Exodus 13:13

13:13 Every firstling ¹  of a donkey you must redeem ²  with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck. ³  Every firstborn of ⁴  your sons you must redeem.

Exodus 34:20

34:20 Now the firstling ⁵  of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. ⁶  You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.

“No one will appear before me empty-handed. ⁷ 

Exodus 21:8

21:8 If she does not please ⁸  her master, who has designated her ⁹  for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. ¹⁰  He has no right ¹¹  to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully ¹²  with her.

Exodus 13:15

13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused ¹³  to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. ¹⁴  That is why I am sacrificing ¹⁵  to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’

[13:13]  ¹ tn Heb “and every opener [of a womb].”

[13:13]  ² tn The verb תִּפְדֶּה (tifdeh), the instructional imperfect, refers to the idea of redemption by paying a cost. This word is used regularly of redeeming a person, or an animal, from death or servitude (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 109).

[13:13]  ³ tn The conditional clause uses an imperfect tense; this is followed by a perfect tense with the vav consecutive providing the obligation or instruction. The owner might not redeem the donkey, but if he did not, he could not keep it, he had to kill it by breaking its neck (so either a lamb for it, or the donkey itself). The donkey could not be killed by shedding blood because that would make it a sacrifice, and that was not possible with this kind of animal. See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1977): 1-15.

[13:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and every firstborn of man among your sons.” The addition of “man” is clearly meant to distinguish firstborn humans from animals.

[34:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the one that opens [the womb of] the donkey.”

[34:20]  ⁶ sn See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1971): 1-15.

[34:20]  ⁷ tn The form is the adverb “empty.”

[21:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “and if unpleasant (רָעָה, ra’ah) in the eyes of her master.”

[21:8]  ¹⁰ tn The verb יָעַד (ya’ad) does not mean “betroth, espouse” as some of the earlier translations had it, but “to designate.” When he bought the girl, he designated her for himself, giving her and her family certain expectations.

[21:8]  ¹¹ tn The verb is a Hiphil perfect with vav (ו) consecutive from פָדָה (padah, “to redeem”). Here in the apodosis the form is equivalent to an imperfect: “let someone redeem her” – perhaps her father if he can, or another. U. Cassuto says it can also mean she can redeem herself and dissolve the relationship (Exodus, 268).

[21:8]  ¹² tn Heb “he has no authority/power,” for the verb means “rule, have dominion.”

[21:8]  ¹³ sn The deceit is in not making her his wife or concubine as the arrangement had stipulated.

[13:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (lÿshallÿkhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”

[13:15]  ¹⁴ tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”

[13:15]  ¹⁵ tn The form is the active participle.