Exodus 12:2

Exodus 12:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
• New International Version (NIV)“This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Context of Exodus 12:2

1The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months to you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3Tell all the congregation of Israel, ‘On the tenth [day] of this month they are to take a lamb or young goat for themselves, according to [the size of] the household of which he is the father, a lamb or young goat for each household. 4Now if the household is too small for a lamb [to be consumed], let him and his next door neighbor take one according to the number of people [in the households]; according to what each man can eat, you are to divide the lamb.

Exodus 12:2 word by word

הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים רִאשׁ֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם לְחָדְשֵׁ֖י הַשָּׁנָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• This monthחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · monthH2320
• unto you the beginningרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: firstH7218
• the firstרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · firstH7223
• of the yearשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141

Cross-references for Exodus 12:2

• Exodus 13:4On this day in the month Abib, you are about to go onward.
• Exodus 23:15You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed [but you shall bring sacrificial offerings].
• Exodus 34:18“You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover). For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I have commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt.
• Leviticus 23:5The Lord’s Passover is on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight.
• Numbers 28:16‘The Lord’s Passover shall be on the fourteenth day of the first month [of each year].
• Deuteronomy 16:1“Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
• Esther 3:7In the first month, the month of Nisan (Mar-Apr), in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, Haman cast Pur, that is, the lot, cast before him day after day [to find a lucky day to approach the king], month after month, until the twelfth month, the month of Adar (Feb-Mar).

Commentaries on Exodus 12:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months - It is supposed that God now changed the commencement of the Jewish year. The month to which this verse refers, the month Abib, answers to a part of our March and April; whereas it is supposed that previously to this the year began with Tisri, which answers to a part of our September; for in this month the Jews suppose God created the world, when the earth appeared at once with all its fruits in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2This month - Abib Exodus 13:4. It was called “Nisan” by the later Hebrews, and nearly corresponds to our April. The Israelites are directed to take Abib henceforth as the beginning of the year; the year previously began with the month Tisri, when the harvest was gathered in; see Exodus 23:16. The injunction touching Abib or Nisan referred only to religious rites; in other affairs they retained the old arrangement, even in the beginning of the Sabbatic…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2This month was the month Abib (13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:1; later called by the Babylonian name, Nisan, Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7). This time falls within the months of March and April. Many cultures held festivals about this time of the year, celebrating the renewal of plant life. Israel’s festival celebrated the historic event in which God defeated death and rescued his people from bondage in Egypt.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. this month shall be unto you the beginning of months--the first not only in order but in estimation. It had formerly been the seventh according to the reckoning of the civil year, which began in September, and continued unchanged, but it was thenceforth to stand first in the national religious year which began in March, April.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 12:2

• Abib
• Chronology
• Israel
• Month
• Year

In the dictionaries

• Blood
• Convocation
• Cry
• Frontlets
• Leaven
• Mean
• Observe
• Passover
• Purtenance
• Sojourning

Commentaries on Exodus 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings