Exodus 12 · Verse 8

Exodus 12:8

And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Exodus 12:8, King James Version

Exodus 12:8 in other translations

BSB	They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
WEB	They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
ASV	And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
YLT	‘And they have eaten the flesh in this night, roast with fire; with unleavened things and bitters they do eat it;
DARBY	And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs shall they eat it.
BBE	And let your food that night be the flesh of the lamb, cooked with fire in the oven, together with unleavened bread and bitter-tasting plants.
Webster	And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire; and unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

What does Exodus 12:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

8. roast with fire--for the sake of expedition; and this difference was always observed between the cooking of the paschal lamb and the other offerings (2Ch 35:13). unleavened bread--also for the sake of despatch (De 16:3), but as a kind of corruption (Lu 12:1) there seems to have been a typical meaning under it (1Co 5:8). bitter herbs--literally, "bitters"--to remind the Israelites of their affliction in Egypt, and morally of the trials to which God's people are subject on account of sin.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8 They shall eat the flesh - roast with fire - As it was the ordinary custom of the Jews to boil their flesh, some think that the command given here was in opposition to the custom of the Egyptians, who ate raw flesh in honor of Osiris. The Ethiopians are to this day remarkable for eating raw flesh, as is the case with most savage nations. Unleavened bread - מצות matstsoth, from מצה matsah, to squeeze or compress, because the bread prepared without leaven or yeast was generally compressed, sad or heavy, as we term it. The word here properly signifies unleavened cakes; the word for leaven in Hebrew is חמץ chamets, which simply signifies to ferment. It is supposed that leaven was forbidden on this and other occasions, that the bread being less agreeable to the taste, it might be emblematical of their bondage and bitter servitude, as this seems to have been one design of the bitter herbs which were commanded to be used on this occasion; but this certainly was not the sole design of the prohibition: leaven itself is a species of corruption, being produced by fermentation, which in such cases tends to putrefaction. In this very light St. Paul considers the subject in this place; hence, alluding to the passover as a type of Christ, he says: Purge out therefore the old leaven - for Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth; 1Cor 5:6-8. Bitter herbs - What kind of herbs or salad is intended by the word מררים merorim, which literally signifies bitters, is not well known. The Jews think chicory, wild lettuce, horehound, and the like are intended. Whatever may be implied under the term, whether bitter herbs or bitter ingredients in general, it was designed to put them in mind of their bitter and severe bondage in the land of Egypt, from which God was now about to deliver them.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 12:1-20

The death of the first-born of the Egyptians, The Israelites urged to leave the land of Egypt. (29-36) The Israelites' first journey to Succoth. (37-42) Ordinance respecting the passover. (43-51) Verses 1-20 The Lord makes all things new to those whom he delivers from the bondage of Satan, and takes to himself to be his people. The time when he does this is to them the beginning of a new life. God appointed that, on…

Read the full comment on Exodus 12:1-20 →

Exodus 12:8 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאָכְל֥וּve.'a.khe.Luand they will eatH398

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

הַבָּשָׂ֖רha.ba.Sarthe meatH1320

בַּלַּ֣יְלָהba.Lay.lahin the nightH3915

הַזֶּ֑הha.Zeh<the> thisH2088

צְלִי\־tze.li-roasted ofH6748

אֵ֣שׁ'eshfireH784

וּמַצּ֔וֹתu.ma.Tzotand unleavened bread<s>H4682

עַל\־'al-withH5921

מְרֹרִ֖יםme.ro.Rimbitter herbsH4844

יֹאכְלֻֽהוּ\׃yo.khe.Lu.huthey will eat itH398

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 12:8

Exodus 34:25
Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.
Deuteronomy 16:7
And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
Deuteronomy 16:3-4
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
John 6:52-57
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. …
Exodus 23:18
Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
Exodus 13:7
Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
Isaiah 53:10
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Numbers 9:11-12
The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.
Exodus 1:14
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
Exodus 13:3
And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
Galatians 5:9
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

eat the.
Mt 26:26; Joh 6:52-57
roast.
De 16:7; Ps 22:14; Isa 53:10
unleavened.
13:3,7; 34:25; Nu 9:11; De 16:3; Am 4:5; Mt 16:12; 1Co 5:6-8
Ga 5:9
with bitter.
1:14; Nu 9:11; Zec 12:10; 1Th 1:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Exodus 12:7
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Exodus 12:8
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Exodus 12:9
Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

Read all of Exodus 12

Exodus 12:8 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y aquella noche comerán la carne asada al fuego, y panes sin levadura: con hierbas amargas lo comerán.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et ils en mangeront la chair cette nuit-là; ils la mangeront rôtie au feu, avec des pains sans levain, et des herbes amères.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und sie sollen in selbiger Nacht das Fleisch essen, gebraten am Feuer, und ungesäuertes Brot; mit bitteren Kräutern sollen sie es essen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et edent carnes nocte illa assas igni, et azymos panes cum lactucis agrestibus.