Feast of Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread

The Feast of Passover commemorated the Lord's deliverance of Israel in Exodus. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which followed it, kept alive the memory of the affliction of the Israelites and their haste in departing from the land of bondage. The Passover (Pesa) was the first of three annual pilgrimage festivals and was celebrated on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month, Nisan (postexilic name; formerly Abib [Exod. 13:14], approximately modern Western April). The celebration, commonly known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, continued for the next week, ending on the twenty-first day of the month. Nisan marked the beginning of the religious or sacred new year (Exod. 12:2). The Hebrew term pesais derived from a root meaning "to pass (or spring) over," and signifies the passing over (sparing) of the houses of Israel when the firstborn of Egypt were slain (Exod. 12). The Passover itself refers only to the paschal supper on the evening of 14 Nisan, whereas the following week-long period …