A Night to be Much Observed?

Exodus 12:42
It is a night to be much observed unto Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of Yahweh to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

Exodus 12:42 speaks of a "Night to be Much Observed", a "Night of Solemn Observance." What is this Night? Is it Passover Night? Is it the Night the Israelites began their journey to Egypt? Lets look at scripture and to see what night was to be much observed.

Let’s begin with the scriptures prior to this verse which set the background for this command.

Exodus 12:30-41
Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, "Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship Yahweh, as you have said. "Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also." The Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, "We will all be dead." So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders. Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and Yahweh had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves. Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt.

At Midnight on the 14th of Abib Yahweh struck down the firstborn of Egypt. During the Daylight portion of the 14th the children of Israel plundered the Egyptians. On the next night on the 15th of Abib they left their homes in Goshen also known as Rameses and headed for Succoth out of Egypt and on their way to the promised land.

Deuteronomy 16:1 and Numbers 33:3 confirm they left by night and that they left on the 15th of Abib.

Deuteronomy 16:1
"Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to Yahweh your Elohim, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night.

Numbers 33:1-3
These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command of Yahweh, and these are their journeys according to their starting places. They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out boldly in the sight of all the Egyptians,

Did they leave on the night of the Passover? Of course not, on the night of the Passover they were in their homes, where the blood of the lamb on the doorposts marked them as Israelites and their firstborn were protected from the fate which befell the Egyptians.

We have established that the Passover occurred during the night time portion of the 14th of Abib and that Israelites left Egypt during the night time portion of the 15th of Abib. So let’s go back to Exodus 12:41-42 to determine which night is to be much observed.

Exodus 12:41-42
And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed unto Yahweh for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of Yahweh to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

The Night to be Much Observed is part of the selfsame day when the Israelites left their homes in the land of Egypt. We have already established that this day was the 15th of Abib. So the night time portion of the 15th of Abib is the Night to Be Much Observed. The night which begins after sunset ends the Passover Day.

But wait, doesn’t the verse state, "that all the hosts of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt". The Israelites where still in Egypt on the 15th of Abib.

This is true, they were still in Egypt on the 15 th of Egypt, but let’s look at the hebrew word translated as "went out."

yatsa 3318 -to go out, to come out, to exit, to go forth

Yatsa means "to go forth", they didn’t have to be completely gone from Egypt, they just had to begin the journey. In fact the word yatsa is applied to vegetation and rivers, do vegetation and rivers "go out completely" from the land they’re in?

Genesis 1:12
The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And Elohim saw that it was good.

Genesis 2:10
Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.

Both the words "produced" and "flowed" are translated from the hebrew word yatsa.

In summary, the "Night to be Much Observed" is the same night when they went forth from Egypt, the night they actually began their journey to the promised land. It is not the Passover, but following night. It is the night where we meet to remember the anniversary of the night when Yahweh miraculously led the Israelites out of Egypt.