8
Num 19:18 (defilement from a corpse).
25
In other words, the targums import into
their paraphrases the concept of ritual purification that normally accompanied the
levitical sprinkling of blood.
(d) Mekilta Pisha
11 on Exod 12:22 calls the lintel and doorposts "altars"
(mzbhwt),
26
further depicting the blood-smearing as a priestly act and echoing
Philo, who called the houses "altars" (
Spec. Leg II 148; Quaes. in Ex 1.12).
(e) Exodus Rabbah Bo 15.12 on Exod 12:1 describes the effect of the
Passover sacrifice with the language of atonement: "I wil
l therein see the blood of
the Passover and I will make atonement (kpr
) for you."
27
Even though there are a variety of expressions from different works, I believe
all five texts represent one consistent exegetical tradition, the Passover as an act
of expiation. If it is, then the Philo and Josephus texts (1
st
cent AD) "anchor" the
traditions that are not clearly datable (targums, Mekilta, Exodus Rabbah) and
suggest that were in existence prior to Melito. Given that second century
Christianity began affirming that baptism directly conferred the forgiveness of
sins,
28
we should not be surprised that Melito would be drawn to baptism, not just
Christ, as a NT fulfillment of OT Passover
(2) The Blood-
Smearing as Israels Covenant Initiation
Jewish interpreters of
Exod 12 took up from an early date the "two bloods"
motif," the idea that the blood of the Passover (Exod 12:7) became "mixed" with
the blood of circumcision (Exod 12:43-44). By virtue of this connection, the
Passover lambs blood the "blood of the covenant" and took upon itself
circumcisions character as a sign of initiation.
29
In the text of Exod 12, the
Passover blood-smearing signified merely deliverance from death; in later Jewish
25
These three are the only other passages in the OT where the word
s "dip" and "hyssop"
occur together. Two of the passages, Lev 14:6 and Num 19:18, are linked with Exod 12:22 in
Exodus Rabbah Bo 17.1-2 on Exod 12:22.
26
For Aramaic text and English translation, see Jacob Lauterbach, ed., Mekilta of Rabbi
Ishmael, vol. 1(Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1933-35), 45.
27
For Aramaic text, see Midrash Rabbah, vol 5, ed. by Moshe Mirkin (Tel Aviv: Yavneh
Publishing House, 1959), 174-76. For English translation, see Midrash Rabbah; Exodus, trans.
By S. M. Lehman (London: Soncino, 1983), 174-75.
28
2 Clement 6.9; Hermas Vision 3.3.5; Mandate 4.3.1; Similitude 9.16.2-5; Justin 1
Apology 61.10; 66.1; Dialogue 14.1; 44.4.
29
Israels label as Yahwehs "firstborn son" (Exod 4:23; 13:15) reinforces this depict
ion,
as does the reorganization of Israels calendar (Exod 12:2), which plays into this "new birth"
image. For an allegorical interpretation of the reorganization of Israels calendar in terms of
baptism, see Robert J. Daly, Origen Treatise on the Passover (Mahwah: Paulist press, 1992), 29.