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H3699 · Hebrew · Old Testament
כָּסַס
Kasas
Verb
To calculate, reckon, estimate (for the Passover)

Definition

The rare Hebrew verb kasas (כָּסַס) means to calculate, count, or estimate — specifically used in the context of reckoning how many people can eat from a Passover lamb. It appears only in Exodus 12:4, where Moses instructs that if a household is too small for an entire lamb, they should "estimate" (kasas) how many people are needed to consume it fully. The word emphasizes careful, deliberate calculation in worship.

Usage & Theological Significance

Though kasas appears only once, its theological context is profound. The Passover regulations require that nothing be wasted and nothing be insufficient — the lamb must be fully consumed. This careful reckoning points to the sufficiency and completeness of the sacrifice. No portion of the Passover lamb was to be left over (Exodus 12:10), just as Christ's sacrifice on the cross is complete — "It is finished" (John 19:30). The act of calculating who can participate in the Passover also foreshadows the New Testament question of who may partake of Communion (1 Corinthians 11:28). Holy things require careful, deliberate preparation.

Key Bible Verses

Exodus 12:4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.
Exodus 12:3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.
Exodus 12:10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
1 Corinthians 11:28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
John 19:36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken.'

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