The Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread

Passover is one of the best known feasts in the Bible. Most people know the general story behind the Passover, but how was it celebrated in Bible times? This episode of Bible Backdrop looks at the history of Passover along with how the meal was eaten. We also discuss the Feast of Unleavened Bread that was a 7 day festival in honor of God's deliverance. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please tell a friend and have them subscribe. To get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at the address given in the podcast episode.

Transcript

The squad of Egyptians walked with determination. They were sent by Pharaoh himself to fetch the two Hebrew men for an immediate audience. As they walked through the row of homes of the Hebrew slaves, they noticed that each of the doorposts was covered with a thin layer of blood. Even at this late hour, it was obvious that the slaves were still awake. There was definitely a smell of food cooking. How could they even be thinking about eating tonight?

It had been a horrible night for the Egyptians. Almost all of the men had children and as the night went on, they started hearing cries and wailing across the city. Then reports started flooding into Pharaoh’s palace...the first born sons of Egypt were dying. Each man hoped against hope that his child would be spared. Then a messenger came running and pulled one of the men aside. The man cried out and fell to his knees and the other men knew what had happened. They could do nothing but wait. Soon, each one that had a son received the same message. Their first born child was now dead. 

The crying and wailing across the city grew louder and the men were crushed. They were Pharaoh’s guards and could not leave to go mourn with their families. Then they received even worse news...Pharaoh’s own son had succumbed to the plague and was now dead. It was then that they were ordered to fetch the Hebrews and bring them before Pharaoh. They found the house and banged on the door, demanding to be let in. The door opened and they immediately recognized the man who stood before them for he had been to see Pharaoh numerous times. He stood in the doorway and looked as if he was prepared to go on a journey. He had sandals on this feet, his robe was tucked into his belt and he held a staff in his hand. The commander looked past him and saw a lamb roasting on the spit. Some of the meat had been eaten and it looked as if there was flat bread and herbs on the table. There was muttering behind the commander and one of the soldiers put his hand on his sword. They all wanted to strike off the head of this accursed Hebrew; the one who brought the plagues to Egypt and who they now held responsible for the deaths of their children. The commander barked a sharp order to the squad and turned to the Hebrew. He and his brother were to come to Pharaoh immediately. The commander expected a look of triumph from the man, but all he got was a simple nod. There was even sadness in his eyes...as if he was feeling the pain of what was happening in Egypt. The man, Moses, looked at his brother Aaron and they fell in step with the guards. The wailing continued as they made their way toward the palace. They were about to be free and would establish this event as a day to remember for generations to come. They were to remember the Lord’s Passover.

Hello again everyone and welcome back to another episode of Bible Backdrop. Today, we’re going to be talking about the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. When reading the Bible, it appears that these are the same feast; however, they are definitely set as two different feasts. Passover was a one day feast while Unleavened Bread was a 7 day festival. They are closely related though and we’ll take a look at the history and how they were celebrated in Bible times.

The Feast of Passover, celebrated during the month of Nisan (around April), commemorates the freeing of the nation of Israel as slaves from the hands of the Egyptians. God sent 9 plagues on the Egyptians to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, but after each plague ended Pharaoh would renege on his promise. The 10th plague would be the worst and would finally force his hand. According to Exodus, God would go through Egypt and kill the first born son in each household and among the cattle. Why the first born son? In Near East culture, the first born son was the one responsible to take on the family responsibilities and business. He was responsible to look after his parents as they became older. In return, they received a double portion of the inheritance. It was through the first born that the family line would continue. This was extremely important that family lines not be extinguished and God was striking at the very heart of Egypt. There may be another reason why the first born was singled out. Keep in mind that Pharaoh required that all Hebrew male children be killed as soon as they were born. Not just the first born...all of them. God was putting onto Pharaoh the consequences of his own sin.

But why the first born of the cattle? In Leviticus, God directs that the first born male of every clean animal be set aside for Him. God has essentially forced the Egyptians to sacrifice their first born animals for His glory. 

God then demonstrates his loving kindness onto Israel by giving them a way out. Each household was to take an unblemished, one year old lamb and slaughter it. They were then to take the blood and, using hyssop branches, put it on the doorposts. When God would see the blood, he would pass over that house and the first born would live. It was here that the Feast of Passover was established. 

In Exodus, after the lamb was killed and the blood drained, it would be roasted whole including the internal organs. The meal was to include the meat from the lamb, some bitter herbs, and bread baked without leaven. It was described as the meal of haste and the people would eat it “...with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.” The people were to be ready to go at a moments notice, which is what ended up happening. To eat a meal in such a way was unheard of at that time. Meals were meant for relaxing. People would wear comfortable clothing and would remove their sandals and wash their feet to eat a meal. Not so with Passover. The people needed to be ready to leave. 

Along with the instructions for Passover in Exodus 12, God also institutes the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The chapter goes on to talk about how when Israel left Egypt, they brought unleavened dough with them to make bread after they left. They couldn’t add leaven to it because there wasn’t time for it to rise since they had to leave so quickly. Both of these feasts were reminders to the people of God’s faithfulness and lovingkindness in redeeming them from the hand of Egypt and setting them aside as His people.

As they wandered the desert, God instructed that they were to observe the Passover. This, of course, continued after the conquest and settlement of the land of Canaan. There were no specific instructions about how to celebrate other than to include a roasted lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread. Like all traditions, these evolve over time and included new rituals. When Jesus celebrated the Passover in the Gospels, it may have gone something like this:

10th day of Nisan: A one year old, unblemished male lamb is chosen for the Passover.

13th day of Nisan: The head of the family would lead everyone in the household on a hunt through all the nooks and crannies to make sure there was no leaven in the house. There are some stories that they would sell the leaven to their Gentile neighbors and buy it back after the 8 days were over.

14th day of Nisan: This was the night of the feast. The lamb was slaughtered and roasted. Like all meals, the evening would begin with the guests washing their feet. This was done by a servant or slave; if none were available, it would probably fall to the youngest person in the house. In this culture, it was somewhat demeaning to have to wash someone’s feet, which makes it all the more amazing to see Jesus do this for His disciples. 

Before moving on with the meal, let’s talk about the table. Usually, the tables were low to the ground...18” off the ground at the most. There would be cushions around the table as meals were meant for relaxing. At each table setting, there are 4 glasses for wine that are connected with the events of the meal or ritual wine. There is also wine for non-ritual drinking and we will describe that later. The glass for non-ritual wine would not be there at the start of the meal, but would be given to guests after they arrive and their feet are washed. The setting also included a plate, cutlery (if any) and a napkin. There would be several candles on the table; seating labels (more on that in a minute); representative bottles of wine, all of them labeled. Finally, the unleavened bread, charoset, vegetables and vinegar would be on the table.

Seating at the meal is assigned with the head of the family at one end of the table. The guests wrap around the table in order of either oldest to youngest or most important to least important. 

As guests arrive, they can drink some non-ritual wine. There are also places during the meal when non-ritual wine could be consumed. The wine used during this time was red and warm.

When everyone has arrived, the meal starts with the first hand washing. Guests during Bible times did a ritual hand washing before every meal. After this is done and everyone is seated, the head of the family starts with reciting the kiddush, the prayer of sanctification: “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine. And you, O Lord our God, have given us festival days for joy, the feast of the unleavened bread, the time of our deliverance in remembrance of the departure from Egypt. Blessed are you, O lord our God, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to enjoy this season.” Once finished, then the first cup of ritual wine is poured. Before anyone drinks the wine, the head of the family recites the first part of Exodus 6:6-7. Each cup is tied to one of the verbs in this section of scripture. For the first cup, this is what is recited: “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.” Once done, then wine can now be drunk. After this cup, guests may drink non-ritual wine before the second cup.

Next, the head of the family dips bitter herbs (traditionally lettuce or celery) into salt water or vinegar. He dips them together with the chief guest of honor, the person seated to his right. Then the bitter herbs are passed down the table. Symbolically, these are very significant. The bitter herbs remind the Israelites of their bitter treatment at the hands of Egypt while the salt water or vinegar reminds them of the tears shed before they were freed.

After this, the food is removed from the table. Then the second cup of wine is poured, but not yet drunk. At this point, the youngest or least important person asks the following questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights, we eat leavened or unleavened bread, but this night only unleavened bread. On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but this night only bitter herbs. Why do we dip the herbs twice? On all other nights we eat meat roasted, stewed or boiled, but on this night why only roasted meat?

The father answers this question by first recounting the history of Israel from Abraham to Moses and the giving of the Law. We see something similar in the speech given by Stephen in Acts 7:2-38. When this is done, the food and wine, including the lamb, are returned to the table. Then the father explains the significance of the lamb, the bitter herbs and the unleavened bread.

Once this part is done, then everyone sings the first two Hallel Psalms. Hallel in Hebrew means “Praise Yahweh” and the Hallel Psalms are Psalms 113-118. At this point in the meal, everyone recites Psalms 113-114. There are two ways to do it: either everyone can reply “Hallelujah” after each verse or they can all sing the Psalms together.

When the Psalms are finished, the head of the family says the kiddush over the second cup and recites the second verb from Exodus 6:6: “I will deliver you from their bondage.” After this, the wine would be drunk. Then there is the second hand washing which is done out of respect for the unleavened bread that is about to be eaten. At this point, the main meal is served with the lamb, vegetables, two of the unleavened bread wafer, and a dish called charoset. This was a mixture of apples or dried fruit, nuts, wine, cinnamon, and other spices. It was a reminder of the mortar used by the Jews as slaves in the construction of the buildings for Pharaoh. The head of the family then says the following prayer: “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to eat unleavened bread.” When the prayer is finished, the host breaks the guest of honor’s bread and they dip it together in the charoset and bitter herbs. The guest in turn breaks his neighbors bread and they dip it together, and so on down the line. Once complete, then the meal may be eaten.

After the meal is complete, the third glass of ritual wine is poured and the following prayer is said: “The name of the Lord be blessed from now until eternity. Let us bless Him of whose gifts we have partaken. Blessed be our God of whose gifts we have partaken, and by whose goodness we exist.” After that, then the kiddush is repeated. Then the head of the family recites the third verb from Exodus 6:6: “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgements.” After this, the wine is drunk. At this point, between the 3rd and 4th glass, no non-ritual wine may be drunk.

Finally, the fourth cup is poured and blessed by all by everyone repeating the kiddush. Then the head of the family recites the 4th verb from Exodus 6:6-7: “Then I will take you as my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” When the 4th glass of wine is finished, the final 4 Hallel Psalms are sung; Psalms 115-118. In the Gospels, these were probably the Psalms Jesus and his disciples sang before going out to the Garden of Gethsemane.

This would conclude the day of Passover and the meal. After this was over, then the next 7 days were taken up with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. To start, much like the Feast of Booths, the first and last days were Sabbath days and no work could be done. Also, there was a sacred assembly on those two days. All the leaven had to be cleared out of a house and this was done before the Passover meal was eaten. For all the days of Passover and Unleavened Bread, nothing could be made with leaven. The unleavened bread is often called the Bread of Haste since the Israelites didn’t have time for the leavening to work on the dough before they left. This bread was very flat, somewhat like a pita. It could also be cooked until it was crunchy much like a cracker. Matzah is an example of unleavened bread that is common in Jewish homes and restaurants.

On that note, I’m going to wrap it up here for the Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread. Thank you again for listening and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Bible Backdrop. If you have a question or would like to get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at biblebackdrop@gmail.com. Word of mouth is the best way for this podcast to grow, so please tell a friend and have them subscribe. Have a great week!