And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Exodus 12:22,23 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning…
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Hebrews 9:13,14,22 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: …
and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes
The application of blood on the doorframes served as a sign of protection and obedience. The doorframe, being the entrance to the home, symbolized the threshold between life and death. This act of marking the doorposts with blood was a public declaration of faith and trust in God's promise of deliverance. It parallels the concept of being marked or sealed by God, as seen in Ezekiel 9:4 and Revelation 7:3.
of the houses
The house represents the family unit, which was central to Israelite society. The communal aspect of the Passover meal highlights the importance of family and community in worship and obedience to God. This also foreshadows the New Testament concept of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
where they eat the lambs
Eating the lamb was an integral part of the Passover celebration, signifying participation in the covenant and the sustenance provided by God. The lamb, without blemish, is a type of Christ, who is sinless and provides spiritual nourishment to believers (1 Corinthians 5:7, John 6:53-56). The communal meal underscores the unity and fellowship among God's people, a theme that is echoed in the Lord's Supper.
Exodus 12:7 begins with a tangible directive: “They are to take some of the blood.”
• Blood is God’s chosen sign of life and atonement (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22).
• It emphasizes substitution—an innocent victim’s life given so the firstborn may live, foreshadowing Christ, “the Lamb who was slain” (Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
• By instructing each family to handle the blood personally, the text highlights individual responsibility; salvation is applied, not assumed (Romans 10:9-10).
• The blood marked both vertical posts and horizontal lintel—forming a complete covering that surrounded anyone who passed through (Isaiah 26:20-21).
• The visible placement declared faith publicly, much like the scarlet cord at Jericho (Joshua 2:18-21) and the believer’s open confession of Christ (Matthew 10:32).
• Hebrews 11:28 notes that Moses kept the Passover “and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer… would not touch their firstborn,” underscoring protective power.
• Judgment was coming throughout Egypt, but every marked house became a sanctuary (Psalm 91:1-3).
• Salvation was household-wide (Acts 16:31): parents applied the sign, children benefited. Family leadership in spiritual matters is affirmed (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
• The command shows God’s care for ordinary dwellings; He meets people where they live (John 14:23).
• The same lamb whose blood saved them also nourished them (Exodus 12:8-11). Deliverance and fellowship go together (John 6:53-55).
• This meal looked forward to “Christ, our Passover lamb, who has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
• Sharing the lamb within the blood-marked door pictures the believer’s communion with Christ inside the safety of His sacrifice (John 10:9; Revelation 19:9).
Exodus 12:7 instructs each Israelite household to apply the Passover lamb’s blood visibly to their own doorframes, turning every home into a refuge from judgment. The act combines faith, obedience, public witness, and communion: the blood spares, the lamb sustains. In doing so, the verse prophetically points to Jesus—the true Lamb—whose shed blood, personally received and openly confessed, still secures eternal protection and fellowship for all who trust Him.
(7) Strike it.--With a bunch of hyssop. (See Exodus 12:22.)The two side posts and on the upper door post.--The idea seems to have been that the destroying influence, whatever it was, would enter the house by the door. The sight of the bloody stains above the door and on either side would prevent its entering. The word translated "upper door post" appears to be derived from shacaph, "to look out," and to signify properly the latticed window above the door, through which persons reconnoitred those who knocked before admitting them. Such windows are frequently represented in the early Egyptian monuments. The blood thus rendered conspicuous would show that atonement had been made for the house, i.e., for its inmates.
Verse 7. - They shall take of the blood. The blood, which, according to Hebrew ideas, "is the life," and so the very essence of the sacrifice, was always regarded as the special symbol of that expiation and atonement, with a view to which sacrifice was instituted. As by the Paschal sacrifice atonement was made for the house, which was therefore to escape unscathed, the sign of atonement was to be conspicuously placed upon it. And strike. The "striking" was to be by means of a bunch of hyssop dipped in the blood (ver. 22). The selection of the doorway as the part of the house to receive the stains of blood is probably to be connected with the idea that the secondary agency producing death, whatever it was, would enter by the door - and if the door showed the house to have been atoned for, would not enter. The upper door-past. The word used is elsewhere translated "lintel" (Exodus 12:22, 23); but it seems properly to mean the latticed window which was commonly placed over a doorway in Egyptian houses, and which is often represented in the facades of tombs. (See Lepsius, Denkmaler, pt. 2. pls. 16,17, 147, etc.) It is derived from a root signifying "to look out."