Joe: Alright, so we are talking about Exodus 12. What’s going on here?

Bible Expert: Well, this chapter details the instructions of the Passover meal. The Lord tells Moses and Aaron that all the people of Israel should take a lamb at the start of the month, keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then kill it as a sacrifice.

Joe: Wait, what? They have to kill a lamb?

Bible Expert: Yes, the people of Israel are instructed to take the blood of the lamb and put it on their doorposts and on the lintels of their houses.

Joe: Jamie, can you look up what a lintel is?

Jamie: Sure, it’s the horizontal beam that rests on two supports, usually forming the top of a doorway.

Joe: Huh, okay. So then what?

Bible Expert: Well, the Lord says that when He sees the blood on the doorposts, He will pass over that house and not bring the plague on them. This is known as the first Passover.

Joe: So it’s like a sign of protection?

Bible Expert: Exactly. The Lord also says that the people of Israel are to eat the Passover meal with unleavened bread, which is bread without yeast or other raising agents.

Joe: But why unleavened bread?

Bible Expert: It’s a symbol of haste, as the people of Israel were in a hurry to leave Egypt. It’s also a reminder of the fact that the Lord brought them out of Egypt in haste.

Joe: Interesting. So that’s what Exodus 12 is all about?

Bible Expert: Yes, it’s a reminder of the Lord’s protection and deliverance of His people.