Bible Strands
Exodus 12:5
Your lamb must be an unblemished year-old male, and you may take it from the sheep or the goats.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God gives Moses and the Israelites the physical specifications for the Passover sacrifice during the final plague preparations. The command dictates the exact requirements for the animal before its slaughter.
The words — תָמִ֛ים (ta.Mim) means unblemished, and זָכָ֥ר (za.Khar) means male. These terms specify that the animal must be physically perfect and of male sex.
The thread — Malachi 1:14 condemns those who sacrifice defective animals, while Hebrews 9:13 and 1 Peter 1:18 contrast the temporary efficacy of animal blood with permanent redemption. The requirement for a flawless sacrifice establishes a pattern for later biblical law and New Testament typology.
Why it lands — The text demands the selection of a specific, physically perfect animal without exception. It requires the recipient to exercise precise obedience and reject any compromised substitute.
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
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
Cross-references
- Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- Malachi 1:14 “But cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and My name is to be feared among the nations.
- 1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Malachi 1:7 By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.
- Deuteronomy 17:1 You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.
- Leviticus 22:18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the Israelites and tell them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or any foreign resident who presents a gift for a burnt offering to the LORD, whether to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,
- Leviticus 23:12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a year-old lamb without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD,
- Hebrews 7:26 Such a high priest truly befits us—One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
- Leviticus 1:3 If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD.
- Leviticus 1:10 If, however, one’s offering is a burnt offering from the flock—from the sheep or goats—he is to present an unblemished male.