Numbers 8:16-17

8:16 For they are entirely given ¹  to me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for myself instead of ²  all who open the womb, the firstborn sons of all the Israelites. 8:17 For all the firstborn males among the Israelites are mine, both humans and animals; when I destroyed ³  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I set them apart for myself.

Numbers 18:15

18:15 The firstborn of every womb which they present to the Lord, whether human or animal, will be yours. Nevertheless, the firstborn sons you must redeem, ⁴  and the firstborn males of unclean animals you must redeem.

Exodus 13:2

13:2 “Set apart ⁵  to me every firstborn male – the first offspring of every womb ⁶  among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.” ⁷ 

Exodus 13:12

13:12 then you must give over ⁸  to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. ⁹  Every firstling ¹⁰  of a beast that you have ¹¹  – the males will be the Lord’s. ¹² 

Exodus 22:29

22:29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. ¹³  You must give me the firstborn of your sons.

Exodus 34:19

34:19 “Every firstborn of the womb ¹⁴  belongs to me, even every firstborn ¹⁵  of your cattle that is a male, ¹⁶  whether ox or sheep.

Leviticus 27:26

Redemption of the Firstborn

27:26 “‘Surely no man may consecrate a firstborn that already belongs to the Lord as a firstborn among the animals; whether it is an ox or a sheep, it belongs to the Lord. ¹⁷ 

Ezekiel 44:30

44:30 The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind ¹⁸  will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house.

Luke 2:23

2:23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male ¹⁹  will be set apart to the Lord” ²⁰ ),

Hebrews 12:23

12:23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect,

[8:16]  ¹ tn As before, the emphasis is obtained by repeating the passive participle: “given, given to me.”

[8:16]  ² tn Or “as substitutes” for all the firstborn of the Israelites.

[8:17]  ³ tn The idiomatic “on the day of” precedes the infinitive construct of נָכָה (nakhah) to form the temporal clause: “in the day of my striking…” becomes “when I struck.”

[18:15]  ⁴ tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of the verb “to redeem” in order to stress the point – they were to be redeemed. N. H. Snaith suggests that the verb means to get by payment what was not originally yours, whereas the other root גָאַל (ga’al) means to get back what was originally yours (Leviticus and Numbers [NCB], 268).

[13:2]  ⁵ tn The verb “sanctify” is the Piel imperative of קָדַשׁ (qadash). In the Qal stem it means “be holy, be set apart, be distinct,” and in this stem “sanctify, set apart.”

[13:2]  ⁶ tn The word פֶּטֶּר (petter) means “that which opens”; this construction literally says, “that which opens every womb,” which means “the first offspring of every womb.” Verses 12 and 15 further indicate male offspring.

[13:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “to me it.” The preposition here expresses possession; the construction is simply “it [is, belongs] to me.”

[13:12]  ⁸ tn The unusual choice of words in this passage reflects the connection with the deliverance of the firstborn in the exodus when the Lord passed over the Israelites (12:12, 23). Here the Law said, “you will cause to pass over (וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ, vÿha’avarta) to Yahweh.” The Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) provides the main clause after the temporal clauses. Yahweh here claimed the firstborn as his own. The remarkable thing about this is that Yahweh did not keep the firstborn that was dedicated to him, but allowed the child to be redeemed by his father. It was an acknowledgment that the life of the child belonged to God as the one redeemed from death, and that the child represented the family. Thus, the observance referred to the dedication of all the redeemed to God.

[13:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “every opener of a womb,” that is, the firstborn from every womb.

[13:12]  ¹⁰ tn The descriptive noun שֶׁגֶר (sheger) is related to the verb “drop, cast”; it refers to a newly born animal that is dropped or cast from the womb. The expression then reads, “and all that first open [the womb], the casting of a beast.”

[13:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “that is to you.” The preposition expresses possession.

[13:12]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text simply has “the males to Yahweh.” It indicates that the Lord must have them, or they belong to the Lord.

[22:29]  ¹³ tn The expressions are unusual. U. Cassuto renders them: “from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses” (Exodus, 294). He adds the Hittite parallel material to show that the people were to bring the offerings on time and not let them overlap, because the firstfruits had to be eaten first by the priest.

[34:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “everything that opens the womb.”

[34:19]  ¹⁵ tn Here too: everything that “opens [the womb].”

[34:19]  ¹⁶ tn The verb basically means “that drops a male.” The verb is feminine, referring to the cattle.

[27:26]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to the Lord it is.”

[44:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb has in addition “from your contributions,” a repetition unnecessary in English.

[2:23]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “every male that opens the womb” (an idiom for the firstborn male).

[2:23]  ²⁰ sn An allusion to Exod 13:2, 12, 15.