This paper will discuss the meaning of Passover within the context of the old Testament. Today, Passover is a festival which commemorates the day which the Jewish people sometimes refer to as the "Season of Our Freedom" (Gaster 31). While, from a seasonal perspective, the holiday marks the release of the earth from the grip of winter, Passover is best known for its historic significance. From a historical perspective, Passover marks the exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt. This paper will examine Passover from a historical and Biblical perspective.
Passover now stands for the birth of the Jewish nation, dating back to the time that Israel first prepared to face the hazards of the elements as "God, in His providence, brought it to Sinai, gave it the Law, and concluded the Covenant" (Gaster 32). The Jewish people celebrate Passover because it signifies the attainment of their freedom from the Egyptian pharaohs. On that date, years before Christ was born, the Israelites cast aside their idols and repudiated their pagan-like ignorance; at the same time, God revealed his presence to the children of Israel and imparted his divine knowledge to them.
The Passover festival now celebrates a special kind of freedom which traces its roots to the old Testament. In Jewish tradition, freedom is an opportunity which requires volitional dedication, and that dedication forms the theme of the Passover story. If Israel had gone forth out of Egypt but not accepted the Covenant at Sinai, Israel still would have achieved its liberation but it would not have achieved freedom in the Jewish sense of the word. For the Jewish, Passover is more than the mere release from physical bondage. Specifically, according to Judaic interpretation of the old Testament, Judaism is the yoke of the Torah, and true independence only comes through the apprehension of God (Gaster 32).
The ideas which comprise the Passover festival developed over man...