Passover sacrifice

The Passover sacrifice (Hebrew: Korban Pesakh קרבן פסח), also known as the "sacrifice of Passover", the Paschal Lamb, or the Passover Lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates Jews to ritually slaughter on the eve of Passover, and eat on the first night of the holiday with bitter herbs and matzo. According to the Torah, it was first offered on the night of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt. Although practiced by Jews in ancient times, the ritual is today only practiced by Samaritans at Mount Gerizim.

Torah (Hebrew Bible)

The blood of this sacrifice sprinkled on the door-posts of the Israelites was to be a sign to God, when passing through the land to slay the first-born of the Egyptians that night, that he should pass by the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:1-28) This is called in the Mishnah the "Passover of Egypt" (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim in M.Pesach ix. 5). It was ordained, furthermore (Exodus 12:24-27), that this observance should be repeated annually for all time once the Israelites entered into their promised land. Exodus 12:25 "It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service (NKJV). This so-called "Pesaḥ Dorot," the Passover of succeeding generations (Mishnah Pesach l.c.), differs in many respects from the Passover of Egypt (Pesaḥ Miẓrayim). In the pre-exilic period, however, Passover was rarely sacrificed in accordance with the legal prescriptions (comp. II Chron. xxxv. 18).