Deuteronomy 16:2 Meaning: Flock and Herd in the Passover
You shall sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.
And thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto Jehovah thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Jehovah shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
and thou hast sacrificed a passover to Jehovah thy God, of the flock, and of the herd, in the place which Jehovah doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there.
And thou shalt sacrifice the passover to Jehovah thy God, of the flock and of the herd, in the place which Jehovah will choose to cause his name to dwell there.
Meaning in one sentence
Does this verse contradict Exodus 12:5? Learn how 'Passover' here means the whole festival, including sacrifices from both sheep and cattle.
Context
Moses is speaking to Israel on the plains of Moab, just before they enter the promised land. The book of Deuteronomy is a series of sermons, reminding the people of what God has done and what he asks of them. Chapter 16 lays out the three great annual feasts, Passover, Weeks, and Tabernacles. This verse falls at the start of the instructions for Passover. The key concern, repeated throughout the chapter, is that these feasts must be observed at the one place where God chooses to put his name, not scattered across the land in local shrines. Verse 2 specifies the sacrifice: from the flock and from the herd. That detail raises a question for anyone who knows the earlier Passover law in Exodus.
Key Words
The Hebrew word for Passover, pesach, can refer to the lamb that was killed on the first night, but it can also stand for the entire seven‑day feast. That flexibility matters here. The verb zavach (to sacrifice) is used for any slaughter that is offered to God, it is not limited to the paschal lamb alone. And the phrase cause his name to dwell comes from the verb shakan, which means to settle down, to tabernacle. It is the same root as Shekinah, the visible presence of God among his people. The place God chooses is not simply a convenient location; it is where he personally makes his home. For the worshiper, that changes everything. You do not just go to a building; you go to meet the God who lives there on purpose.
How Christians Read This Verse
Most Christian interpreters agree that the word “Passover” in this verse includes the entire festival and its additional sacrifices. Matthew Henry, a Reformed commentator, writes that the phrase “of the flock and the herd” points to the offerings prescribed for the seven days of Unleavened Bread in Numbers 28. The Baptist commentator John Gill notes the same: the “passover” here is a general term, covering the peace offerings and festival sacrifices. The Anglican Cambridge Bible agrees, observing that Moses passes from the narrow sense of the paschal lamb to the broader sense of the feast. These readings avoid any contradiction with Exodus 12:5, where a lamb from the sheep or goats is specified for the actual Passover meal. The unity of the Old Testament law is preserved by understanding that the one God gave one consistent command, applied across different contexts.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading is that this verse contradicts Exodus 12:5, making it seem as though the Passover lamb could be a bull. In fact, the word “Passover” here refers to the entire seven‑day festival, not just the single lamb eaten on the first night. The additional sacrifices from the herd, bulls and oxen, are the burnt offerings and peace offerings required for the following days, as Numbers 28:19 makes clear. The original Passover lamb remained a sheep or a goat, exactly as God first commanded.
Living This Out
This verse asks you to see that your worship is not a private matter you arrange on your own terms. God chose a specific place for his name to dwell, and he asked his people to come there, together, to remember his salvation. You may not travel to a physical sanctuary today, but the principle remains: worship is shaped by God’s instruction, not by your convenience. This week, before you go to church or gather with believers, pause and remind yourself that the God who saves also calls you to come to the place where he has chosen to meet you. Let that shape your preparation, your attention, and your gratitude.
Main takeaway: The Passover command included both lamb and bull because the whole festival belonged to God, not just the first night alone.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
God told his people to celebrate Passover together in one special place. They brought sheep and cows to thank him for saving them. You can thank God every time you go to church with your family.
For ages 9, 12
In Exodus, God told Israel to use a lamb for the Passover meal. Here in Deuteronomy, he says to use both sheep and cattle. That sounds like a mix‑up, but it is not. “Passover” means the whole week of celebration, not just one night. During that week, the people brought extra offerings from the herd, bulls and oxen, to thank God for rescuing them. So the rule never changed: the Passover lamb was always a sheep or goat, and the cattle were for the festival that followed. God wants his people to remember his salvation together, in the place where he chooses to live among them.
Questions People Ask
Does Deuteronomy 16:2 contradict Exodus 12:5?
No, it does not. In Exodus, ‘passover’ refers strictly to the lamb eaten on the first night. In Deuteronomy, the word covers the entire seven‑day festival, including additional sacrifices from the herd that were offered on the following days. The two verses describe different aspects of the same celebration.
What does ‘cause his name to dwell there’ mean?
The Hebrew verb shakan means to settle down or tabernacle. It pictures God personally making his home in a specific place, not just attaching his label to a building. This phrase, repeated throughout Deuteronomy, emphasizes that worship was not to be scattered across local shrines but gathered to the one spot where God himself lived among his people.
Why were cattle included in the Passover sacrifice?
Cattle were not part of the original Passover lamb, but they were offered as burnt offerings and peace offerings during the seven days of Unleavened Bread that followed. Numbers 28:19 lists these additional sacrifices: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs. The verse in Deuteronomy uses ‘Passover’ as a shorthand for the whole feast week.
What is the Chagigah offering mentioned in some commentaries?
Chagigah is the Hebrew term for the festival peace offering brought on the first day of Unleavened Bread. Jewish commentators and some early Christian interpreters, like John Gill, identified the cattle in this verse with that offering. It was a voluntary sacrifice that added to the joy of the feast, shared among family and friends.
Why did God require one central place for Passover?
Concentrating worship at one sanctuary prevented Israel from mixing God’s commands with the local religious practices of Canaan. It also united the nation in a single act of remembrance. Deuteronomy repeats this rule six times in the first sixteen verses of chapter 16, showing how important it was that the people come together in the place God chose.
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