12:43–51 These verses return to the concerns of perpetually keeping the Passover. They mirror “C” in the chiastic structure above, the “First Passover instruction” (vv. 21–27) as C′, the “Perpetual Passover ordinance.” Here the Lord speaks to Moses and gives seven additional statutes designed to preserve the original purpose of the celebration: to form a community around the historical deliverance of God’s people. These verses are sometimes treated as an appendix but, besides adding regulations to perpetual Passover keeping (vv. 24–27), they are also an integral part of a structure that centralizes God’s action and the actual deliverance of the people. Additionally, they provided instruction for adjudicating future Passovers for the “many other people” who went with them (v. 38).

Of these…