Exodus 12:22

Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the elders of Israel during the Passover preparation, immediately after directing them to select and slaughter the lamb. He issues this command for the moment when the household is ready to apply the sacrificial blood.

The words — The text specifies taking a bunch of hyssop (אֵז֗וֹב, 'e.Zov) and dipping it into the blood before making it touch (וְ/הִגַּעְתֶ֤ם, ve./hi.ga'.Tem) the doorframe. These terms define the exact physical means of transferring the blood to the threshold.

The thread — The application of blood on doorframes and the resulting protection from the destroyer recur in Exodus 12:7, Numbers 19:18, and Hebrews 11:28. These passages track the ritual pattern from initial instruction to its New Testament theological reflection.

Why it lands — The text commands strict obedience to a specific ritual act and a temporary stay inside the house until morning. It establishes a clear boundary of safety that requires the reader to remain within the marked threshold until the appointed time ends.

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

וּלְקַחְתֶּ֞םu./le.kach.Temand/ you will take אֲגֻדַּ֣ת'a.gu.Data bunch of אֵז֗וֹב'e.Zovhyssop וּטְבַלְתֶּם֮u./te.val.Temand/ you will dip [it]בַּדָּ֣םba./Damin the/ blood אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-which בַּסַּף֒ba./Saf[is] in the/ basin וְהִגַּעְתֶּ֤םve./hi.ga'.Temand/ you will make touch אֶל־'el-<to>הַמַּשְׁקוֹף֙ha./mash.kOfthe/ lintels וְאֶל־ve./'el-and/ <to>שְׁתֵּ֣יshe.Tei[the] two הַמְּזוּזֹ֔תha./me.zu.Zotthe/ doorposts מִן־min-some of הַדָּ֖םha./Damthe/ blood אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich בַּסָּ֑ףba./Saf[is] in the/ basin וְאַתֶּ֗םve./'a.Temand/ you לֹ֥אlo'not תֵצְא֛וּte.tze.'Uyou will go out אִ֥ישׁ'ishanyone מִפֶּֽתַח־mi./pe.tach-from/ [the] door of בֵּית֖וֹbei.T/ohouse/ his עַד־'ad-until בֹּֽקֶר׃Bo.kermorning

King James Version

And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

Cross-references

Hebrews 11:28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.
Exodus 12:7 They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
Numbers 19:18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle the tent, all the furnishings, and the people who were there. He is also to sprinkle the one who touched a bone, a grave, or a person who has died or been slain.
Psalms 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Hebrews 9:1 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.
Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 9:19 For when Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, along with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people,
Leviticus 14:6 And he is to take the live bird together with the cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop, and dip them into the blood of the bird that was slaughtered over the fresh water.
Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Hebrews 12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.