Exodus 13:4 · Bible study
Exodus 13:4 Commentary: Why Abib Matters
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Exodus 13:4 emphasizes the month Abib. Discover its meaning, the significance of spring timing for the exodus, and the call to remember God's deliverance.
Research Summary
- Meaning: 'Today you go out in the month Abib.', the exodus is tied to a specific spring month.
- Key words: yom (day), yotse'im (Qal active participle: are going out), Abib (green ears of barley).
- Main debate: Whether the name Abib was pre-existing or given at the exodus, and how exactly it aligns with the modern calendar.
- Theological theme: God’s providence in timing; the call to memorialize deliverance through seasonal observance.
- Best use: A preaching anchor for remembering redemption, especially at Passover or Easter, connecting the material world to spiritual truth.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Today you go out in the month Abib.
KJV King James Version 1769
This day came ye out in the month Abib.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
This day ye go forth in the month Abib.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
To-day ye are going out, in the month of Abib.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Ye come out to-day, in the month Abib.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
This day you go forth in the month of new corn.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Vosotros salís hoy en el mes de Abib.
Vós saís hoje no mês de Abibe.
Vous sortez aujourd’ hui, dans le mois des épis.
Heute seid ihr ausgegangen, in dem Monat Abib.
Heden gaat gijlieden uit, in de maand Abib.
Voi uscite oggi, nel mese di Abib.
Dziś wy wychodzicie, w miesiącu Abib.
сегодня выходите вы, в месяце Авиве.
亞筆 月 間的這日是你們 出來 的日子。
On this day, in the month Abib, you are going out.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Exodus 13:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that verse 4 anchors the exodus in a specific agricultural season. The Hebrew Abib means 'green ears of barley' (Barnes; Gill). This month, corresponding to March, April, marks the spring harvest when barley ripens. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown calls it 'the best season for undertaking a journey to the desert region of Sinai', mild weather, green pastures for flocks. But the timing is more than practical. Calvin stresses that Moses sets this day against the entire sojourn in Canaan: the people were redeemed not for fleeting joy but for perpetual gratitude. The cross-references (Exodus 23:15; 34:18; Deuteronomy16:1) repeatedly tie the name Abib to the command to keep the feast. The month name itself becomes a memory aid. When later generations see the barley in ear, they remember: this is when God brought us out.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The month Abib, the month of spring and barley harvest, is the appointed time of the exodus, signifying God's providential care and the call to perpetual remembrance.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Name origin of Abib | Scholars agree that Abib means 'green ears of barley' or 'young wheat,' reflecting the agricultural season. | Barnes notes it is uncertain whether the name was ancient or given at the exodus; some connect it to the Egyptian month Epiphi, but this is speculative. |
| Calendar correspondence | All agree Abib corresponds roughly to March-April and was the first month of the religious year after Exodus 12:2. | Exact equivalence to the modern calendar varies (mid-March or early April), and whether it was a fixed lunar month or tied to the vernal equinox is discussed. |
| Source critical placement | The verse belongs to the J source in classic documentary hypothesis, with the surrounding laws seen as parenetic expansions. | Some see the material in vv.3, 10 as an addition to an earlier core (v.3a, 4, 6, 7, 10) from a later compiler, while others read it as a unified composition. |
| Theological emphasis | The timing shows God's providence and the need for perpetual remembrance. | Certain traditions stress the agricultural sign as a present comfort; others emphasize the historical uniqueness of the date as a foundation for covenant identity. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The Israelite calendar before the exodus followed Canaanite or Egyptian patterns, but at the exodus God reset the calendar: 'This month shall be to you the beginning of months' (Exodus 12:2). The month Abib, also known later as Nisan (Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7), was now the first month of the religious year.
Agriculturally, Abib was the month when winter rains had ended and barley began to form ears. The land of Egypt, and especially the Goshen region, would have been green with the spring crop. Gill notes that the Syriac version renders it 'the month of flowers,' a springtime ideal for travel, 'no heat, nor cold, nor rain.' For a multitude with flocks and herds heading into the Sinai wilderness, this timing meant water in the wadis and fodder along the way. Barnes comments that the name may come from the Egyptian 'Epiphi,' though it is found only in the Pentateuch, six times as a month name and twice meaning 'young wheat.'
Literarily, verse 4 sits within Moses’ speech to the people after the laws of the firstborn and unleavened bread. The context is a call to remembrance: 'Remember this day,' Moses says in verse 3. Verse 4 specifies the precise moment, 'today', anchoring the memory in a date that would keep recurring each spring. The surrounding verses (5, 10) give the regulations for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and later cross-references (Exodus 23:15; 34:18; Deuteronomy 16:1) repeatedly invoke the month Abib as the appointed time. Historical memory was not abstract; it was tied to a season, a crop, a temperature. God's deliverance happened in real space and real time, and he wanted his people to feel it every time the barley began to ripen.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is consistent across ancient manuscripts.
Reception History
Jewish tradition has long read this verse as establishing the month of Nisan as the month of redemption. The Passover Haggadah highlights the season of spring as a sign of hope. Early Christian writers such as Origen and Augustine saw the barley harvest as a type of Christ’s resurrection, the 'firstfruits of those who sleep' (1 Cor 15:20, WEB). Reformation commentators like Calvin emphasized the verse’s call to perpetual remembrance and gratitude. In modern preaching, Exodus 13:4 is often cited to show God’s attention to detail in salvation history. The month Abib remains a link between agricultural cycles and divine deliverance, reminding believers in every generation that redemption came at a real time, and that time itself belongs to God.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God’s timing is providential. The exodus happened in Abib, the month of green ears, a time of new growth and promise. This was not coincidence but divine appointment.
- Agricultural markers become spiritual reminders. The month of barley harvest would forever trigger gratitude: every stalk of grain spoke of freedom. God uses the material world to teach spiritual truths.
- Remembrance shapes identity. Moses commands the people to tell their children (v.8). The exodus became the defining story of Israel, and the month Abib was its annual rehearsal.
Five-point outline
- Abib: a name that means “green ears.” God redeems in the season of new life. Spring is the time of deliverance.
- The timing is not accidental. Exodus 12:2 redesigns the calendar; God claims the month as his own.
- Practical providence. Mild weather, green pastures, safe travel with livestock. God cares about the details of the journey.
- Concrete remembrance. The month name itself is a memory peg. Every spring when the barley ripens, the community retells the story.
- A legacy of worship. The command to pass the story on (v.8) ensures that gratitude outlives one generation.
Illustration hooks
- A family drives past a landmark each year and tells the story of how they moved to that town. The landmark is ordinary, but the memory makes it sacred.
- A farmer looks at the first green shoots of barley and remembers the hard year a drought broke. The field itself becomes a testimony.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does the Bible care about what month it was? Didn’t just the fact of deliverance matter?
- Does the name Abib have any meaning for us today, or was it just a name?
- How can I make remembrance a natural part of my life instead of a forced religious duty?
Leading a Discussion
This short verse packs a lot: a specific day, a specific month, and a command to remember. The week leading up to the exodus was chaotic, yet God wanted his people to know precisely when it happened. Why does he care about dates? How does a calendar of redemption shape your faith?
Discussion questions
- Look at the four verb forms in the translations: 'you go out,' 'came ye out,' 'you are leaving.' Why might the present or near-future tense matter here?
- What did the month Abib mean agriculturally (green ears of barley)? How does that season connect to the story of deliverance?
- Read Deuteronomy 16:3, which calls unleavened bread 'the bread of affliction.' How does the taste of that bread reinforce the memory of haste and rescue?
- If you were an Israelite walking out of Egypt on that day, what would be going through your mind, relief, fear, disbelief?
- How do we keep our own 'exodus moments' fresh? What practices help you remember times of God’s deliverance?
- Why does Scripture bind redemption to a seasonal cycle? What does that say about God’s lordship over time?
- What difference does it make to know that God’s deliverance came at a specific, recorded time in history, not a myth, but a real date?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 12:2 | “This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. |
| Exodus 23:15 | You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out of Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty. |
| Exodus 34:18 | “You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt. |
| Deuteronomy 16:1 | Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to Yahweh your God; for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night. |
| Deuteronomy 16:3 | You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste) that you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes observes that the name “Abib” likely refers to the month when young wheat ripens, drawing its etymology from that agricultural event. He notes uncertainty over whether the name was ancient or given at the exodus, and points to a possible link with the Egyptian month Epiphi.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin stresses that Moses describes the land's richness not to flatter Israel but to guard them against pride after victory and to spur them toward grateful service. The more abundantly God blesses them, the more inexcusable their ingratitude will be if they forget him.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This passage comes from a different biblical source than the similar laws in Exodus 12. The regulations here lack the holy convocation and work restrictions of the priestly version, use the older name Abib for the month, and treat the seventh day as the pilgrimage instead of the first, marking them as an earlier, simpler form of the same laws.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
This day come yee out in the moneth of Abib.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that God brought Israel out of Egypt in the spring month Abib, when the weather was mild and traveling was easy. The name Abib means "ear of corn," marking the barley harvest, and the season was chosen as a merciful provision: no heat, cold, or rain hindered their journey.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the name Abib means "green ear of grain," pointing to mid-March when winter floods have receded and the valleys are lush with early grass. This made it the ideal season for traveling with flocks and herds into the Sinai desert.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange highlights that the Passover ordinance establishes Israel's distinct religious communion, with circumcision as the prerequisite for participation. He notes the mixed multitude joined voluntarily, attracted by faith
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that God's claim on Israel's firstborn rests not simply on His right as Creator but specifically on the right of protection. By sparing them when Egypt's firstborn died, the Lord made them His own by a debt of gratitude, a distinction that set them apart as a perpetual memorial.