The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight (Exodus 12:6)
For more than 2,000 years, the Samaritan Passover has been observed on Mount Gerizim. Even today, the Samaritans continue to gather at Mount Gerizim to offer the sacrifices prescribed in the Torah (Pentateuch). The Jewish people also celebrate Passover each year, but since the temple in Jerusalem was leveled by the Romans in AD 70, the biblically mandated sacrifices have not been offered.
They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel (Exodus 12:7).
This photo was taken at Sharafat, an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Sharafat was home to the Budrieh (Badriyya), a renowned family of weli (awliya, Muslim saints) to whom the village was dedicated as a waqf (Islamic trust) by the viceroy of Damascus in the 14th century. This American Colony photograph was taken between 1900 and 1926.
They shall eat it with unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8).
This photograph shows one interpretation of the three different types of unleavened bread mentioned in Exodus 29:23. The bread on the plate on the left represents the “loaf of bread,” or the “unleavened bread” of Exodus 29:2. This is simply bread baked on a pan in an oven. The bread on the middle plate represents the “wafers,” and shows shallow-oil pan fried cakes, like tortillas or pancakes. The bread on the plate on the right represents the “cake of oiled bread” (cf. Lev 2:5—”baked on the griddle”). These loaves puffed up when fried. This photograph was taken by William and Rochelle Houser.
You shall eat it with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand (Exodus 12:11).
In ancient times, men would gird up their loins (tying their robe in front of them or tucking it into their belt) when they were preparing to do hard work or fight, in order to allow for greater freedom of movement. This mosaic of a girded servant was photographed at the Spartacus Exhibit in Rome.
In one house shall it be eaten (Exodus 12:46).
These instructions were intended by God to be kept by his people for the centuries to come when they lived in the Promised Land. This model illustrates the layout of a typical four-room house, the standard Israelite house plan during the days of the judges and kings. It consisted of a central courtyard flanked by a long room on either side, and a room at the back. The interior walls of the house have been largely removed in this case to allow the interior rooms to be seen. This exhibit was photographed at the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv.
