Numbers 28:16 · Bible study
Numbers 28:16 Commentary: The Passover Date as a Redemptive Marker
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Learn why Numbers 28:16 repeats the Passover date before the festival offerings, and how this highlights its role as the foundation of Israel's
Research Summary
- Meaning: The verse reiterates the exact date of Yahweh’s Passover as a chronological anchor for the festival calendar.
- Key words: Pesach (Passover, H6453), a commemorative meal, not a public sacrifice; the date formula “in the first month, on the fourteenth day” echoes Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23.
- Main debate: Whether any public offering was made on the 14th; the consensus (Keil, Cambridge) holds that no new festal offering was commanded for that day.
- Theological theme: Redemptive history (the Exodus) undergirds all liturgical worship; divine action precedes human response.
- Best use: As a redemptive marker that connects the Exodus to Christ, demonstrating God’s precision in salvation history.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover.
WEB World English Bible 2000
“‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is Yahweh’s Passover.
KJV King James Version 1769
And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the Lord.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is Jehovah’s passover.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
`And in the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, is the passover to Jehovah;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is the passover to Jehovah.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And in the first month, on the four tenth day of the month, shall be the phase of the Lord,
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Mas en el mes primero, á los catorce del mes será la pascua de Jehová.
Mas no mês primeiro, aos catorze do mês será a páscoa do SENHOR.
Le premier mois, le quatorzième jour du mois, ce sera la Pâque de l’ Éternel.
Aber am vierzehnten Tage des ersten Monats ist das Passah des HERRN.
En in de eerste maand, op den veertienden dag der maand, is het pascha den HEERE.
Il primo mese, il quattordicesimo giorno del mese sarà la Pasqua in onore dell’Eterno.
Ale miesiąca pierwszego w dzień czternasty tegoż miesiąca, święto przejścia będzie Panu.
В первый месяц, в четырнадцатый день месяца — Пасха Господня.
「正 月 十 四 日 是耶和華的 逾越節。
And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is the Lord's Passover.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Numbers 28:16
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse simply fixes the date of Yahweh’s Passover, the fourteenth day of the first month, without prescribing a new public offering for that day. Keil and Delitzsch note that “there was no general festal offering on the day of the Passover,” and the Cambridge Bible likewise observes that “no offering is commanded” for the fourteenth. Barnes adds that the detailed offerings for the seven days of Unleavened Bread begin on the fifteenth (v.17). The Passover lamb itself was a family meal, not a public sacrifice (Exodus 12:3, 14). By placing the date alone in a list of sacrifices, the text makes a theological point: the Passover is the event that creates the community, not an offering that the community generates. The date anchors the entire calendar; redemption precedes every act of worship.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The 14th day of the first month is the fixed date of Yahweh’s Passover, a foundation for the festival calendar of Israel.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The significance of the date | Christians agree that the 14th of the first month marks the historical Passover, the deliverance from Egypt, and that this date anchors Israel's liturgical calendar. | Some see it primarily as a calendar note for offerings; others emphasize its role as a type of Christ’s sacrifice. |
| Whether the Passover was a public sacrifice | All traditions agree that the Passover lamb was a family meal, not a public tabernacle sacrifice (Exodus 12:3, 14). The passage in Numbers does not prescribe a new public offering for the 14th. | A minority view asks whether the Passover lamb itself could be considered a sacrifice offered at the sanctuary (Deuteronomy 16:2, 5, 6 seems to centralize it; but Numbers 28 treats it as a separate category from the burnt offerings listed). |
| Continuity with Christian worship | All see Christ as the fulfillment of the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). The date helps date the Last Supper and crucifixion. | Christians differ on whether the Passover festival should be observed literally today; some celebrate a seder as a teaching tool, while others view it as superseded by the Lord’s Supper. |
| Relationship to the Feast of Unleavened Bread | The Passover and Unleavened Bread are closely linked; the date of the 14th signals the start of the seven-day festival. | Some treat them as one combined festival (the Passover week), while others maintain a distinction (Passover on the 14th, Unleavened Bread from the 15th, 21st). |
Historical & Cultural Context
The first month (Abib, later Nisan) was re-designated at the Exodus (Exodus 12:2). The precise date, the fourteenth day, marked the night when God passed over the houses of Israel, sparing the firstborn and bringing about the nation’s deliverance from Egypt. In the wilderness, Israel kept the Passover scrupulously, as recorded in Numbers 9. Numbers 28, 29 presents a systematic calendar of public offerings for every sacred season, from daily and Sabbath sacrifices to monthly and festival offerings. The Passover date appears without a corresponding new burnt offering, standing in contrast to the elaborate sacrifices prescribed for the following seven days of Unleavened Bread (vv.17, 25). This structure shows that the Passover itself is not a public sacrifice but a commemorative meal, the foundation on which all other worship is built. The religious calendar is anchored in a historic act of redemption, not in a repeating ritual cycle. For Israel, this meant that worship always begins from the memory of what God has done. For Christians, the same chronology grounds the last days of Jesus, who observed the Passover with his disciples and was crucified as the Lamb of God on the day of preparation.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Numbers 28:16 is stable across major manuscripts. The consulted sources note no significant textual variants. All major translations render the date and name of the feast consistently.
Reception History
Early Jewish tradition treated the precise date as essential for observing the seder (Mishnah Pesachim). The church fathers, including Justin Martyr and Tertullian, saw the Passover date as a type of Christ’s crucifixion, arguing that Jesus died on the very day the Passover lamb was killed. Throughout the Middle Ages, the dating of Easter (calendarially linked to Passover) kept the fourteenth day relevant for Christian liturgy. The Reformation continued to value the date as a chronological anchor for Holy Week. Modern readers use the verse to understand both the structure of Israel’s calendar and the scriptural basis for the timing of Jesus’ final days.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Lord’s Deliberate Timing: The fourteenth day of the first month was no coincidence. It marked the exact anniversary of the Exodus, showing that God works within history and that salvation has a specific date. Redemption is not a vague idea but an event.
- The Priority of Redemption: No special public offering is commanded for the Passover day itself. The act of God’s deliverance stands alone, uncoupled from any human contribution. All later sacrifices, burnt offerings, sin offerings, meal offerings, flow from what God already did.
- The Connection to Christ: Jesus died at Passover time. The date points beyond itself to the true Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Our worship calendar, like Israel’s, is shaped by the cross and resurrection.
Five-point outline
- Calendar as Theology: By repeating the date (compare Exodus 12:18; Leviticus 23:5), the text teaches that time itself belongs to God. The fourteenth of Abib is holy not because of what people do but because of what God did.
- Passover as Memorial, Not Offering: The Passover is a living memory, not a sacrifice to be repeated in the tabernacle. It stands outside the sacrificial system even as it supports it.
- The Role of Remembrance: Israel was called to remember. The date is a prompt for the next generation to ask, “What does this mean?” (Exodus 12:26).
- Worship Built on Grace: The elaborate offerings of Unleavened Bread come only after the date. Human response follows divine initiative.
- What Dates Our Lives: Every Christian has a personal “Passover date”, the moment they were rescued from sin. That event should shape everything else.
Illustration hooks
- A wedding anniversary: the date itself is celebrated, and no gift is needed, the relationship is the point.
- A course syllabus: the final exam date is announced first; all assignments lead toward it.
- A town’s founding day: the parade and speeches happen on that day, but the actual event happened years earlier. The celebration draws its meaning from history.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does the Bible give such a precise date for the Passover?
- Do Christians need to observe Passover or other Old Testament feasts?
- How does the date of Passover help us understand the timing of Jesus’ death and resurrection?
Leading a Discussion
This verse may seem like a simple date, but it is part of a larger rhythm of worship that Israel lived by. As you discuss this passage, pay attention to what the date tells us about God’s character and his plan for his people.
Discussion questions
- What do you notice about the structure of Numbers 28, how does verse 16 fit into the surrounding list of offerings?
- Why do you think the Passover day itself has no special public offering prescribed in this passage? (Refer to Exodus 12:3, 14 and Keil and Delitzsch’s note.)
- How does the repetition of the Passover date from Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23 show the importance of memory in worship?
- The Passover is a family meal, not a tabernacle sacrifice. What does this say about the way God wants to be remembered?
- How does grounding the worship calendar in a historical event (the Exodus) shape the way we think about Christian worship today?
- What “dates” shape your own faith story? Is there a moment of deliverance you return to?
- How does this passage help you understand the relationship between God’s saving act and our response in worship?
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 12:11 | This is how you shall eat it: with your belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is Yahweh’s Passover. |
| Exodus 12:18 | In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening. |
| Exodus 12:43 | Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it, |
| Exodus 12:49 | One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.” |
| Leviticus 23:5 | In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh’s Passover. |
| Leviticus 23:8 | But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.’” |
| Numbers 9:3 | On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you shall keep it in its appointed season. You shall keep it according to all its statutes and according to all its ordinances.” |
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
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes observes that the Passover offering was identical to the New Moon offering and was repeated each day of the seven‑day festival, underscoring the occasion's importance. He also notes that these specific instructions for the offering had not been given before.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that the extra sacrifices during Passover were added to deepen reverence for the feast, spur greater devotion, and remind the people of God's favor. The practice also taught that sinners must seek pardon and understand that reconciliation with God comes only through a propitiatory sacrifice.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary notes that the list of offerings in Numbers 28-29 is post-exilic, since the Day of Atonement and the eighth day of the Feast of Booths were not observed before Ezra's time. It also observes that this schedule is more complete and systematic than the parallel lists in Leviticus 23 and Ezekiel 45-46.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note simply identifies the fourteenth day of the first month as the precise date appointed by God for the Passover. No further explanation or doctrinal point is added; the emphasis falls on the exact timing as ordained by the Lord.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that the first month was originally Tisri, but God changed it to Nisan (Abib) after the exodus from Egypt. The Passover commemorates the Lord's passing over Israelite houses when He struck down Egypt's firstborn, and it was celebrated by killing and eating a lamb.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the basic Passover law is already given in Leviticus, but this passage supplies additional details: specified offerings are prescribed for each of the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. These instructions cover the daily sacrifices during that week.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch notes that identical sacrifices were required for each of the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, matching the new moon offerings. By contrast, the Passover day itself had no such general festal offering, and the first and seventh days of the feast were set apart as Sabbaths with holy assemblies.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads this renewal of sacrifices as God training Israel in
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry observes that the instructions carefully distinguish the regular daily burnt offering from the additional festival offerings, so the people never neglect the continual worship even during special celebrations.