Exodus 12 9

Exodus 12:9 kjv

Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

Exodus 12:9 nkjv

Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire?its head with its legs and its entrails.

Exodus 12:9 niv

Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire?with the head, legs and internal organs.

Exodus 12:9 esv

Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.

Exodus 12:9 nlt

Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal ? including the head, legs, and internal organs ? must be roasted over a fire.

Exodus 12 verses

Exodus 12 9 Meaning

Exodus 12:9 details specific instructions for preparing the Passover lamb. It strictly prohibits eating the lamb raw or boiled in water. Instead, it commands that the lamb be roasted whole by fire, including its head, legs, and inner parts. This directive underscores the lamb's sacred nature, ensuring a specific, complete, and hasty preparation that set it apart from ordinary meals, and symbolically prefigured the perfect and complete sacrifice of Christ.

Exodus 12 9 Context

Exodus 12:9 is an integral part of God's meticulous instructions to Moses and Aaron regarding the very first Passover meal. This divine ordinance was given just days before the tenth and final plague, the slaying of the firstborn in Egypt, which compelled Pharaoh to release the Israelites. The entire chapter focuses on the Passover lamb as the means of Israel's deliverance from death and bondage, marking their national birth. The prescribed method of preparation, including roasting, aligns with the theme of haste, immediate obedience, and a unique, holy meal set apart from common practices. It foreshadowed the readiness required for their impending departure from Egypt and established a foundational ritual for future generations, perpetually commemorating God's mighty act of redemption.

Exodus 12 9 Word analysis

• Do not eat any of it: This emphatic negative command underscores the seriousness and specific requirements for handling this sacred food. It implies divine prohibition, marking boundaries for proper consumption.
• raw (נָא - na'): Means uncooked, crude. This instruction may carry a polemical edge, standing against pagan practices that might involve consuming raw flesh, possibly associated with blood rituals. Biblically, consumption of blood was strictly forbidden (Gen 9:4, Lev 17:10-14), as "the life is in the blood," and only blood made atonement (Lev 17:11). Eating it raw could violate this principle or signify a primitive, uncontrolled, or unholy meal, unfit for a holy covenant ceremony.
• or boiled (בָּשֵׁל - bashel): Cooked in water. Boiling was a common method of cooking meat in the ancient world.
  • The prohibition against boiling likely relates to the need for haste; boiling takes time and is a more leisurely preparation. The Passover was a hurried event (Exod 12:11).
  • Boiling could also result in the meat easily separating from the bones, potentially violating the implicit need for the lamb's integrity and later explicit instruction that no bones of the Passover lamb should be broken (Num 9:12, fulfilled in John 19:36 for Christ).
  • Additionally, boiling might dilute or wash away some essence of the animal, contrasting with the direct, consuming action of fire which implies total dedication. It differentiated the sacred Passover from common meals.
• in water: Specifies the boiling medium, reiterating the common method that is forbidden.
• but roasted (צְלִי - tzali): Prepared by intense, direct dry heat. This method is the prescribed way.
  • Significance: Roasting ensures a complete cooking that also requires speed and maintains the animal's physical integrity. It connects the preparation to the imagery of burnt offerings (Lev 1), where fire symbolizes a consuming devotion and purification, making the sacrifice acceptable to God. Fire represents God's purifying presence and judgment.
• with fire: Emphasizes the element. Fire transforms, purifies, and is associated with divine manifestation and judgment in scripture. It ensured a quick cook suitable for immediate consumption before their hasty departure.
• its head, its legs, and its inner parts: This phrase emphasizes that the lamb was to be prepared and consumed whole.
  • Wholeness: No part was to be separated, discarded, or consumed in a different manner. This integrity of the animal foreshadows the wholeness and perfection of Christ's sacrifice. His body, not a bone broken (John 19:36), was completely offered, reflecting His undivided being in His atoning work.
  • The listing of specific parts (head-symbolizing thought/leadership, legs-strength/action, inner parts-vitality/affections) underlines that every aspect of the animal was part of the offering, leaving nothing back.

Exodus 12 9 Bonus section

The specific method of roasting the Passover lamb can be understood as a pedagogical tool. By forbidding common practices like boiling and emphasizing fire-roasting and consumption of the whole animal, God taught Israel several key lessons:

• Sacred Distinction: The way they prepared and ate the lamb distinguished them from the Egyptians and other nations. Their practices were set apart as God's chosen people.
• Immediate Obedience & Readiness: The rapid method of preparation by fire was critical for the impending urgent departure from Egypt, fostering a mindset of readiness and prompt obedience to God's command.
• Completeness of Offering: The command to roast the lamb with its head, legs, and inner parts ensured the integrity of the animal. This emphasized that nothing should be withheld from God's sacred purpose. This finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, whose entire being was offered in perfect sacrifice, leading to the preservation of His bones from breaking.
• Anti-Pagan Polemic: The prohibition against eating raw meat likely countered any temptation to adopt primitive or pagan ritualistic eating practices, particularly those involving consuming blood which was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic Law.
• Foreshadowing Christ's Perfection: The wholeness and fiery preparation of the lamb directly foreshadowed the completeness, purity, and ultimate suffering and triumph of Christ on the cross, His body unblemished, fully given for redemption.

Exodus 12 9 Commentary

Exodus 12:9, though seemingly a simple culinary instruction, is profound in its implications. The strict prohibitions against eating the Passover lamb raw or boiled set this meal apart, endowing it with ritualistic purity and unique significance. Eating raw meat could echo primitive or pagan blood-drinking practices, starkly contrasting with the clean and ordered worship of Yahweh. Boiling, while a common cooking method, was likely forbidden to prevent the separation of the meat from the bones, thus preserving the animal's wholeness, and possibly due to the need for haste during the preparation, as boiling is slower than roasting. The command to roast the lamb whole with fire carries immense theological weight. Fire is intrinsically linked to divine judgment, purification, and the acceptance of offerings (Gen 15:17, Lev 9:24). The lamb being roasted whole, with no part excluded, speaks to the completeness required of the sacrifice. This precise method ensured readiness for immediate departure, underscored God's sovereignty over even dietary customs, and provided a powerful typological picture: the Lord Jesus Christ, our perfect Passover Lamb, offered Himself completely and without blemish, His body intact, through the "eternal Spirit" (Heb 9:14), as the one consummate and ultimate sacrifice, fully consumed by divine purpose for our redemption.