🔢WEB · Numbers 9:2
What does Numbers 9:2 mean?
"“Moreover let the children of Israel keep the Passover in its appointed season."
— Numbers 9:2 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
“Moreover let the children of Israel keep the Passover in its appointed season.
On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you shall keep it in its appointed season—according to all its statutes, and according to all its ordinances, you shall keep it.”
Moses spoke to the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover.
They kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.
Explanation
Numbers 9:2 records God's instruction to Moses that the Israelites are to observe the Passover "in its appointed season." In plain language, this is a command to keep a specific, recurring religious observance at its proper, designated time—not whenever convenient, not early, not late, but precisely when God had ordained it to be kept.
The context is important for understanding why this instruction was given at all. This moment occurs in the wilderness, roughly one year after the Israelites left Egypt (Numbers 9:1 places this "in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt"). The Israelites had already celebrated the Passover once, on the night of their departure from Egypt, as described in Exodus 12. Now, camped at Sinai, God through Moses reminds the people that this observance was not a one-time event tied only to their historical deliverance—it was meant to become an ongoing, annual commemoration. Moses was the mediator of this instruction, receiving it from God and relaying it to the entire community of Israel, the covenant people who had witnessed the original exodus and were now being shaped into a nation governed by God's law and worship practices.
Theologically, this verse underscores several important themes. First, it reveals God's concern for order, remembrance, and covenant faithfulness. Passover was instituted to commemorate God's mighty act of delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt, and by commanding its perpetual observance "in its appointed season," God ensures that future generations would not forget this defining act of redemption. Second, the phrase "appointed season" refl
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.