Pascha Translated Easter

The best shot that the men opposed to the King James Bible have to attack the Bible is the word Easter in Acts 12:4.  This word is translated from the Greek word “pascha”.  28 times in the King James Bible the translators translated this word “passover”.  But this one time, the King James translators translated the word “Easter”.  And the scholars say that this is an error.

When you read Acts 12:4 with Acts 12:3, you see that the time of Peter’s imprisonment was during the days of unleavened bread.  

The Passover And The Feast of Unleavened Bread

In Ex 12:11-12, the passover was one night and only one night.  In Ex 12:14 we see that the passover took place on one day.  The feast of unleavened bread, on the other hand, was a seven day feast following the passover, Ex 12:15-17.  Passover, according to Ex 12:18, was on the 14th day of the first month.  It was at even, not at sunrise, by the way.

The passover is a memorial of the night that God passed over the firstborn of Israel in Egypt.  The feast of unleavened bread was a memorial of their Exodus from Egypt. These are two separate memorials.

Passover is Always the 14th Day of the First Month

According to Num 9:1-3, the passover was always on the 14th day of the first month.  Ex 13:1-4 says that the first month was Abib.

In Num 28:16-17 and Lev 23:5-6 God clearly delineates these days.  On the 14th day is the passover.  On the 15th day is the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread which is a seven day feast.  An interesting note: the passover is called the Passover, the Day of unleavened bread, or the Feast of unleavened bread.  The feast is called the Days of unleavened bread or the Feast of unleavened bread.  You’ll always know from the context whether the Bible is referring to the day singular or the days plural.

In 2 Chr 30:15, 765 years after the first passover, they kept the passover in the second month during Hezekiah’s reign.  God had made a provision for this in Num 9:9-11.  He made a way for those who were unclean to still keep the passover on the 14th day of the second month.

In Ezra 6:19, 972 years after the first passover, they kept the passover on the 14th day of the first month.  The feast of unleavened bread always follows immediately after the passover, but it is a separate feast.

So, back in Acts 12:4, Peter is in prison during the 7 days of unleavened bread.

According to Num 33:3, the 15th day is on the morrow after the passover.  See the same thing in Jos 5:10-11.  Passover is never a reference to the 14th day and the seven days following the passover as a single feast together.

Easter Is The Only Correct Translation of Pascha in Acts 12:4

Therefore, the translation of pascha as Easter in Acts 12:4 is the only correct translation of the word, because Passover was already past.  They were already in the days of unleavened bread.  As an interesting note, the Greek word for Easter is pascha.   The King James Bible is the only Bible that correctly translates pascha as Easter. For more information see the radio broadcast on Easter in the KJV.