Answer # 23

The Hebrew word translated "even," in Exodus 12:18 means "dusk, evening, eventide," The evening mentioned here could just as well refer to the end of the 14th as well as its beginning. We must look at the context to see the intended meaning of this verse.

Exodus 12:15, 19 and 13:6 all show there are only seven Days of Unleavened Bread. Scripture shows that the seven Days of Unleavened Bread do not begin on the 14th but rather on the 15th of the first month. Leviticus 23:5-6 clearly states: "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread." Beginning with the 15th for seven days, ending with the 21st day, no leaven was to be eaten (Ex. 12:19-20).

Another proof the Days of Unleavened Bread did not begin with the Passover is given in Numbers 28:16-18: "And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the Lord. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein."

The Passover was not a holy convocation in which no servile work could be done. Instead of God's people coming together, the Passover was observed separately by families in private homes at night (Ex. 12:21-22). And instead of resting from servile work during the remaining daylight portion of the 14th, the Israelites busily spent the time getting ready to leave Egypt the following night (verses 33-39).

It was the night following the 14th that Israel left Egypt. "And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians" (Num. 33:3).

Here, then, is the sequence of events: At the beginning of the 14th "in the evening," or as the Hebrew could be rendered, "between the two evenings" (Ex. 12:6), just at the time the 13th of the month was ending and the 14th was beginning, the Israelites killed and roasted the Passover lamb, and ate it with unleavened bread. They remained in their homes until the morning, which was still the 14th, when they went out and made ready to leave Egypt the next night, the beginning of the 15th.

The 15th, then, is the first day of the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, when only unleavened bread was to be eaten. Unleavened bread was eaten at the Passover meal (Ex. 12:8), but the entire day was not made a feast day and there is no command that leaven could not be eaten following the Passover night. The seven Days of Unleavened Bread end with a Holy Day on the seventh of these days (Lev. 23:4-8). Thus, the Passover is not the first of the seven Days of Unleavened Bread. These days begin with the 15th and end with the 21st day of the month.