Passover cultural definition

The deliverance of the Israelites from the worst of the plagues of Egypt, and the annual festival kept afterward in memory of the event. Through Moses, God told the Israelites to prepare a special meal to be eaten in haste the evening before their escape from Egypt (see also Egypt) (see Exodus), with a whole roasted lamb as the main dish. The blood from the lamb was to be used to mark the Israelites' houses. That night, God would send the angel of Death to kill the firstborn males of the Egyptians (this was the worst of the plagues of Egypt), but God would see the blood on the Israelites' houses, and he would command his angel to “pass over” — to kill no one there. God told Moses that the Israelites were to repeat the meal each spring on the anniversary of their departure from Egypt. The Jews (see also Jews) keep the festival of Passover to this day.

• The Last Supper of Jesus and his Apostles was a Passover meal. The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus were explained by the Apostles as the new Passover of the New Testament.

Among Jews (see also Jews), the festival commemorating the Exodus, the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (see also Egypt). During Passover, unleavened bread, called matzo, is eaten. In the course of the festival, the story of the Exodus is read.