Exodus 34:18

Here is a repetition of several appointments made before, especially relating to their solemn feasts. When they had made the calf, they proclaimed a feast in honour of it; now, that they might never do so again, they are here charged with the observance of the feasts which God had instituted. Note, Men need not be drawn from their religion by the temptation of mirth, for we serve a Master that has abundantly provided for the joy of his servants: serious godliness is a continual feast, and joy in God always.

I. Once a week they must rest (Exo 34:21), even in earing time, and in harvest, the most busy times of the year. All worldly business must give way to that holy rest; harvest-work will prosper the better for the religious observance of the sabbath-day in harvest-time. Hereby we must show that we prefer our communion with God, and our duty to him, before either the business or the joy of harvest.

II. Thrice a year they must feast (Exo 34:23); they must then appear before the Lord, God, the God of Israel. In all our religious approaches to God, we must eye him as the Lord God, infinitely blessed, great, and glorious, that we may worship him with reverence and godly fear, as the God of Israel, a God in covenant with us, that we may be encouraged to trust in him, and to serve him cheerfully. We always are before God; but, in holy duties, we present ourselves before him, as servants to receive commands, as petitioners to sue for favours, and we have reason to do both with joy. But it might be suggested that, when all the males from every part of the country had gone up to worship in the place that God should choose, the country would be left exposed to the insults of their neighbours; and what would become of the poor women and children, and sick and aged, that were left at home? Trust God with them (Exo 34:24): Neither shall any man desire thy land; not only they shall not invade it, but they shall not so much as think of invading it. Note, 1. All hearts are in God's hands, and under his check; he can lay a restraint, not only upon men's actions, but upon their desires. Canaan was a desirable land, and the neighbouring nations were greedy enough; and yet God says, "They shall not desire it." Let us check all sinful desires in our own hearts against God and his glory, and then trust him to check all sinful desires in the hearts of others against us and our interest. 2. The way of duty is the way of safety. If we serve God, he will preserve us; and those that venture for him shall never lose by him. While we are employed in God's work, and are attending upon him, we are taken under special protection, as noblemen and members of parliament are privileged from arrests.

III. The three feasts are here mentioned, with their appendages. 1. The passover, and the feast of unleavened bread, in remembrance of their deliverance out of Egypt; and to this is annexed the law of the redemption of the first-born, Exo 34:18-20. This feast was instituted, Exo 12:13, and urged again, Exo 23:15. 2. The feast of weeks, that is, that of pentecost, seven weeks after the passover; and to this is annexed the law of the first-fruits. 3. The feast of in-gathering at the year's end, which was the feast of tabernacles (Exo 34:22): of these also he had spoken before, Exo 23:16. As to those laws repeated here (Exo 34:25, Exo 34:26), that against leaven relates to the passover, that of the first-fruits to the feast of pentecost, and therefore that against seething the kid in his mother's milk in all probability relates to the feast of in-gathering, at which God would not have them use that superstitious ceremony, which probably they had seen the Egyptians, or some other of the neighbouring nations, bless their harvests with.

IV. With these laws, here repeated, it is probable all that was said to him when he was before upon the mount was repeated likewise, and the model of the tabernacle shown him again, lest the ruffle and discomposure, which the golden calf had put him into should have bereaved him of the ideas he had in mind of what he had seen and heard; also in token of a complete reconciliation, and to show that not one jot or tittle of the law should pass away, but that all should be carefully preserved by the great Mediator, who came not to destroy, but to fulfil, Mat 5:17, Mat 5:18. And in the close, 1. Moses is ordered to write these words (Exo 34:27), that the people might be the better acquainted with them by a frequent perusal, and that they might be transmitted to the generations to come. We can never be enough thankful to God for the written word. 2. He is told that according to the tenour of these words God would make a covenant with Moses and Israel; not with Israel immediately, but with them in Moses a mediator. Thus the covenant of grace is made with believers through Christ, who is given for a covenant to the people, Isa 49:8. And, as here the covenant was made according to the tenour of the command, so it is still; for we are by baptism brought into covenant, that we may be taught to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded us, Mat 28:19, Mat 28:20.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Exo 34:18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

Ver. 18. In the month Abib.] So called from the new fruits, or ears of corn, then first appearing. See Exo 12:1; Exo 13:4. God here repeateth divers laws. It was a token of reconciliation to the people after their apostasy, in that he treats with them again, after their repentance, about his solemn worships. So, for a testimony of his reconciliation to Peter after his foul fall, he sets him to work in the ministry. {Joh 21:15} So he commendeth his spouse afresh, after her drowsy decays, every whir as amiable as she was before her fall. {Son 6:5; Son 5:10-16}

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.

(18) The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep.—Comp. Exo_12:15-20; Exo_13:3-10; Exo_23:15.

The month Abib.—See Note on Exo_13:4.

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

18. See on Exo_23:15 a.

19, 20a (to redeem). See on Exo_13:12-13.

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.

All that openeth the matrix is mine,.... Or "the womb", and therefore to be sanctified, and set apart for his use: this also was declared, and the law concerning it given, at the time of their coming out of Egypt, and here repeated; see Gill on Exo 13:2, Exo 13:12.

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Exodus 34:20

exo 34:20

exo 34:20

exo 34:20Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem,.... This goes along with the former; see Gill on Exo 13:13,

and none shall appear before me empty; at the grand festivals, the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; see Gill on Exo 13:15.

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

New corn. Hebrew, Abib; the name of the month Nisan, which corresponds with our March and April.

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).

The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. See Exo_23:15, and compare Exo_12:14-20, and Exo_13:3-10. The month Abib. See the comment on Exo_13:4.

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

Abib

First month i.e. April.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Second Festivals

v. 18. The Feast of Unleavened Bread shalt thou keep. Cf Exo 23:15. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. Because of the defection of the Israelites the Lord here repents the ordinances regarding the chief festival days and seasons.

v. 19. All that openeth the matrix is Mine, all the firstborn sons of the children of Israel; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. This precept is here stated on account of its close connection with the Passover and its significance.

v. 20. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb, ransom by the payment of a lamb or a kid; and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty. Cf Exo 23:15.

v. 21. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest, Cf Exo 20:9; Exo 23:12; in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest, these two seasons being mentioned since they were the busiest season for the farmer, when he would be inclined to use also the Sabbath for work.

v. 22. And thou shalt observe the Feast of Weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, namely, Pentecost, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end, the Feast of Tabernacles at the end of the season.

v. 23. Thrice in the year shall all your men-children, all the males, the men, appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. On these three great festivals the attendance of all Israelites was commanded; they were obliged to meet, first at the Sanctuary, and later in the Temple.

v. 24. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders, Cf Exo 23:31; neither shall any man desire thy land when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord, thy God, thrice in the year; the Lord promised to keep away all enemies at these times, so that they would not take advantage of the men’s absence to invade the country.

v. 25. Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice, of the Passover lamb, with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left unto the morning; it should either be eaten to the last fragment, or the remainder burned with fire, Exo 12:10.

v. 26. The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord, thy God, this being the most prominent rite of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. Cf Exo 23:19.

v. 27. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words, the ordinances were to be preserved in writing; for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. The first covenant had hereby been renewed or reinstituted.

v. 28. And he (Moses) was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, as he had been the first time, Exo 24:18; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water, being miraculously sustained by the Lord. And He (God) wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments, the Decalog. The true hallowing of God’s name in the New Testament consists in this, that we gladly hear and learn the Word of God, and help to uphold the ministry in our midst and to spread the Gospel-news.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues to tell Moses what the people must do.

seven days

"7 days" (See: Numbers)

in the month of Aviv

This is the name of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Aviv is during the last part of March and the first part of April on Western calendars. See how you translated "Aviv" in Exodus 13:4. (See: Hebrew Months and How to Translate Names)

translationWords

festival

unleavened bread

command

bread

yeast

Egypt

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

חדש האביב THE MONTH OF ABIB — the month of early ripening — the month when the grain is in its first stage of ripening.

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.