Abib 15 in Egypt
The day after the first Passover, or Abib 15 in Egypt, is often cited as a Pinpointed Lunar Sabbath.
This page presents the rationale for considering it as a Pinpointed Lunar Sabbath, and discusses several objections.
Rationale
We find in Psalm 81 that the Israelites were delivered from their burdens on the 15th (at the full moon):
Blow up the trumpet in the full moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. (Psa 81:3-6)
This happened on the 15th day of the month, on the Sabbath.
Although the Israelites were delivered from slavery on the 15th, they did not leave Egypt until the 16th. This is because YHVH gave them rest on the Sabbath day (the 15th) and they departed that evening. This is evidenced by the fact that the Egyptians were burying their first-born when the Israelites left.
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which YHVH had smitten among them: upon their gods also YHVH executed judgments. (Num 33:3-4)
The first-born were killed at approximately midnight of the 15th, and so it would have been too soon to bury them during the daylight of the 15th. Additionally, it's clear that the Israelites departed during the evening, which would have been after sunset on the 16th:
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto YHVH thy God: for in the month of Abib YHVH thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. (Deu 16:1)
We also see in Deu 5:15 that Abib 15 is directly associated with the Sabbath Day:
And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that YHVH thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore YHVH thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (Deu 5:15)
Objections
There is overwhelming evidence that the Israelites left Egypt on Abib 15 instead of on Abib 16.
Exodus 12:17
Exodus 12 explains that the First Day of Unleavened Bread is to be observed as a memorial of the day that the Israelites left Egypt:
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the YHVH. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to YHVH throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. (Ex 12:12-19)
The events described above and their timing are illustrated on the timeline below:
This shows that Abib 15 is the First Day of Unleavened Bread, the evening during which the Passover took place, and the daytime during which the Israelites left Egypt ("on the selfsame day", v17).
Lev 23:6 clarifies that the First Day of Unleavened Bread is the 15th and not the 14th:
And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto YHVH: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread
Numbers 33:3
This passage in Numbers documents the timing of the Israelite departure from Egypt:
And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. (Num 33:3)
The key word to understand in this passage is "morrow", which is the Hebrew word mohorot (Strong's Number H4283). This word can also be translated as "the next day". For a full exegesis of mohorot see the On the Morrow page, which clarifies that the word can only refer to the next daylight period that follows the previous nighttime period. In other words, "the morning after". It does not refer to the next evening.
Based on this definition, the Israelites departed Ramses on the morrow after Passover, i.e. the morning of the 15th.
Deuteronomy 16:1
If Numbers 33:3 is to be interpreted to mean that the Israelites left on the morning of the 15th, it must also be reconciled with what appears to be a contradiction in Deuteronomy 16:1:
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto YHVH thy God: for in the month of Abib YHVH thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. (Deu 16:1)
The key to understanding this passage is the phrase "brought thee forth", which comes from the Hebrew word Yatsa(יָצָא), Strong's Number H3318. The word is generally defined as "to go or bring out", but has multiple meanings. It can refer to either physically leaving a place, being born, or being freed from captivity. In this case, it refers to the Israelites being freed from slavery and not their physical departure from Egypt. This is clarified by YHVH when he spoke to Moses in Exodus Chapter 6:
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am YHVH, and I will bring you out (yatsa) from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am YHVH your God, which bringeth you out (yatsa) from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exo 6:6-7)
This came to pass during the evening of the fifteenth, when Pharoah granted the Israelites their release from Egypt:
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve YHVH, as ye have said. (Exo 12:30-31)
Once Pharaoh agreed to the release of the Israelites, they left Ramses in the morning, in the sight of the Egyptians burying their dead. However their freedom was granted during the previous night. It is this night, the night of the 15th, that Deuteronomy 16:1 refers to, which is why it's cited as a reason for keeping the Passover at that time.
Deuteronomy 5:15
Similar to Deuteronomy 16:1, Deu 5:15 also clarifies that the Sabbath is to be observed as a reminder of redemption from slavery:
And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that YHVH thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore YHVH thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (Deu 5:15)
The Sabbath is a reminder of redemption from slavery because it is a commanded time of rest. Slaves in Egypt did not get to rest once a week, they had to work every day. Therefore by resting on the Sabbath, it is a reminder of that act of redemption, not necessarily a reminder that freedom was obtained on a Sabbath day.
Timing of Burials
It is most probable that the Egyptians were burying their dead during the daytime of the 15th. Even the quickest form of mummification took seven days [1], so this would not have delayed the burials until only the 16th. Typically the only preparations needed before burial in ancient Egypt were to clean the body, wrap it in clothes or a shroud[2]. The account of the death and burial of Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts provides an example of the immediacy of burying the dead in the ancient world [3]. So it is quite likely that, if the first-born were killed around midnight of the 15th, that the bodies of the deceased would have been prepared early in the morning of the 15th and then buried as the Israelites departed that day.
Psalm 81:3-6
Although this passage is sometimes used as proof that the Israelites observed the Sabbath on Abib 15 in Egypt, it actually refers to the Feast of Trumpets instead of Passover. This is because the Feast of Trumpets is the only Holy Day that falls on the New Moon:
Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. (Psa 81:3-6)
By reading verses three and six in context with verses four and five, it's clear that this passage does not refer to Abib 15, but rather to Joseph's rise in Egypt from being a slave himself.
The Urgency of Leaving
Several passages in Exodus 12 indicate the urgency with which the Israelites were to leave Egypt. First, in Exodus 12:11 we see that they were commanded to eat the Passover meal with urgency:
And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is YHVH's passover. (Exo 12:11)
The "girding of loins" refers to the tucking up of one's robe in order to run or go into battle. Likewise, having shoes on and a staff in hand also indicate an impending trip. Next, in verse 33, the Israelites are urged to leave immediately:
And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. (Exo 12:33)
Furthermore, their departure was in such haste that they did not have time to leaven their bread:
And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. (Exo 12:34)
And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. (Exo 12:39)
It should be clear from these passages that the Israelite's departure from Egypt was an urgent one. The context certainly does not make it likely that they ate the Passover meal, then observed a Sabbath for twenty-four hours, and then departed.
See Also
Does Deuteronomy 5:15 Prove An Abib 15 Sabbath?
References
