The first Passover
Exodus 12:1–28; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19
Each Israelite household killed a spotless lamb and marked their doorposts with its blood, and death passed over them when God struck Egypt's firstborn.
The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:13 (World English Bible)
God reset Israel's calendar: this month would be the first month of their year. On the 14th, each family ate the roasted lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, dressed and ready to travel.
At midnight the firstborn of Egypt died, from Pharaoh's house to the prisoner's cell, but every house under the blood was spared. Paul calls Christ “our Passover” who was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7); Jesus was crucified at Passover.
Places
Dating notes
Ussher computes the Passover evening as 4 May 1491 BC (Julian calendar), 14 Abib.