From: Exodus 12: 37-42
The Sons of Israel Leave Egypt
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[37] And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hun-
dred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. [38] A mixed multitude
also went up with them, and very many cattle, both flocks and herds. [39] And
they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt,
for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tar-
ry, neither had they prepared for themselves any provisions.
[40] The time that the people of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty
years. [41] And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on that very day, all
the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. [42] It was a night of wat-
ching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is
a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their
generations.
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Commentary:
12:37-42. Here we are given concrete details about the departure from Egypt.
They headed towards Succoth, a city which modern excavations locate some
15 kms (nine miles) south-east of Rameses, in the Nile delta. It seems to make
sense that they should have avoided trade routes, which would have been quie-
ter but busier and patrolled by Egyptian armies—the coast road to the country
of the Philistines (cf. 13:17), the road through the southern desert, which led to
Beer-sheba, or the trading route linking Egypt and Arabia. Even in this little thing
one can see God’s special providence at work: he has no need of beaten tracks
to show his people where to go.
The figure of 600,000 is an idealize one (cf. Num 1:46; 26:51), for it would imply
a total population of three million people, women and children included. Maybe
for the hagiographer’s contemporaries this figure had a significance which es-
capes us today; or perhaps it is just a way of indicating that there were very
many people—part of the epic style of the account, to highlight the power of God.
The figure of 430 years for the time the sons of Israel had been in Egypt (v. 40)
is slightly different from the 404 years which appears more often in the Bible (cf,
Gen 15:13; Acts 7:6; Gal 3:16-17). In the Pentateuch numbers often have a
more symbolic than chronological meaning (cf. the note on Gen 5:1-32). The
400 years would mean that the chosen people lived in Egypt for ten generations
(forty years per generation: cf. the note on Ex 7:9), that is, a complete period of
the history of Israel.
“Night of watching” (v. 42): if the darkness causes any misgiving, God will trans-
form it into a time of salvation. Because God looks out for them, the Israelites
will also commemorate the night of their deliverance by keeping watch. Christian
liturgy celebrates the Lords’ resurrection with a solemn vigil, commemorating the
deliverance of the Israelites, the redemption of Christians, and Christ’s victory
over death—three stages in God’s intervention to save souls; as the Church sings:
“This is the night when first you saved our fathers: you freed the people of Israel
from their slavery. [...] This is the night when Christians everywhere (are) washed
clean of sin and freed from all defilement. [...] This is the night when Jesus Christ
broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave” (”Roman Missal”,
Exultet).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
From: Matthew 12:14-21
Jesus, the Suffering Servant of Yahweh
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[14] But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, how to destroy
Him. [15] Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed Him,
and He healed them all, [16] and ordered them not to make Him known. [17]
This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: [18] “Behold my ser-
vant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will
put my Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. [19] He
will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear His voice in the streets; [20]
He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick, till He brings jus-
tice to victory; [21] and in His name will the Gentiles hope.”
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Commentary:
17-21. Once again the sacred text points out the contrast between the contem-
porary mistaken Jewish notion of a spectacular messianic kingdom and the dis-
cernment which Jesus asks of those who witness and accept His teaching and
miracles. By providing this long quotation from Isaiah (42:1-4), the Evangelist is
giving us the key to the teaching contained in Chapters 11 and 12: in Jesus the
prophecy of the Servant of Yahweh is fulfilled: the lovable and gentle teacher
has come to bring the light of truth.
When narrating the passion of our Lord, the Gospels will once again remind us
of the figure of the Servant of Yahweh, to show that in Jesus the suffering and
expiatory aspect of the death of the Servant finds fulfillment (cf. Matthew 27:30,
with reference to Is 50:6; Matthew 8:17 and Isaiah 53:4; John 1:38 and Isaiah
53:9-12; etc.).
17. Isaiah 42:1-4 speaks of a humble servant, beloved of God, chosen by God.
And in fact Jesus, without ceasing to be the Son of God, one in substance with
the Father, took the form of a servant (cf. Philippians 2:6). This humility led him
to cure and care for the poor and afflicted of Israel, without seeking acclaim.
18. See the note on Matthew 3:16.
[Note on Matthew 3:16 states:
16. Jesus possessed the fullness of the Holy Spirit from the moment of His con-
ception. This is due to the union of human nature and divine nature in the per-
son of the Word (the dogma of hypostatic union). Catholic teaching says that in
Christ there is only one person (who is divine) but two natures (divine and human).
The descent of the Spirit of God spoken of in the text indicates that just as Jesus
was solemnly commencing His messianic task, so the Holy Spirit was beginning
His action through Him. There are very many texts in the Old Testament which
speak of the showing forth of the Holy Spirit in the future Messiah. This sign of
the Spirit gave St. John the Baptist unmistakable proof of the genuineness of his
testimony concerning Christ (cf. John 1:29-34). The mystery of the Holy Trinity is
revealed in the baptism of Jesus: the Son is baptized; the Holy Spirit descends
on Him in the form of a dove; and the voice of the Father gives testimony about
His Son. Christians must be baptized in the name of the Three Divine Persons.
“If you have sincere piety, the Holy Spirit will descend on you also and you will
hear the voice of the Father saying to you from above: “This was not My son, but
now after Baptism he has been made My son” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, “De Bap-
tismo”, 14).]
19. The justice proclaimed by the Servant, who is filled with the Holy Spirit, is
not a noisy virtue. We can see the loving, gentle way Jesus worked His miracles,
performing righteousness in all humility. This is how He brings about the triumph
of His Father’s Justice, His plan of revelation and salvation—very quietly and very
effectively.
20. According to many Fathers, including St. Augustine and St. Jerome, the
bruised reed and the smoldering wick refer to the Jewish people. They also stand
for every sinner, for our Lord does not seek the sinner’s death but his conversion,
and his life (cf. Ezekiel 33:11). The Gospels often bear witness to this reassuring
truth (cf. Luke 15:11-32), the parable of the prodigal son; Matthew 18:12-24, the
parable of the lost sheep; etc.).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain