This pattern makes plain that the Passover narrative is more than a historical record. It is a historical narrative written for the liturgical instruction of later generations. We are accustomed to finding ritual instructions in the form of statutes (e.g., the book of Leviticus). But the Passover pericope shows how historical narratives can also be an effective genre for communicating festival instructions (cf. Ex 12:25–27; 13:8–10, 12–16). It is my contention that Exodus 12–13 introduces this back-and-forth