Lexical Summary pascha: Passover Original Word: πάσχα Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Passover. Of Chaldee origin (compare pecach); the Passover (the meal, the day, the festival or the special sacrifices connected with it) -- Easter, Passover. see HEBREW pecach NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof Aramaic origin, cf. pesach Definition the Passover, the Passover supper or lamb NASB Translation Passover (29). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3957: πάσχαπάσχα, τό (Chaldean פִּסְחָא, Hebrew פֶּסַח, from פָּסַח, to pass over, to pass over by sparing; the Sept. also constantly use the Chaldean form πάσχα, except in 2 Chron. (and Jeremiah 38:8 1. the paschal sacrifice (which was accustomed to be offered for the people's deliverance of old from Egypt), or 2. the paschal lamb, i. e. the lamb which the Israelites were accustomed to slay and eat on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan (the first month of their year) in memory of that day on which their fathers, preparing to depart from Egypt, were bidden by God to slay and eat a lamb, and to sprinkle their door-posts with its blood, that the destroying angel, seeing the blood, might pass over their dwellings (Exodus 12; Numbers 9; Deuteronomy 16): θύειν τό πάσχα (הַפֶסַח שָׁחַט), Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7, (Exodus 12:21); Christ crucified is likened to the slain paschal lamb, 1 Corinthians 5:7; φαγεῖν τό πάσχα, Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12, 14; Luke 22:11, 15; John 18:28; הָפֶסַח אָכַל, 2 Chronicles 30:17f. 3. the paschal supper: ἑτοιμάζειν τό πάσχα, Matthew 26:19; Mark 14:16; Luke 22:8, 13; ποιεῖν τό πάσχα to celebrate the paschal meal, Matthew 26:18. 4. the paschal festival, the feast of Passover, extending from the fourteenth to the twentieth day of the month Nisan: Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:1; Luke 2:41; Luke 22:1; John 2:13, 23; John 6:4; John 11:55; John 12:1; John 13:1; John 18:39; John 19:14; Acts 12:4; πεποίηκε τό πάσχα he instituted the Passover (of Moses), Hebrews 11:28 (cf. Winers Grammar, 272 (256); Buttmann, 197 (170)); γίνεται τό πάσχα the Passover is celebrated (R. V. cometh), Matthew 26:2. (See BB. DD. under the word Topical Lexicon Overview Strong’s Greek 3957, páscha, renders the Hebrew pesach, “Passover.” In the New Testament it denotes both the sacrificial lamb and the feast that commemorates Israel’s redemption from Egypt. Used twenty-nine times, the term gathers the strands of Exodus, the ministry of Jesus, and apostolic teaching into a single redemptive thread culminating in Christ. Historical Background and Old Testament Foundations Passover originated on the night the LORD struck the Egyptian firstborn (Exodus 12). A year-old male lamb, without defect, was slain; its blood marked Israelite doorposts while the people ate the lamb in haste with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The LORD declared, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). Annually thereafter the feast began on the fourteenth day of the first month, immediately followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. The covenantal memory of divine deliverance shaped Israel’s national identity and liturgical calendar (Leviticus 23:4-8; Deuteronomy 16:1-8). Passover in Second Temple Judaism By the first century the celebration centered in Jerusalem. Pilgrims thronged the city (John 2:13), sacrifices multiplied, and the meal was eaten at sundown. A fixed liturgy emerged (cups of wine, hymns, questions of the youngest child), yet the essential elements—lamb, unleavened bread, and proclamation—remained. Josephus reports crowds so large that the blood from sacrifices streamed down the temple drains. This context supplies the backdrop for every New Testament reference. Occurrences in the New Testament 1. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22) present Passover as the setting for the Last Supper. Passover and the Ministry of Jesus • Preparation: Jesus planned meticulously (Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13). The divine timetable (“My time is near”) underscores sovereign control. Typological Fulfillment in Christ Passover’s main motifs find their consummation in Jesus: 1. Substitutionary Blood – “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Passover in Apostolic Teaching Paul employs páscha to exhort the Corinthian church: as leaven must be purged before the feast, so believers must expel wickedness (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). The ethical outworking of redemption is inseparable from its sacrificial basis. Hebrews 11:28 affirms the efficacy of blood-sprinkling, reinforcing confidence in the greater sacrifice of Christ. From Jewish Pascha to Christian Pascha The earliest believers, many of them Jewish, continued to celebrate Passover, now centered on Jesus’ death and resurrection. By the second century the term Pascha commonly referred to the Christian observance (eventually called Easter in the West). Quartodeciman debates concerned the date, not the substance, maintaining the fundamental link between Exodus deliverance and Christ’s victory. Pastoral and Practical Implications 1. Worship – The Lord’s Table roots congregational worship in the once-for-all sacrifice. Summary Strong’s Greek 3957 gathers the biblical drama of redemption: the first Passover’s lamb, the Passover ministry of Jesus, and the church’s proclamation that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” From Egypt to Calvary to the consummation, páscha testifies to the faithfulness of God who redeems His people through the shed blood of a flawless substitute. Forms and Transliterations ΠΑΣΧΑ πάσχα PASCHA páschaLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Matthew 26:2 AramGRK: ἡμέρας τὸ πάσχα γίνεται καὶ NAS: days the Passover is coming, KJV: is [the feast of] the passover, and INT: days the passover takes place and Matthew 26:17 Aram Matthew 26:18 Aram Matthew 26:19 Aram Mark 14:1 Aram Mark 14:12 Aram Mark 14:12 Aram Mark 14:14 Aram Mark 14:16 Aram Luke 2:41 Aram Luke 22:1 Aram Luke 22:7 Aram Luke 22:8 Aram Luke 22:11 Aram Luke 22:13 Aram Luke 22:15 Aram John 2:13 Aram John 2:23 Aram John 6:4 Aram John 11:55 Aram John 11:55 Aram John 12:1 Aram John 13:1 Aram John 18:28 Aram John 18:39 Aram |