Bible Strands
Exodus 13:14
In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God commands Moses to instruct Israelite fathers to explain the redemption of the firstborn to their children. This directive follows the command to redeem every firstborn son and the explanation that God killed Egypt's firstborn because Pharaoh stubbornly refused to release Israel.
The words — The Hebrew term מָחָר (maChar) means "in future time," and יִשְׁאָלְךָ (yish'alKha) translates as "he will ask you," framing a generational inquiry. The phrase וְהָיָה (vehaYah) establishes this question as a fixed future occurrence tied to the ritual's observance.
The thread — Joshua 4:6 records a similar structure where future children will ask about physical stones, and Psalms 145:4 commands one generation to commend God's works to the next. The instruction aligns with Exodus 13:3, which explicitly commands remembering the day of deliverance from the house of slavery.
Why it lands — The text requires parents to verbally connect a present ritual to a past historical rescue, explicitly stating the LORD freed Israel with a mighty hand. It demands that worship be grounded in transmitted historical fact rather than abstract tradition or personal experience alone.
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
And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
Cross-references
- Exodus 13:3 So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.
- Joshua 4:6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’
- Psalms 145:4 One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
- Exodus 12:26 When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’
- Exodus 13:9 It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 6:20 In the future, when your son asks, “What is the meaning of the decrees and statutes and ordinances that the LORD our God has commanded you?”
- Genesis 30:33 So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”
- Exodus 10:2 and that you may tell your children and grandchildren how severely I dealt with the Egyptians when I performed miraculous signs among them, so that all of you may know that I am the LORD.”
- Joshua 4:21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’
- Joshua 22:24 But in fact we have done this for fear that in the future your descendants might say to ours, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?