Exodus 12:7

“And they shall take of the blood, etc.] Of the lamb, being received into a basin, (<021222>Exodus 12:22): and strike it on the two side posts; with a bunch of hyssop dipped into it: and on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it; but not on the posts of those houses, the inhabitants of which joined with their neighbours in eating it; though Levi Ben Gersom thinks they were sprinkled as the rest; but to what purpose, when there were no Israelites, and no firstborn in them? the two side posts were the posts of a folding door, on which the two folds were hung, and the upper doorpost is what is afterwards called the lintel, (<021223>Exodus 12:23) and has its name in Hebrew…”

“take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts, &c.--as a sign of safety to those within. The posts must be considered of tents, in which the Israelites generally lived, though some might be in houses. Though the Israelites were sinners as well as the Egyptians, God was pleased to accept the substitution of a lamb--the blood of which, being seen sprinkled on the doorposts, procured them mercy. It was to be on the sideposts and upper doorposts, where it might be looked to, not on the threshold, where it might be trodden under foot. This was an emblem of the blood of sprinkling (Heb 12:24; Heb 10:29).”

“The upper door post - Or lintel, Exodus 12:23. This direction was understood by the Hebrews to apply only to the first Passover: it was certainly not adopted in Palestine. The meaning of the sprinkling of blood is hardly open to question. It was a representation of the offering of the life, substituted for that of the firstborn in each house, as an expiatory and vicarious sacrifice. return to 'Top of Page'”

“12:7 blood: God could not simply exempt his people from this plague as he had preserved them from the other plagues. Death reigns in the world because of sin, and in light of God’s justice, sin cannot be ignored; it must be either punished or atoned for. Since the blood represents life (Lev 17:11), it alone is acceptable for the forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22). As Deut 6:9 suggests, doorframes represent the totality of life as the place of going in and coming out.”

“Exo 12:22, Exo 12:23; Eph 1:7; Heb 9:13, Heb 9:14, Heb 9:22, Heb 10:14, Heb 10:29, Heb 11:28; Pe1 1:2 Exodus 12:8”