Exodus 13:16

So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites, instructing them to treat the redemption of firstborn sons as a perpetual memorial following the tenth plague and the departure from Egypt.

The words — לְ/אוֹת (le./'Ot) translates to “a sign,” and וּ/לְ/טוֹטָפֹת (u./le./to.ta.Fot) denotes “marks” or “symbols” placed between the eyes.

The thread — This physical memorial motif recurs in Exodus 13:9 as a reminder of the Law, Deuteronomy 11:18 where the words are bound as reminders, and Exodus 13:14 which ties the practice directly to the Exodus deliverance.

Why it lands — The verse demands that believers treat historical redemption as an immediate, tangible reality by adopting visible markers that interrupt daily life with the memory of divine rescue.

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

וְהָיָ֤הve./ha.Yahand/ it will become לְאוֹת֙le./'Ot<into>/ a sign עַל־'al-on יָ֣דְכָ֔הya.de./Khahhand/ your וּלְטוֹטָפֹ֖תu./le./to.ta.Fotand/ <into>/ marks בֵּ֣יןbeinbetween עֵינֶ֑יךָ'ei.Nei./khaeyes/ your כִּ֚יkifor בְּחֹ֣זֶקbe./Cho.zekwith/ strength of יָ֔דYadhand הוֹצִיאָ֥נוּho.tzi.'A./nuhe brought out/ us יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahweh מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ סmi./mitz.Ra.yimfrom/ Egypt

King James Version

And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.

Cross-references

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 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
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.
Deuteronomy 6:7 And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Exodus 12:13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 26:8 Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders.
Matthew 23:5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.