OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS

Exodus 12:1-14 is one of the central descriptions of how the Passover is to be celebrated and how it functions in the life of Israel. Psalm 149 is a two-sided hymn of praise in which God's ability to destroy and to save is acknowledged.

Exodus 12:1-14 - "The Passover"
Setting.  The confusion of the present form of  Exodus 11-13 confronts any reader with immediate obstacles to interpretation. At least three different traditions have been brought together in these chapters (by at least two different hands) to describe what the salvific power of God is like. These three traditions include the death of the firstborn   Exodus 11, 12:12-13, 29-32; and perhaps 13:1, 11-16), the cultic celebration of Passover   Exodus 12:1-11, 21-27, 43-50), and unleavened bread or massot   E…