with any of the passover, or peace offerings, as follows; see Exo 12:8.

seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread therewith; with the passover; this plainly shows, that by the passover in the preceding verse is not meant strictly the passover lamb, for that was eaten at once on the night of the fourteenth of the month, and not seven days running, and therefore must be put for the whole solemnity of the feast, and all the sacrifices of it, both the lamb of the fourteenth, and the Chagigah of the fifteenth, and every of the peace offerings of the rest of the days were to be eaten with unleavened bread:

even the bread of affliction; so called either from the nature of its being heavy and lumpish, not grateful to the taste nor easy of digestion, and was mortifying and afflicting to be obliged to eat of it seven days together; or rather from the use of it, which was, as Jarchi observes, to bring to remembrance the affliction they were afflicted with in Egypt:

for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste; and had not time to leaven their dough; so that at first they were obliged through necessity to eat unleavened bread, and afterwards by the command of God in remembrance of it; see Exo 12:33,

that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life; how it was with them then, how they were hurried out with their unleavened dough; and that this might be imprinted on their minds, the master of the family used (p), at the time of the passover, to break a cake of unleavened bread, and say, this is the bread of affliction, &c. or bread of poverty; as it is the way of poor men to have broken bread, so here is broken bread.

(p) Haggadah Shel Pesach, in Seder Tephillot, fol. 242. Maimon. Chametz Umetzah, c. 8. sect. 6.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Affliction. Hebrew also, "of poverty." Syriac, "of humility." Septuagint, "of evil treatment;" or such bread as the poorest sort of people and slaves are forced to eat. The Jews serve the bread in small pieces, to denote their former poverty. This unleavened bread is also less palatable, and less wholesome. --- Fear. Septuagint, "in haste," Exodus xii. 11. The psalmist (Psalm civ. 43,) mentions the exultation and joy of the Hebrews, but it was mixed with fear, lest they should lose so great a benefit.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

With it, to wit, with the passover, in the sense delivered; or, in it, i.e. during the time of the feast of the passover.

The bread of affliction, i.e. bread which is not usual nor pleasant, but unsavoury and unwholesome, to put thee in mind both of thy miseries endured in Egypt, and of thy hasty coming out of it, which allowed thee no time to leaven or to prepare thy bread.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. The bread of affliction — The people left Egypt in haste, and, no doubt, with anxiety and dread. The unleavened bread was a symbol to them of their flight and of the burdens and servile life that preceded it.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bread of affliction; bread such as is prepared in circumstances of trial and pressure, when there is no time or opportunity for the application of all the means required for the preparation of bread of the better sort. The Israelites had in haste and amid anxiety to prepare the Passover meal on the evening of their flight from Egypt, and so had to omit the leavening of their bread; and this usage they had to observe during the seven days of the festival in subsequent times, to remind them of the oppression the nation had suffered in Egypt, and the circumstances of difficulty and peril amidst which their deliverance had been effected.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With it - Or, in it, that is, during the time of the feast of the passover. Bread of affliction - Bread which is not usual nor pleasant, to put thee in mind both of thy miseries endured in Egypt; and of thy hasty coming out of it, which allowed thee no time to leaven or prepare thy bread.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

with it

Here "it" refers to the animal they will sacrifice and eat.

seven days

"7 days" (See: Numbers)

the bread of affliction

This was the name of the unleavened bread. The full meaning can be stated explicitly. AT: "this bread will remind you of how much you suffered while in Egypt" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

out of the land of Egypt in haste

The people had to leave Egypt so quickly that they did not have enough time to make bread with yeast in it. The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "out of the land of Egypt in such hurry you did not have time to make bread with yeast in it" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Do this all the days of your life

"Do this as long as you live"

call to mind

This is an idiom. AT: "remember" (See: Idiom)

No yeast must be seen among you

This can be stated in active form. AT: "You must not have any yeast among you" (See: Active or Passive)

within all your borders

"inside all your territory" or "in all your land"

first day

This "first" is the ordinal number for one. (See: Ordinal Numbers)

translationWords

unleavened bread

day

bread

afflicted

Egypt

mind

yeast

sacrifice

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

לחם עני THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION — i.e. bread that calls to mind the affliction to which they were subjected in Egypt (Sifrei Devarim 130:5).

כי בחפזון יצאת FOR THOU CAMEST FORTH [FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT] IN HASTE, and the dough therefore had no time to become leavened, and this (the eating of unleavened bread) shall be unto you as reminder of this. The haste, spoken of here, was not on thy part, but on Egypt’s part, for so it states, (Exodus 12:33) “And Egypt was urgent upon the people [hastening to send them out of the land]” (Sifrei Devarim 130:6; cf. Berakhot 9a).

למען תזכר THAT THOU MAYEST REMEMBER through the eating of the Passover sacrifice and the unleavened bread, את יום צאתך THE DAY WHEN THOU CAMEST FORTH [OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.