Passover – The Time Features
To understand Moses’ statements regarding the time of the Passover, we must keep in mind the custom of time reckoning then in use:
(A) The day began at sunset.
(B) The day was divided into two parts, night and day; Gen. 1:5: “God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.”
(C) Thus, the term “day” has two uses in connection with a literal day; either the entire 24 hours, or only the last half of it (usually the latter).
(D) The day (daylight) portion was divided into two parts; morning and evening. (The morning sacrifice was in the middle of the morning, and the evening sacrifice was in the middle of the evening; 9 AM and 3 PM, respectively-Jesus was crucified at 9 AM, and died at 3 PM.)
(E) The evening was divided into two parts; the first or lesser evening from noon to 3 PM, and the second or greater evening from 3 PM to sunset. (See R2953)
(F) Thus, a day following a night was part of the same day (see Ex. 12:51); but a night following a day was not part of the same day.
Now, our text, Ex. 12:6, 8. Here we have the Lord’s instructions to the Israelites to slay the lamb on the 14th day, and eat it that night. We have here the terms day and night, so the term “day” means only the last half or daylight portion of the day. And since the eating would have to be after the roasting was completed, it would have to be eaten in the night following the 14th day, or the night of the 15th. See points A and F above. We find this is the only way to interpret this Scripture. We offer the following eleven corroborations:
(1) In 2 Chron. 35:1-19, King Josiah ordered a Passover kept according to the Law given to Israel. The Passover lambs were killed on the 14th day. At the same time, bullocks were offered for burnt offerings. Verse 14 shows clearly that the sacrificing was done in the afternoon, at the time of the evening sacrifice. It says the priests were busy until night, and the Levites prepared lambs for themselves and for the priests. So when the work was finished, and the lambs roasted, it was night, the night of the 15th.
(2) The original Hebrew text of Ex. 12:6 reads: “Kill the lamb between the two evenings” According to Jewish custom, this means 3 PM. (See point E above). This is the time of the evening sacrifice.
(3) In Num. 28:4 we read: “The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even” According to the margin, the latter part of this verse reads in the Hebrew: “between the two evenings:’ which is the same as the Hebrew of Ex. 12:6. Since this verse refers to a morning and evening sacrifice at the Tabernacle, we have here direct Scriptural evidence that the time of the slaying of the typical Passover lamb was 3 PM.
(4) From a practical standpoint, the slaying and skinning of a lamb is an outdoor and a daytime job. It would seem impossible to think of every home among the Israelites having a room equipped for slaughtering animals. And in the case mentioned in 2 Chron. 35, where about 40,000 animals were killed, it seems certain that the work was done outdoors, and by daylight. This is in harmony with the above.
(5) In Ex. 12:51 Moses says the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt the self-same day. (Same in vs. 17 and 41.) Moses had been describing the night to be much observed (vs. 42). It was the night in which the first-boms were safe because of the blood on the door posts (vs. 7), the night in which they all had to stay inside (vs. 22), and eat the roasted lamb (vs. 8); the night in which the first-born in Egypt died (vs. 30, 31). In Num. 33:3, Moses says they left Egypt on the 15th of the first month. This means that the night to be much observed, in which the first-born were spared (and was followed by the deliverance of all in the morning), was the night of the 15th. (See point F above.)
(6) In Num. 33:3, it is stated that they went out on the 15th, on the morrow after the Passover- sacrifice (Leeser). In Num. 28:16, 17 and Lev. 23:5, 6, Leeser states that on the 14th the Passover must be sacrificed, and on the 15th is the feast of unleavened bread. (The Kj translation says that on the 14th is the Lord’s Passover; this is true in the sense that the part of the Passover which foreshadows the Lord’s death took place on the 14th. But Leeser, being a Jew, should understand Jewish customs, and be able to make a more accurate translation, as in this case.)
(7) In Ex. 12:15-20, 7 days are specified as days of unleavened bread. Verse 18: from the 14th at even to the 21st at even. In Lev. 23:27, 32, Moses, in specifying how they were to observe the day of atonement, on the 10th of the month, said to start from the 9th at even. The 9th was not to be included, but they were to start at the sunset of the 9th, which would be the very beginning of the 10th. So, in Ex. 12:18, the 7 days of unleavened bread did not include the 14th, but only the 15th to the 21st, inclusive. In Dent. 16:3, Moses says to eat the Passover with unleavened bread 7 days, thus definitely linking the eating of the lamb with the feast of unleavened bread, beginning on the 15th. (Verse 4 indicates that the eating of the lamb was limited to the first night.) See F457, 2nd sentence. Jewish almanacs list the 15th as the first day of Passover.
(8) Ex. 12:11. They were to eat in haste, ready for a journey. This very clearly shows that they started traveling in the day immediately following the night of the eating, which would be the self- same day. They started traveling out of Egypt on the 15th day (Num. 33:3). So, the eating was in the night of the 15th. This is the only proper interpretation of Ex. 12:11, and the only way we can get the picture of the Church of the first-born being spared in the nighttime of this Gospel Age, and the rest of mankind delivered in the Millennial morning. (The traditional view that the eating was in the night of the 14th would completely destroy the picture just mentioned; it would put about 30 hours between the eating and the exodus, and would make Ex. 12:11 inconsistent.)
(9) R2918 top: “It was in the night following the 14th day that the roast lamb was to be eaten.” R277lc2p2: “The Law required the Jews to slay the lamb on the 14th, and to eat it during the night before the dawn of the 15th “ (The dawn of the 15th is 12 hours after the start of the 15th.) These two statements show that the Law required the eating of the lamb in the night of the 15th.
(10) R2918p2: “That night in which the Passover feast was eaten represents this Gospel Age.” (In which the firsthorns are in danger, and in which the roast lamb was eaten in the type.) R2918p3: “But the deliverance did not come in the night in which the Passover was eaten, but in the morning which followed it. So the deliverance of the spiritual Israelites does not come during the night of sin and trouble -it comes in the Millennial morning.” A clear statement to the effect that the night in which the Passover was eaten, and in which the first-born were spared, represents this Gospel Age. And as that night was followed by the deliverance of all in the morning, so the Gospel Age will be followed by the deliverance of all mankind in the Millennial morning. There is no other Age between the Gospel and the Millennial Age; so there was no other day between the night in which the first-born were spared, and the morning in which all were delivered -it was all part of the self- same day (Ex. 12:51). R4492 last par. is a more detailed statement, with the same import as the one just quoted from R2918. These two quotations fully corroborate all of the above points.
(11) Jewish law books state that on the 14th day they were to get rid of all leaven, and slay the lamb in preparation for the feast. This is in full harmony with all the above.
SUPPOSED OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED
(I) Gen. 1:5: “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” This statement, of course, has reference to a creative day, or epoch, and not a literal day. It may seem to support the tradition that the evening precedes the morning even in literal days. But we find that Moses, in his account of the Passover, does not follow this tradition. He uses a strict reckoning of time, calling the last six hours of the day evening. We note here that while the N.T. writers of the four Gospels may have been influenced by Roman customs, the Apostle Paul, when writing about the Lord’s supper, uses the same strict reckoning of time as Moses did. 1 Cor. 11:23: “For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread” Here we have the inspired statement that in the night of the 14th Jesus instituted the Memorial. And we know that Jesus died in the evening of the 14th, at the time of the evening sacrifice. So, in considering the Passover, if we follow the Scriptural standard of calling the first half of the day “night,” and the last six hours of it “evening,” we will avoid confusion. Surely the Lord overruled the writings of Moses and Paul so as to give us an accurate account.
(II) Some suppose that because Jesus observed a typical Passover, and then immediately instituted the Memorial, in the night, the very beginning of the 14th day, that that proves that the Passover was due to be observed then by the Law. Some even use this incident to support the idea that the Memorial is a continuation of the Passover, and must be observed at the same time. The Memorial is not a continuation of the Passover; it is a “remembrancer of the beginning of the fulfillment of the antitypical Passover.” F463 p2. The Memorial is a memorial of Jesus’ death; the Passover was a type or foreshadow of it. This is the only connection between the two.
Now, regarding the fact that Jesus observed a Passover with his disciples in the night of the 14th, one day before the time specified in the Law, there are two sound reasons for it. First, it was an impossibility for him to die as the antitypical Passover Lamb at the time appointed by the Law for the Passover lamb to die, and also observe a typical Passover feast at the time appointed by the same Law, for unquestionably the eating had to follow after the slaying. Second, Jesus wanted to teach his disciples that the typical Passover is now obsolete. After he observed it, he immediately instituted the Memorial, and said: “This do in remembrance of me.” By thus observing the typical ceremony one day early, he prevented his disciples from observing it the next night with the rest of the Jews, which would have been inconsistent, for it would have been observing a type when the chief part of the antitype had already transpired. (A type ends where the antitype begins.) Also, if the disciples had observed the Passover the next night with the rest of the Jews, it might have aroused in their minds a perplexing thought the next year; “Are we to observe both the Memorial and the Passover?” (Regarding the matter of Jesus and the disciples observing the Passover one day earlier than the rest of the Jews; see R277lc2p2). Jesus gave his disciples a definite lesson, to the effect that the typical Passover is no longer to be observed by his followers. We believe that observing the typical Passover ceremony one day early was an important part of this lesson; it was necessary in fulfilling the requirements of the Law.
The “last supper” was a sermon preached by actions instead of words. If Jesus had stated it in words, it would have involved saying that he was to die, and that would have offended his disciples. The “Memorial” he observed that night was merely a lesson or illustration, and not a remembrancer of his death (for he had not died as yet). So also, the “Passover” he observed that night was not the same as previous observances, for it was not necessary to keep the typical Passover that year, because the antitype took its place. It was merely an object lesson to convey to his followers that they were not to observe the Passover any more. Hence there is no validity in the thought that Jesus should have observed the Passover that year at the time specified in the Law. But the fact that Jesus died at the time specified in the Law is vital. For the salvation of mankind depends on the faithfulness of Jesus in keeping the Law and fulfilling the typical features of it.
(III) Some may still say that if the Passover was a type of Jesus’ death, and the Memorial is a remembrancer of it, why should they not be observed at the same time? No the circumstances make it necessary that the Memorial be one day earlier. The eating of the lamb was in the night following the slaying of the typical lamb, whereas Jesus instituted the Memorial in the night before the sacrifice of the antitype (his own death). The Memorial did not have to be at the exact hour of his death, but only on the same day. But the slaying of the typical lamb had to be at the same hour as the death of the antitype (Jesus), so as to give the correct information to Jesus, as he studied the Law, during those 40 days in the wilderness after his baptism.
In summation, then, we see that the Scriptures show that the type was accurate, and that Jesus fulfilled the type exactly, to the very hour- i.e., the death of the typical lamb and the antitypical Lamb, was at the same hour.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
In studying this subject, which deals with Jewish time reckoning, we should keep in mind that the term “evening” properly applies to the last six hours of the day, though it is sometimes, incorrectly, applied to the first hours of the day Oust after sunset). The time after sunset is properly called night.
Also, the term “Passover” is sometimes applied to the death of the lamb, and sometimes to the eating of it. In a larger sense, this term applies to the passing over of the death angel during the night, sparing the first-borns of Israel, which is a type of the Church of the first-born being spared from second death during the Gospel Age by faith in Jesus. In a still larger sense, it applies to the passing over of the world from death to life during the Mediatorial reign. Thus we see the reason for the statement that the death of Jesus was the beginning of the fulfillment of the antitypical Passover (F463p2).
In regard to the time of the Jewish Passover, there are two distinctly different views presented in the Harvest Message, and in Bible Commentaries. They are:
(1) Lamb slain at 3 PM on Nisan 14th. Eaten that nightnight of the 15th. Part of the feast week. Total, 7 days of unleavened bread.
(2) Lamb slain at the very beginning of Nisan 14 (in the night). Eaten that same night (night of the 14th) with unleavened bread. Eaten before feast week. Total, 8 days of unleavened bread.
The first view agrees with the Scriptures, as shown above.
It might be said that the time the typical Passover was observed is not important to us. In a sense, this is true. But on the other hand, the typical Passover observance provides the only indication, given in the O.T., that shows when the death of Jesus was to take place. And it could well be said that the death of Jesus was the most important event that ever happened on this earth, since the creation of man. Therefore, it may be of considerable importance to us.
We observe the Memorial on the very beginning of Nisan 14. The next day, in the afternoon, at 3 PM, is the anniversary of Jesus’ death. Then at sunset, the 15th of Nisan begins. That night and all the next day is Nisan 15. This is the day marked “Passover” on the calendar. We observe the Memorial 2 days before the day marked “Passover.” If April 4 is marked “Passover,” then we observe the Memorial on April 2.
– Marion Schrock