What Does Exodus 13:3 Mean?

Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten." Verse 3 transitions from the firstborn consecration command to the Matzot/Passover remembrance instruction to the departing people.

The "remember this day" is the first explicit use of the Exodus's most characteristic imperative: remember. Israel's ongoing identity is constituted by the act of remembering the Exodus; the remembrance is not optional nostalgia but a commanded orientation of the entire community toward its constitutive liberation event.

The "house of slavery" (Hebrew: beit avadim, house of servants/slaves) is the name for Egypt that will become the standard designation in the covenant formulas throughout the Torah. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6) is the covenant self-introduction that opens the Ten Commandments.

The "house of slavery" label is not just a description of what Egypt was but an ongoing theological designation: Egypt is the place of slavery, and YHWH is the one who brought Israel out of it. The character of Egypt and the character of YHWH are defined in relation to this single event.

The "strong hand" (Hebrew: chazak yad, great/powerful hand) is the first of the Exodus's most characteristic divine-action descriptions: YHWH's hand, outstretched arm, and great acts are the standard vocabulary for the Exodus throughout the Old Testament. The "strong hand" is the body-of-God image for divine power applied in historical events: YHWH's hand brought Israel out. Deuteronomy 26:8 summarizes the Exodus as done "with a great hand and an outstretched arm and with great deeds of terror." The hand vocabulary of verse 3 is the seed of the entire Deuteronomic confession of Israel's faith.