And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
They baked unleavened cakes of the dough ... Since they were commanded on the night of the Passover to eat unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8), and early on the following morning were summoned to depart, they had no time to procure leaven-
Because they were thrust out ... The urgency shown to get rid of them was exhibited, it is most probable, only in the capital, or in the place where Pharaoh's court was residing at the time. No doubt, it is stated, "The children of Israel journeyed from Rameses" - which may be taken either as the name of a city or of a district (Genesis 47:11); and this may be the meaning of the phrase, 'the dough which they brought out of Egypt.' Although the whole body of the Israelites were prepared 'for a sudden journey, they seem to have been kept in ignorance of the precise moment for starting; and as no movement could be undertaken without the royal permission, it seems clear that those who were in the immediate neighbourhood of Pharaoh were the parties on whom the forcible expulsion chiefly fell. The objection founded on the alleged impossibility of the exodus being effected by so vast a body as the Israelites in the course of one night, is altogether groundless, for the whole plan of deliverance, including even some of its details, was described to Moses at the time of his appointment to his divine legation.
Neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. De Wette maintains that this statement is a direct contradiction to Exodus 12:6, where it is recorded that the Israelites got notice to make ready the Passover on the evening before. Admitted; but they had at the same time been strictly enjoined to leave nothing of it until the morning (Exodus 12:10). He says further, that as they had received a pre-intimation of their departure, they might and ought to have laid in a stock of provisions for a journey. They might, indeed, have unduly procrastinated, as human nature is prone to do even in the most urgent circumstances. But they had not been informed that they were to march that night, and therefore could not make the necessary preparation.