Exodus 13:14 teaches that when children ask what a family’s faith is about, parents should answer by telling the story of how the LORD rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. The verse is Moses speaking to the people of Israel as they prepare to leave Egypt, and it anticipates a future moment when a child will ask a question that opens the door to the family’s history with God.
It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Exodus 13:14 (WEB)
What Exodus 13:14 Means
The verse begins with an expectation rather than a command: “It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come.” Moses is not telling parents to wait for a child to ask. He is recognizing that children will ask, and that the question is a natural and welcome opening for teaching. The phrase “in time to come” looks ahead to generations who never saw the Exodus with their own eyes.
The child asks, “What is this?” The question refers to the ritual and practices Moses has just described, including the consecration of firstborn animals and the redemption of firstborn sons. The parent’s task is to explain these practices by pointing back to the event that gave them meaning. The rituals are not arbitrary customs; they are memory devices tied to a rescue.
The answer the parent gives is short and dense: “By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.” The verse emphasizes God’s power (“strength of hand”) and the reality of the slavery Israel escaped. It does not promise that every family question will be easy to answer, nor does it promise a particular outcome for any child. It describes a pattern: God acted, the people remember, and the memory is handed on.
The Context of Exodus 13:14
Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses and tells the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and their formation as a people under the covenant at Sinai. Chapter 13 falls right after the death of the firstborn in Egypt and the departure of the Israelites, so the instructions here are given at a moment of raw experience. Verses 11 through 16 gather several commands about setting apart firstborn males and celebrating the feast of unleavened bread, each tied to the night God struck Egypt and spared Israel.
Just before verse 14, Moses tells the people that these practices are to be observed once they enter the land God promised. Verse 17 then shows the people being led by a longer route away from the Philistine road, a reminder that God guides his people with care even when the most direct path is not the wisest. Reading verse 14 inside this stretch of text shows that the question a child asks is part of a wider covenant life, one that includes both memorial rituals and God’s ongoing guidance.
Key Phrases in Exodus 13:14
Deuteronomy 6:20-21
20 When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the LORD our God has commanded you mean?” 21 then you shall tell your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand…
(WEB)
This passage repeats the pattern of Exodus 13:14, where a child asks about the commandments and the parent answers by recounting the Exodus. It shows that the call to teach the next generation was central to the covenant, and it gives a fuller picture of how that teaching should sound.
Psalm 78:4
We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.
(WEB)
Psalm 78 speaks of telling the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD so that they will put their trust in God. It widens the vision of Exodus 13:14 from one family conversation to a whole community’s commitment to remembering and proclaiming God’s works.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 13:14
Lord, thank you for the stories you have written into our family and into your people’s history. Thank you that you brought Israel out of slavery by your strong hand, and that you still rescue and guide those who trust you. Give us patience and honesty when our children ask hard questions. Help us to tell the truth about what you have done, and let our words point them toward your faithfulness. Amen.
