IX.
(1) In the first month of the second year. — The celebration of the Passover, as recorded in this chapter, preceded in order of time the numbering of the people recorded in Numbers 1, and the other events which were connected with it. No provision had hitherto been made for the celebration of the Passover in the wilderness. A special injunction was, therefore, required for this purpose. Had it not been for the rebellion of the people, the next Passover after the original Egyptian Passover would have been celebrated in the land of Canaan, and it was for that one only that provision had been made (Exodus 12:25).