"And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household: and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbor next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old: ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats: and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at even. And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it." Exodus 12:1-8
<p>Illustration of a Hebrew family celebrating the first passover in Egypt. The family gathers at the table as one man marks the lintel of his door with blood.

Celebration of the First Passover

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the…

"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." Exodus 12:13 ASV
<p>Illustration of the angel of death passing by the door of an Israelite home. The door is marked on the top side with the smeared blood of an unblemished lamb. The angel hovers over the ground and carries a sword in his right hand. Inside the house, a family can be seen gathered around the table with the slaughtered lamb on it. They are observing the first Passover. Behind the angel, a child lies dead in the street. Two obelisks and a pyramid are in the background.

The Death Angel Passes Over an Israelite Door Marked with the Blood of a Lamb

"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I…