Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD your God: for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night.
Corn. Hebrew abib, "green ears of corn "when barley begins to ripen, and wheat is yet green in Palestine; at the time of the year, which corresponds with half of our March and April. The Chaldeans called this month Nisan, "of the standards "because the armies then left their winter quarters. The first-fruits of the barley harvest were offered on the second day of the paschal solemnity, Leviticus xxiii. 10., and Exodus xiii. 4. (Calmet)
Night. We read (Exodus xii. 22., and Numbers xxxiii. 3,) that the Hebrews were ordered not to leave their houses till morning, and that they departed from Ramesses on the day after the passage of the destroying angel. They began, therefore, to prepare for their journey on the evening of the 14th, and began their march at day-break on the 15th of Nisan, ver. 6. Their departure may be considered in its different stages: 1. Of eating the paschal lamb, with their staves in their hands; 2. of being urged by the Egyptians to depart, at midnight; 3. of their l...
