Deuteronomy 15:19

Giving God the Best

15:19 You must set apart ¹  for the Lord your God every firstborn male born to your herds and flocks. You must not work the firstborn of your bulls or shear the firstborn of your flocks.

Deuteronomy 21:16

21:16 In the day he divides his inheritance ²  he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other ³  wife’s son who is actually the firstborn.

Deuteronomy 21:15

Laws Concerning Children

21:15 Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other, ⁴  and they both ⁵  bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife.

Deuteronomy 25:6

25:6 Then ⁶  the first son ⁷  she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel.

Deuteronomy 21:17

21:17 Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved ⁸  wife as firstborn and give him the double portion ⁹  of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power ¹⁰  – to him should go the right of the firstborn.

Deuteronomy 33:17

33:17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,

and may his horns be those of a wild ox;

with them may he gore all peoples,

all the far reaches of the earth.

They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, ¹¹ 

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

¹ tn Heb “sanctify” (תַּקְדִּישׁ, taqdish), that is, put to use on behalf of the Lord.

² tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”

³ tn Heb “the hated.”

³ tn Heb “one whom he loves and one whom he hates.” For the idea of שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) meaning to be rejected or loved less (cf. NRSV “disliked”), see Gen 29:31, 33; Mal 1:2-3. Cf. A. Konkel, NIDOTTE 3:1256-60.

⁴ tn Heb “both the one whom he loves and the one whom he hates.” On the meaning of the phrase “one whom he loves and one whom he hates” see the note on the word “other” earlier in this verse. The translation has been simplified for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

⁴ tn Heb “and it will be that.”

⁵ tn Heb “the firstborn.” This refers to the oldest male child.

⁵ tn See note on the word “other” in v. 15.

⁶ tn Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (piy shÿnayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31-34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8-22).

⁷ tn Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ’on; cf. HALOT 22 s.v.). Cf. NAB “the first fruits of his manhood”; NRSV “the first issue of his virility.”

⁶ sn Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph who became founders of the two tribes into which Joseph’s descendants were split (Gen 48:19-20). Jacob’s blessing granted favored status to Ephraim; this is probably why Ephraim is viewed here as more numerous than Manasseh.