Exodus 12:44

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

but every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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מִקְנַת

miqnâh

H4736

“purchase of”

Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Construct

Appears 15× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 17:12

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H4735

TWOT: 2039c

purchase - purchase - purchase-price - possession (gained by purchase)

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

10: words
9: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is מִקְנַת purchase H4736 — appearing just 15 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

מִקְנַת purchase H4736 occurs in 13 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

2 verbs
5 nouns
1 preposition
1 adverb
1 particle

Verb forms

וּמַלְתָּ֣ה Qal · Sequential Perfect
יֹ֥אכַל Qal · Jussive

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 20 words from the Hebrew and 18 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 10 Hebrew tokens and 13 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Exodus 12:44 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Genesis 17:12–13 He who is eight days old will be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner who is not of your seed.
Genesis 17:23 Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money; every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the same day, as God had said to him.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Exodus 12:44 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְכָל עֶ֥בֶד אִ֖ישׁ מִקְנַת כָּ֑סֶף וּמַלְתָּ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ אָ֖ז יֹ֥אכַל בּֽוֹ

but every man's servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Exodus 12:44 Septuagint · lemma form

καί πᾶς οἰκέτης τις ἤ ἀργυρώνητος περιτέμνω αὐτός καί τότε ἐσθίω ἀπό αὐτός

And every slave or servant bought with money—him you shall circumcise, and then shall he eat of it.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְכָל עָבֵד גְבַר זְבִינֵי כַסְפָּא וְתִגְזַר יָתֵהּ בְּכֵן יֵכוּל בֵּהּ:

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְכָל גּוּבְרָאֵי דְּאִזְדַּבַּן לְעֶבֶד לְגַבְרָא בַּר יִשְרָאֵל זַבִּין כַּסְפָּא וְתִגְזוֹר יָתֵיהּ וְתִטְבְּלִינֵיהּ בְּכֵן יֵיכוּל בֵּיהּ

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Exodus 12:44 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Exo 12:44 But every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.

Ver. 44. When thou hast circumcised him.] And so adinitted him into the fellowship of the faithful. A man must live before he can be nourished; bred before be can be fed.

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.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(44) Every man’s servant.—Slaves born in the house were required to be circumcised on the eighth day, like Israelites (Gen_17:13). Bought slaves were allowed their choice. It is noticeable that the circumcised slave was to be admitted to full religious equality with his master.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

44. But a foreigner, bought as a slave into an Israelitish family, may eat of it, if he is made a member of the Isr. community by circumcision. Slaves were regarded as members of the family, and, as such, were circumcised (Gen_17:12-13, P), so that they might join in the family religious rites. ‘That is bought for money’ distinguishes the slave here referred to from the slave ‘born in the house’ (cf. Gen_17:12; Gen_17:23; Gen_17:27), i.e. born of parents who were themselves slaves in the same establishment: a slave of the latter kind would, as a matter of course, be circumcised, and have a right to partake of the Passover.

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.

John Gill's Exposition

All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. The passover, and the feast of unleavened bread only; for a Gentile was first to be circumcised, and be joined to the congregation, and then partake of it, and not before.

All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. The passover, and the feast of unleavened bread only; for a Gentile was first to be circumcised, and be joined to the congregation, and then partake of it, and not before.

Exodus 12:48

exo 12:48

exo 12:48

exo 12:48And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, Who by so doing became a proselyte of the gate, he observing the commands of the sons of Noah:

and will keep the passover of the Lord; is desirous of being admitted to that ordinance:

let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near, and keep it: first himself, and then all his male children and male servants, and then, and not till then, he might approach to this ordinance, and observe it; for by this means he would become a proselyte of righteousness, and in all respects as an Israelite, or son of Abraham, as it follows:

and he shall be as one that is born in the land; a native and proper inhabitant of Canaan, enjoying all the privileges and immunities of such:

for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof; these laws and rules concerning those persons that were to eat of the passover are such as were to be observed in all successive generations, to the coming of Christ; and were the rather necessary to be given now, because of the mixed multitude who now came up with the children of Israel out of Egypt.

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

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Servant - The circumcision of the slave, thus enjoined formally on the first day that Israel became a nation, in accordance with the law given to Abraham, (see the margin reference) made him a true member of the family, equally entitled to all religious privileges. In the household of a priest the slave was even permitted to eat the consecrated food: Lev 22:11.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

When thou hast circumcised him; for the master had a power to circumcise such persons, Gen 17:12. And though it is probable, that by their interest in them, and a diligent instruction of them, they made them willing to receive circumcision, yet it seems they had a power to compel them to it; but then circumcision was not to them a seal of God’s covenant, nor of their religion, for that must be matter of choice, but only a civil badge, or a note of that family or people into which they were politically incorporated.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

Every man"s servant that is bought for money. Or "every man"s slave." The Mosaic Law found servitude existing, and left it existing, only guarding against its extreme abuses. (Exo_21:20-27) It put no check on the traffic in slaves. When thou hast circumcised him. The Jewish commentators say, that the desire of the slave to receive the rite and become a Jew is here implied. But it would seem rather, that opposition and refusal is not thought of as possible. (see Gen_17:13, Gen_17:17) The case is like that of baptism among the barbarous nations, where no sooner was the king converted than a general order went forth for the baptism of his subjects, which no one thought of resisting. Then shall he eat thereof. It was a principle of the Jewish law that the slaves should be admitted to complete religious equality with the native Israelites. (compare Lev_22:11)

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

ומלתה אתו אז יאכל בו WHEN THOU HAST CIRCUMCISED HIM THEN SHALL HE EAT THEREOF — “he” means his (the slave’s) master; this tells us that the neglect to circumcise his slaves bars him from eating of the Paschal offering. This is the opinion of R. Joshua. Rabbi Eliezer, however, said: the neglect to circumcise his slaves does not bar him from eating of the Paschal offering. The objection was raised: if this be so what means “Then shall he eat thereof”? — The reply was given: “He” means the slave, not the master (the meaning being that the slave, so long as he is uncircumcised may not eat of it) (cf. 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.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Exodus, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 10 words (9 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is miqnâh (“purchase”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “purchase” (miqnâh) shape what this verse is saying?
How does Genesis 17:12, which shares the word «purchase», read alongside this verse?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
«וּמַלְתָּ֣ה» is a Qal Sequential Perfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 10 Hebrew ↔ 13 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 17 words in this verse.
9 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 10 words in this verse.