The Canaanites, and the Hittites... — The full number of the Canaanitish nations was seven, five of which are here enumerated. The other two were the Perizzites and the Girgashites, which seem to have been the least important. The most important were the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites; and these are consequently almost always placed first. At the time of the Exodus, and for many centuries afterwards, the actually most powerful nation would seem to have been that of the Hittites. (See Joshua 1:4; 1 Kings 10:29; 2 Kings 7:6; and compare the Egyptian and Assyrian remains passim.)
A land flowing with milk and honey. — See Note on Exodus 3:8.
Thou shalt keep this service. — Kalisch concludes from this verse, and from Exodus 12:25, that there was no obligation upon the Israelites to keep the Passover until they obtained possession of Canaan. He holds that two Passovers only were celebrated before that event — one by Moses in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 9:1-5), and the other by Joshua at Gilgal, in the plain of Jericho (Joshua 5:10-11).