Exodus 12:20

Exo 12:20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

Ver. 20. Ye shall eat nothing leavened.] Watch carefully against corruption in life and doctrine: be punctual in your preparation to and participation of the Christian passover.

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.

20. in all your habitations] i.e. throughout the land generally. Another of P’s standing expressions: Exo_35:3, Lev_3:17; Lev_7:26; Lev_23:3; Lev_23:14; Lev_23:21; Lev_23:31, Num_35:29; cf. Eze_6:6; Eze_6:14.

21–27 (J). Moses gives the people directions for the observance of the Passover. As Di. has shewn, the passage cannot be the real sequel to vv. 1–13. Moses does not here repeat to the elders, even in an abridged form, the injunctions before received by him; but while, with the one exception of the application of the blood to the lintel and side posts of the door, nearly all of the many particulars laid down in vv. 1–13 are omitted, fresh points (the hyssop, the basin, none to leave the house till the morning), not mentioned before, are added. The inference is irresistible that Exo_12:21-23 is really part of a different account (i.e. J’s) of the institution of the Passover, which ‘stands to Exo_12:3-13 in the same relation in which the regulations respecting Maẓẓoth in Exo Exo_13:3-10 stand to those in Exo_12:14-20’ (Di. p. 100; ed. 2, p. 111).

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.

Ye shall eat nothing leavened,.... Bread or anything else that had any leaven in it:

in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread, that is, if they eat any bread at all, it must be such; otherwise they might eat cakes of almonds or of eggs mixed with sugar, provided there was no leaven used, and this the Jews call the rich unleavened bread (p): this is repeated over and over, that they might be the more careful of observing this precept; but as this was limited for a certain time, it plainly appears to be a mistake of Tacitus (q) the Roman historian, who represents unleavened bread as the bread the Jews eat of in common.

(p) See Leo Modena's History of the Rites, &c. of the Jews, par. 3. c. 3. sect. 5. (q) Hist. l. 5. c. 4.

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

Here again there is no repetition, but an extension. "Ye shall eat nothing leavened," not only no leavened bread (ver. 15), but no leavened cake of any kind. And in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread," i.e. , wherever ye dwell, whether in Egypt, or in the wilderness, or in Palestine, or in Babylonia, or in Media, this law shall be observed. So the Jews observe it everywhere to this day, though they no longer sacrifice the Paschal lamb.

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

מחמצת לא תאכלו THAT WHICH LEAVENETH YE SHALL NOT EAT — Here we have the prohibition regarding eating שאור (that which causes food to become leavened).

כל מחמצת [YE SHALL NOT EAT] ANYTHING THAT LEAVENETH — The use of the word כל, anything (even in the smallest degree), is intended to include food with which it (שאור) is mixed (Mekhilta).

בכל מושבתיכם תאכלו מצות IN ALL YOUR HABITATIONS SHALL YE EAT UNLEAVENED BREAD — This statement is intended to teach that it (the unleavened bread which you must eat on the first night of Passover) must be fitted to be eaten in all your habitations, thus excluding leavened bread which forms “the second tithe” and the unleavened meal cakes brought with the thanksgiving offering (which might be eaten only within the walls of Jerusalem) (Mekhilta).

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.

ANYTHING THAT IS LEAVENED YE SHALL NOT EAT. “This includes food with which leaven is mixed.” Thus the language of Rashi.This too is not in accordance with the final decision of the law, for the adopted opinion is like that of the Sages who say that the penalty incurred for eating leavened food is extinction, but for food with an admixture of leaven, there is no specific verse that includes it, [although it is nevertheless forbidden]. in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. Maimonides and other scholars have all accepted the decision of Rabbi Eliezer. See my Hebrew commentary, p. 333.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.