Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 16:2
You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, delivering final instructions before they cross the Jordan. He specifies the timing and location for the upcoming Passover observance in the land they are about to inherit.
The words — The Hebrew צֹאן (tzon) means "flock," and בַּ/מָּקוֹם (ba./ma.kOm) translates to "in the place." These terms restrict the sacrifice to specific livestock and a centralized worship site.
The thread — The requirement to bring offerings to a single chosen location runs through Deuteronomy 12:5 and Deuteronomy 12:26. The Passover date is fixed in Numbers 28:16, while Deuteronomy 16:1 and Deuteronomy 16:3 frame the sacrifice within the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Why it lands — The text commands that the Passover sacrifice be drawn from the herd or flock and presented only at the location God designates. It requires centralized worship and strict adherence to the designated site rather than localized or improvised observance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Deuteronomy 12:26 But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.
- Numbers 28:16 The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover.
- Matthew 26:17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
- Mark 14:12 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
- Luke 22:8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
- Luke 22:15 And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7 Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
- Exodus 12:5 Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats.
- Deuteronomy 12:11 then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.