“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”
- KJV Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
- NKJV “Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.”
- NASB “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the firstborn of every womb among the sons of Israel, among people and animals alike; it belongs to Me.”
- NLT “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God commands Israel to sanctify to Him every firstborn, of man and animal, because they belong to Him.
Overview
Having spared Israel's firstborn when Egypt's perished, God claims all firstborn as His special possession. This consecration is a perpetual reminder of redemption: the firstborn live because the Lord redeemed them. The principle that the redeemed belong wholly to God runs through Scripture and finds its fulfillment in Christ, the firstborn over all creation, and in believers who, bought with a price, are not their own (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 2:23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”),
- Num 3:13for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They are Mine; I am the LORD.”
- Deut 15:19You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock.
- Exod 22:29–30You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.
- Num 8:16–17For the Levites have been wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself in place of all who come first from the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel.
- Num 18:15The firstborn of every womb, whether man or beast, that is offered to the LORD belongs to you. But you must surely redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals.
- Exod 34:19–20The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.
- Exod 13:12–15you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.
- Lev 27:26But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.
- Exod 4:22Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,
- Exod 23:19Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Heb 12:23in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 13:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.