We are all used to the idea that the verb פסח means “pass over” and that our holiday gets its English name from this meaning.

But there are many scholars who disagree. They offer two alternative interpretations of the verb פסח in the several times it appears in the 12th chapter of Exodus. They cite Onkelos and other early rabbinic sources for their interpretations. In fact, a leading Bible scholar has written that the “pass over” interpretation is the “least likely” of the three possibilities. See N. Sarna, “Exploring Exodus,” p. 87. I write this article to refute these claims. I agree with Rashi that this “pass over” interpretation is the best one for the 12th chapter and that it fits the underlying meaning of the root פסח throughout Tanach.

Here are our key phrases in the 12th chapter:

—12:13: “ve-raeeti et ha-dam u-fasachti aleichem…”

—12:23: “U-fasach Hashem al ha-petach…”

—12:27 “zevach pesach hu… [God was] pasach al batei vnei Yisrael be-Mitzrayim be-nagpo et Mitzrayim ve-et bateinu hitzil…”

The first alternative interpretation is that פסח means חוס. Jastrow gives many meanings to חוס: e.g., protect, spare, have consideration for, have affection for and bend over. Whatever it means, it is different from passing or skipping over.

Onkelos consistently translates our four פסח words in Chapter 12 with words from the חוס root. Also, there is an anonymous passage in Mechilta Bo (sec. 7) that expresses the חוס interpretation at Ex. 12:13. Also, a few lines later, R. Yoshiah expresses the דלג view, while R. Yonatan expresses the חוס view.

(Among our early commentators, we have some who seem to follow the חוס approach: R. Saadiah uses the phrase “zevach chemlah” in his translation of Ex. 12:27. See also Ibn Ezra. But Rashbam agrees with Rashi.)

Another alternative interpretation is from the root גנן: to cover, to protect. See Tosefta Sotah 4:1, which uses the word הגין in its interpretation of the פסח of Ex. 12:23. There is also a similar passage using הגין in the Mechilta.

Also, Targum Yonatan uses the גנן root for the פסח of 12:23. It has ויגין. (For more sources, see the article by T.F. Glasson in The Journal of Theological Studies, vol. 10, 1959.)

Let us review the other instances of the root פסח in Tanach (aside from the references to the holiday itself). There is a noun that appears many times that refers to a person or animal that limps. (The leg injury can even be more serious than a limp. This would be an expansion from the original “limp” meaning. See 2 Sam. 4:4.)

With regard to פסח as a verb, it has a meaning like “skip” or “jump” at 1 Kings 18:21, where we have the expression “poschim al shetei ha-se’ipim.” This is an idiom for someone who cannot decide between two opinions. Daat Mikra suggests that the idiom originated with a bird that skips or jumps from one branch to another because it cannot decide which one to land on.

Similarly it has a meaning like “skip” or “jump” at 1 Kings 18:26, where the prophets of Baal do this around the altar: “va-yefaschu al ha-mizbeach.” Most likely, this is their religious ritual: a dance of ecstasy, involving jumping and/or skipping. See Daat Mikra.

Of course, the “skip, jump” meaning of the verb is related to the “limp” meaning. A person or animal that limps is doing a form of skipping or jumping.

So on what basis does anyone give an interpretation of our פסח words in Exodus that is not related to limping? The claim is that one can get a completely different meaning of the root פסח from Isa. 31:5. This verse reads: “As birds flying (=hovering above their children), so will the Lord of Hosts protect Jerusalem: ganon ve-hitzil, pasoach ve-himlit.” (And when the Mechilta give the חוס interpretation and cites a verse, this is the verse that it cites.)

At first glance, this claim seems a reasonable one. The verse ends with four words, and the other three have a “protect, rescue” meaning. This suggests that “pasoach” has this meaning here too.

But when looked at more carefully, one sees that it is very easy to read in the “skip, jump” meaning here. The context is that God is being compared to a bird. A bird flies. The JPS translation of 1917 translates the last two words as: He will rescue it as He passeth over. Even better is Daat Mikra, which explains that the way a bird guards its nest involves moving/jumping between the surrounding branches.

(Rashi, on Ex. 12:13, gives an interpretation of Isa. 31:5 within the framework of skipping and jumping. But it is a bit unclear and I have seen several different translations of it. But Rashi does state clearly here: “kol pesichah leshon dilug ve-kefitzah” (=every time the verb פסח appears, it has a meaning of skipping or jumping).

If we had one verse that clearly uses a “protect, rescue” meaning for פסח, then it would be legitimate to attempt to read it into the verses in Exodus, even though it would still be an unlikely interpretation, given that every other instance of the root is a limp-related one. But we do not have even one clear example of a “protect, rescue” meaning of the root פסח in Tanach. (Nor in any other Semitic language.)

I previously wrote a column about meaning “minimalists” and meaning “maximalists.” I quoted from an article by Richard Steiner, who taught at Yeshiva University for decades: “Saadia believed that words have many meanings, while Rashi held that they often have only one basic meaning. Saadia made the multiplication of meanings a cornerstone of his exegesis, while Rashi pursued a reductionist policy. In short, Saadia was a meaning-maximalist, while Rashi was a meaning-minimalist.”

I agree with the meaning-minimalist approach of Rashi. Our initial presumption should always be that words with the same three-letter root derive from one underlying meaning. We should not claim an entirely different meaning of a root unless there is a strong basis for doing so. The meaning of פסח at Isa. 31:5 can be explained within the framework of the normative meaning.

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I still have to comment on those statements of our early Sages that offer the חוס and גנן meanings. (As to Onkelos, it has been suggested that this commentary was merely trying to avoid a meaning that implied a bodily movement of God.)

Anyone familiar with the statements of our Sages realizes that they sometimes give interpretations of a word that apply to that verse only or to a limited number of verses. They offer these interpretations either homiletically or even non-homiletically to emphasize a certain point. They obviously do not have a concordance in their hand when they make their statements and are often not thinking about the “global root impact” of their interpretations. (In contrast, medieval lexicographers are conscious of all the instances of a root in Tanach and are trying to give interpretations that work globally to the extent that they can. Rashi is usually trying to do the same thing, even though his Tanach commentary is not a dictionary.)

P.S. As many have noted, it is interesting that the different root פסע has the meaning “to step.” (ח and ע sometimes interchange with one another.)

Mitchell First can be reached at [email protected]. He makes sure not to skip any instances of a word when discussing a root.