Sermon on the Mount, The Emmaus View

Appendix C: Passover and the feasts of the seventh month (Version 1.3)

This table maps the events of Exodus 7:10-15:26 to days, bearing in mind that the Hebrew day began at dusk.

Day

Exodus

1st Month feasts

7th Month feasts

1st

7 days of fulfilment, during which ‘tomorrow’ is a key textual marker for the passage of time (Exod 7:14-10:20, note 7:25).

Moses goes to Pharaoh in the morning.

River turned to blood.

Moses goes in to Pharaoh.

Arrival of frogs.

Promise that frogs will go tomorrow.


Rosh Hashanah
(Feast of Trumpets)

2nd


Frogs die.

Lice replace them.

Moses goes to Pharaoh early in the morning.

Promise of flies tomorrow.


Middle eight Days of Awe

(The Days of Awe are a 10 day period for repentance and include Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)

3rd


Flies arrive.

Moses promises that the flies will depart tomorrow.



4th


Flies depart.

Moses goes in to Pharaoh.

Promises of livestock dying tomorrow.



5th


Livestock dies.
Boils on people.

Moses goes to Pharaoh early in the morning.

Promise of Hail tomorrow.



6th


Hail stops

Promise of locusts tomorrow



7th


Locusts arrive.

East wind all day.



8th

3 days of darkness (Exod 10:21-29)

East wind continues all night.

Locusts now gone.

1st day of the darkness.



9th


2nd day of darkness.



10th


3nd day of darkness.

Pharaoh’s meeting with Moses seals his judgement. Each Israelite takes in their lamb.


Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)

11th

3 days of waiting

Not mentioned in the text



12th


Not mentioned in the text



13th


Not mentioned in the text



14th

Passover at twilight (Exod 12:6-12)

Lambs slaughtered at twilight on 14th day (therefore at the boundary between the 14th and the 15th day).

Passover at twilight


15th

First day of flight (Exodus 12:29-37)

Angel passes over & Israel flees to Succoth.

Unleavened bread, day 1

Start of Succoth (Feast of Booths), day 1

16th

Second day of flight (Exod 13:20)

Move on to camp at Etham.

2

2

17th

Third day of flight (Exod 14:8-14)

Move on to Pihahiroth. Salvation announced. Israel to keep silent whilst the Lord fights for them. (Anniversary of God remembering Noah)

3

3

18th

Crossing the sea (Exod 14:15-21)

Israel escapes through the midst of the sea.

4 (the ‘Eighth Day’*)

4

19th

Three days journey (Exod 15:22-23)

1st day, not mentioned in the text

5

5

20th


2nd day, not mentioned in the text

6

6

21st


3rd day, camp at Marah

7

7

* Passover effectively started with taking in the lamb on the tenth day, so the great and final day of Israel’s tribulation at the hands of Egypt (cf. John 7:34), fell on the annual Edenic covenant renewal, seven days later. Leviticus’ reference to a special assembly on the eighth day in connection with Tabernacles (Lev 23:36, cf. Neh 8:8) is therefore best understood as a reference to the original Passover timetable. The Talmud presents the Red Sea crossing as taking place on the seventh day of the Passover1. This is consistent with the picture presented above.

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1 Polano H., The Talmud, Frederick Warne & Co Ltd, undated, pg 345