The Meaning of Exodus 12:6 Explained

Exodus 12:6

KJV: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

YLT: 'And it hath become a charge to you, until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole assembly of the company of Israel have slaughtered it between the evenings;

Darby: And ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; and the whole congregation of the assembly of Israel shall kill it between the two evenings.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And ye shall keep  it up until the fourteenth  day  of the same month:  and the whole  assembly  of the congregation  of Israel  shall kill  it in  the evening. 

What does Exodus 12:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Exodus 12:1-14 - The Passover Lamb And Its Sprinkled Blood
Henceforth, for Israel, there was to be a new beginning of the year. We should date our birthdays not from the cradle, but from the Cross. The Paschal Lamb was an evident foreshadowing of Christ. See 1 Corinthians 5:7.
(1). He was without blemish. Searched by friend and foe, no fault was found in Him.
(2). He was in His prime, when He laid down His life.
(3). Set apart at the opening of His ministry, it took three years to consummate His purpose.
(4). His blood-that phrase being equivalent to His sacrificial death-speaks of the satisfaction of the just claims of inviolable law, where His flesh is "meat indeed."
(5). Roasting with fire, unleavened bread and bitter herbs denote the intensity of His sufferings, and the chastened spirit with which we draw nigh.
And does not the pilgrim's attitude bespeak the attitude of the Church, which, at any moment, may be summoned to go forth at the trumpet sounding? 1 Corinthians 15:52. [source]

Chapter Summary: Exodus 12

1  The beginning of the year is changed
3  The Passover is instituted
11  The import of the rite of the Passover
15  Unleavened bread
29  The firstborn are slain
31  The Israelites are driven out of the land
37  They come to Succoth
41  The time of their sojourning
43  The ordinance of the Passover

What do the individual words in Exodus 12:6 mean?

And you shall it keep until four [and] ten the day of month this and shall kill it the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel at twilight
וְהָיָ֤ה לָכֶם֙ לְמִשְׁמֶ֔רֶת עַ֣ד אַרְבָּעָ֥ה עָשָׂ֛ר י֖וֹם לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֑ה וְשָׁחֲט֣וּ אֹת֗וֹ כֹּ֛ל קְהַ֥ל עֲדַֽת־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בֵּ֥ין הָעַרְבָּֽיִם

וְהָיָ֤ה  And  you  shall 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לְמִשְׁמֶ֔רֶת  keep 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִשְׁמֶרֶת  
Sense: guard, charge, function, obligation, service, watch.
עַ֣ד  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
אַרְבָּעָ֥ה  four 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אַרְבַּע  
Sense: four.
עָשָׂ֛ר  [and]  ten 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂר 
Sense: ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers).
י֖וֹם  the  day 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ  of  month 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: the new moon, month, monthly.
הַזֶּ֑ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
וְשָׁחֲט֣וּ  and  shall  kill 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁחַט 
Sense: to kill, slaughter, beat.
כֹּ֛ל  the  whole 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
קְהַ֥ל  assembly 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קָהָל  
Sense: assembly, company, congregation, convocation.
עֲדַֽת־  of  the  congregation 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֵדָה  
Sense: congregation, gathering.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
בֵּ֥ין  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בַּיִן 
Sense: between, among, in the midst of (with other preps), from between.
הָעַרְבָּֽיִם  twilight 
Parse: Article, Noun, md
Root: עֶרֶב  
Sense: evening, night, sunset.