Exodus 12:2
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Original Language Analysis
הַזֶּ֛ה
H2088
רֹ֣אשׁ
shall be unto you the beginning
H7218
רֹ֣אשׁ
shall be unto you the beginning
Strong's:
H7218
Word #:
4 of 10
the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)
רִאשׁ֥וֹן
it shall be the first
H7223
רִאשׁ֥וֹן
it shall be the first
Strong's:
H7223
Word #:
6 of 10
first, in place, time or rank (as adjective or noun)
הוּא֙
H1931
הוּא֙
Strong's:
H1931
Word #:
7 of 10
he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demo
Cross References
Exodus 13:4This day came ye out in the month Abib.Deuteronomy 16:1Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.Exodus 34:18The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.Exodus 23:15Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)Leviticus 23:5In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.Numbers 28:16And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD.Esther 3:7In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.
Historical Context
Abib/Nisan falls in March-April. Previously, Israel likely followed Egypt's calendar which began with the Nile flood season. This new calendar would permanently mark time by the exodus event.
Questions for Reflection
- How does your conversion to Christ serve as a 'new beginning' that reorders your priorities and perspective?
- In what ways do you mark time by God's redemptive work in your life rather than by worldly calendars?
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Analysis & Commentary
The Hebrew 'rosh chodashim' (רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים) designates this as the 'head of months,' establishing Abib (later called Nisan) as the first month. This reordering of the calendar signifies that redemption creates a new beginning—salvation reorders all of life. The old Egyptian calendar is superseded by a calendar centered on God's saving act.