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The first Passover
Exodus 12; kept every spring since· Event· Church, doctrine & the world
Faith & scriptureHeld by believers on faith and scripture; history can neither confirm nor rule it out.
The night, Exodus says, God 'passed over' Hebrew homes marked with lamb's blood while striking Egypt's firstborn, remembered every spring.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Exodus 12 tells each Israelite household to kill a lamb, paint its blood on the doorposts, and eat it roasted with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, dressed to leave in haste. That night the tenth plague strikes, and Pharaoh releases them. God commands the meal be kept 'forever' from the 14th of the month Nisan. Jews still hold the Seder meal each year, retelling the story.
Why it matters
It is a central Jewish festival. Jesus' Last Supper took place at Passover, and Paul calls Christ 'our Passover lamb' (1 Corinthians 5:7). Easter's date follows it.
Faith and history
The practice is well attested: a papyrus from Elephantine, Egypt (419 BC) mentions it, and Jews have kept it for over 2,500 years. The original event is a matter of faith.
Questions and debates
Scholars think it may combine an older shepherds' spring lamb rite and a farmers' unleavened-bread festival. Whether the Last Supper was a Seder is debated (John's Gospel differs).
Connections (2)
▸The Exodus from Egypt began with The first PassoverFaith & scripture
The connection
The tenth plague, the death of Egypt's firstborn, finally breaks Pharaoh. The Israelites shelter behind blood-marked doors, eat the meal in haste, and leave that same night. The festival is founded in the moment of liberation, as a reminder for all generations.
When and where
In Egypt, on the 14th of the spring month Nisan (Abib), by Exodus 12; the people set out from Rameses (12:37).
How do we know?
Exodus 12–13 ties the event and the ritual together. The festival itself is attested historically from at least the 5th century BC.
Questions and debates
Scholars suspect the festival came first and the story explains it, or that both grew together; its original date and setting are unknown.
▸The first Passover is the festival remembered at The Last SupperMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Passover recalls the night God spared Israel's firstborn and led them out of Egypt, kept with lamb, unleavened bread and wine. Jesus came to Jerusalem for the feast, and in Mark, Matthew and Luke the Last Supper is a Passover meal. Christians came to see Jesus as the new Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7).
When and where
Jerusalem, at Passover, about AD 30 or 33; Mark 14:12–16 describes the disciples preparing the meal in a borrowed upstairs room.
How do we know?
All four Gospels set Jesus' death at Passover, which historians accept. Whether the meal itself was a Passover meal depends on which Gospel one follows.
Questions and debates
John puts the crucifixion as the Passover lambs were slaughtered, so the supper came a day earlier. Scholars debate which timing is right, or whether groups used different calendars.