Deuteronomy 16:2

2 Thou shalt, therefore, sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the sheep and the cows, in the place which the LORD shall choose to cause his name to dwell therein.

Deuteronomy 16:2 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 16:2

Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy
God
In the month Abib, and in the night of that month they came out of Egypt, even on the fourteenth day of it at night, between the two evenings, as the Targum of Jonathan; which was a lamb, and typical of Christ, the passover sacrificed for us, ( 1 Corinthians 5:7 )

of the flock and the herd;
that is, you shall sacrifice also the offerings which were offered throughout the seven days of unleavened bread, and these were both sheep and oxen, ( Numbers 28:19 Numbers 28:24 ) and are expressly called passover offerings and peace offerings, ( 2 Chronicles 30:21-24 ) ( 2 Chronicles 35:7 2 Chronicles 35:8 2 Chronicles 35:9 ) , for what was strictly and properly the passover was only of the flock, a lamb, and not of the herd, or a bullock; though Aben Ezra says there were some that thought that in Egypt it was only a lamb or a kid, but now it might be a bullock; which he observes is not right. It may be indeed that the word "passover" here is a general term, comprehending the whole passover solemnity, and all the sacrifices of the seven days: the Jews commonly understand this clause of the Chagigah, or feast of the fifteenth day, the first day of unleavened bread, and so the Targum of Jonathan,

``and the sheep and the oxen on the morrow;''

some distinguish them thus, the flock for the duty of the passover, the herd for the peace offerings, so Aben Ezra; or as Jarchi interprets it, the flock of the lambs and kids, and the herd for the Chagigah or festival; in the Talmud F13; the flock, this is the passover; the herd, this is the Chagigah, so Abendana: there was a Chagigah of the fourteenth day, which was brought with the lamb and eaten first, when the company was too large for the lamb, that their might eat with satiety F14; but this was not reckoned obligatory upon them F15, but they were bound to bring their Chagigah on the fifteenth day:

in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name
there;
that is, at Jerusalem, as the event has shown; hence we read of the parents of our Lord going up to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover, ( Luke 2:41 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F13 T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 70. 2.
F14 Jarchi in loc. Maimon. Hilchot Corban Pesach, c. 8. l. 3.
F15 T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 71. 1, 2. Maimon. ut supra, (F14) c. 10. sect. 13. Aruch in voc. (gx) , fol. 58. 1.

Deuteronomy 16:2 In-Context

1 Keep the month of the new fruit, {Heb. of Abib} and thou shalt do the passover unto the LORD thy God; for in the month of the new fruit the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
2 Thou shalt, therefore, sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the sheep and the cows, in the place which the LORD shall choose to cause his name to dwell therein.
3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou didst come forth out of the land of Egypt in haste; that thou may remember the day when thou didst come forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen in thee within all thy borders for seven days; neither shall any of the flesh which thou didst sacrifice the evening of the first day remain all night until the morning.
5 Thou may not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates (or within any of thy towns) which the LORD thy God gives thee
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010