Exodus 13:5

And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) The Canaanites, and the Hittites . . . —The full number of the Canaanitish nations was seven, five of which are here enumerated. The other two were the Perizzites and the Girgashites, which seem to have been the least important. The most important were the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites; and these are consequently almost always placed first. At the time of the Exodus, and for many centuries afterwards, the actually most powerful nation would seem to have been that of the Hittites. (See Joshua 1:4; 1Kings 10:29; 2Kings 7:6; and compare the Egyptian and Assyrian remains passim.)

A land flowing with milk and honey.—See Note on Exodus 3:8.

Thou shalt keep this service.—Kalisch concludes from this verse, and from Exodus 12:25, that there was no obligation upon the Israelites to keep the Passover until they obtained possession of Canaan. He holds that two Passovers only were celebrated before that event—one by Moses in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 9:1-5), and the other by Joshua at Gilgal, in the plain of Jericho (Joshua 5:10-11).

Benson Commentary

Exodus 13:5. When the Lord shall bring you into the land, thou shalt keep this service — Until then they were not obliged to keep the passover, without a particular command from God. There shall no leavened bread be seen in all thy quarters — Accordingly the Jews’ usage was, before the feast of the passover, to cast all the leavened bread out of their houses; either they burned it, or buried it, or broke it small, and threw it into the wind; they searched diligently with lighted candles in all the corners of their houses, lest any leaven should remain. The strictness enjoined in this matter was designed, 1st, To make the feast the more solemn, and consequently the more taken notice of by the children, who would ask, Why is so much ado made? 2d, To teach us how solicitous we should be to put away from us all sin.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:1-10 In remembrance of the destruction of the first-born of Egypt, both of man and of beast, and the deliverance of the Israelites out of bondage, the first-born males of the Israelites were set apart to the Lord. By this was set before them, that their lives were preserved through the ransom of the atonement, which in due time was to be made for sin. They were also to consider their lives, thus ransomed from death, as now to be consecrated to the service of God. The parents were not to look upon themselves as having any right in their first-born, till they solemnly presented them to God, and allowed his title to them. That which is, by special mercy, spared to us, should be applied to God's honour; at least, some grateful acknowledgment, in works of piety and charity, should be made. The remembrance of their coming out of Egypt must be kept up every year. The day of Christ's resurrection is to be remembered, for in it we were raised up with Christ out of death's house of bondage. The Scripture tells us not expressly what day of the year Christ rose, but it states particularly what day of the week it was; as the more valuable deliverance, it should be remembered weekly. The Israelites must keep the feast of unleavened bread. Under the gospel, we must not only remember Christ, but observe his holy supper. Do this in remembrance of him. Also care must be taken to teach children the knowledge of God. Here is an old law for catechising. It is of great use to acquaint children betimes with the histories of the Bible. And those who have God's law in their heart should have it in their mouth, and often speak of it, to affect themselves, and to teach others.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The Canaanites - Five nations only are named in this passage, whereas six are named in Exodus 3:8, and ten in the original promise to Abraham, Genesis 15:19-21. The first word "Canaanite" is generic, and includes all the Hamite races of Palestine.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5-7. when the Lord shall bring thee—The passover is here instituted as a permanent festival of the Israelites. It was, however, only a prospective observance; we read of only one celebration of the passover during the protracted sojourn in the wilderness [Nu 9:5]; but on their settlement in the promised land, the season was hallowed as a sacred anniversary [Jos 5:10], in conformity with the directions here given.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

This service; which is spoken of before, and in the following verses. From this place it is evident the Israelites were not obliged to this service in the wilderness without a particular command from God. See Deu 12:1,9.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites,.... Though the whole land was called the land of Canaan, yet there was one tribe or nation of them particularly so called as here, distinct from those that follow:

and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites; there were seven nations in all, but two are here omitted, the Girgashites and Perizzites, but they are added in the Septuagint version, see Deuteronomy 7:1.

which he swore unto thy fathers to give thee; to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; so that they might be assured they would be brought into it, since they had both the word and oath of God for it; and which is the rather mentioned now for their encouragement, since they were at this time set forward in their journey thitherwards:

a land flowing with milk and honey; See Gill on Exodus 3:8,

that thou shalt keep this service in this month; the month of Abib; that is, the following service concerning unleavened bread; it is concluded from hence by some, that those laws concerning the passover, and eating unleavened bread, and sanctifying the firstborn, did not oblige the Israelites, while in the wilderness, only when they came into the land of Canaan; and it seems pretty clear that this was the case with respect to the two latter, but not the former, since it is certain they did keep the passover in the wilderness, and were obliged to it, Numbers 9:1 but then it may be observed, that there is no mention there of their keeping the feast of unleavened bread, only of the passover, as here no mention is made of the feast of the passover, which, though they followed one another, were, two distinct feasts.

Geneva Study Bible

And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. And it shall be, &c.] so v. 11; cf. Deuteronomy 6:10; Deuteronomy 7:1; Deuteronomy 11:29.

the Canaanite, &c., … flowing with milk and honey] See on Exodus 3:8.

which he sware, &c.] See Genesis 24:7 (cf. Exodus 15:18); and comp. the references in Genesis 50:24, Exodus 13:11; Exodus 32:13; Exodus 33:1, and constantly a Dt., as Exodus 1:8, Exodus 6:10; Exodus 6:18, &c.

this service] as prescribed in vv. 6, 7.

5–7. How Maẓẓoth is to be kept, after the Israelites have entered Canaan.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - The land of the Canaanites, etc. Compare Exodus 3:8, 17. The six nations of these passages are reduced here to five by the omission of the Perizzites, one of the less important tribes. Which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. See Genesis 15:18; Genesis 24:7; and compare the comment on Exodus 6:8. That thou shalt keep this service. This injunction had been already given (Exodus 12:25) almost in the same words; but on the former occasion it was delivered to the elders only; now it is laid upon the whole people. Exodus 13:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The directions as to the seven days' feast of unleavened bread (Exodus 12:15-20) were made known by Moses to the people on the day of the exodus, at the first station, namely, Succoth; but in the account of this, only the most important points are repeated, and the yearly commemoration is enjoined. In Exodus 13:3, Egypt is called a "slave-house," inasmuch as Israel was employed in slave-labour there, and treated as a slave population (cf. Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6; Deuteronomy 6:12, etc.). יד הזק "strength of hand," in Exodus 13:3, Exodus 13:14, and Exodus 13:16, is more emphatic than the more usual חזקה יד (Exodus 3:19, etc.). - On Exodus 13:5, see Exodus 3:8, and Exodus 12:25. In Exodus 13:6, the term "feast to Jehovah" points to the keeping of the seventh day by a holy convocation and the suspension of work (Exodus 12:16). It is only of the seventh day that this is expressly stated, because it was understood as a matter of course, that the first was a feast of Jehovah.