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Exodus 13

Exodus 13 joins Israel’s remembrance of deliverance to God’s claim on the firstborn and his guidance into the wilderness.

Israel has left Egypt, and YHWH tells Moses to set apart every firstborn for him. Moses instructs the people to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread and explain these practices to their children as reminders of deliverance from slavery and the death of Egypt’s firstborn. God then leads Israel toward the wilderness, away from the shorter route through Philistine territory. Moses carries Joseph’s bones, while YHWH goes ahead in cloud and fire.

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2“Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”
3Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
4Today you go out in the month Abib.
5It shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.
6Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.
7Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you. No yeast shall be seen with you, within all your borders.
8You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.
10You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
12that you shall set apart to the LORD all that opens the womb, and every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have. The males shall be the LORD’s.
13Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and you shall redeem all the firstborn of man among your sons.
14It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.
15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of livestock. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
16It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes; for by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”
17When Pharaoh had let the people go, God didn’t lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt”;
18but God led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you.”
20They took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
21The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night:
22the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, didn’t depart from before the people.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Exodus 13:21YHWH who brought Israel out of slavery now goes before the people, providing direction and light.
Exodus 13:14A child’s question becomes the occasion to explain the firstborn practice through YHWH’s deliverance from slavery.
Exodus 13:9The feast keeps deliverance before Israel’s eyes and places YHWH’s law in the people’s speech.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis records Joseph’s request concerning his bones, and Joshua records their burial, linking both books to Moses carrying them out of Egypt. Numbers and Nehemiah share the account of God’s guidance through cloud and fire, while Deuteronomy also joins remembrance of deliverance with teaching children.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What would an Israelite child learn about God from the practices Moses commands here?

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How does God’s stated reason for the longer route shape your thoughts about delays?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 13

Why does God claim the firstborn in Exodus 13?

The command is tied to YHWH’s deliverance of Israel when Egypt’s firstborn died. Israel’s firstborn males belong to him as a lasting acknowledgment of that event. The chapter distinguishes sacrifice from redemption: firstborn sons must be redeemed, and a firstborn donkey must be redeemed with a lamb or have its neck broken.

Why did God lead Israel by the longer route?

Verse 17 states the reason: if the people encountered war on the shorter route through Philistine territory, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. God therefore leads them through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Their departure with arms does not remove the danger of fear and retreat.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).