Exodus 13:12

That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD'S.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(12) Thou shalt set apart—i.e., separate off from the rest of the flock or herd, that it might not be mixed up with those which were not “sanctified.”

Benson Commentary

Exodus 13:12. Every firstling of a beast shall be the Lord’s — That is, every firstling male of a clean beast, as of the cow, sheep, or goat kind, was to be offered in sacrifice; and the blood being sprinkled, and the fat burned on the altar, the flesh of them was to be given to the priests, Numbers 18:17-18.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:11-16 The firstlings of beast not used in sacrifice, were to be changed for others so used, or they were to be destroyed. Our souls are forfeited to God's justice, and unless ransomed by the sacrifice of Christ, will certainly perish. These institutions would continually remind them of their duty, to love and serve the Lord. In like manner, baptism and the Lord's supper, if explained and attended to, would remind us, and give us occasion to remind one another of our profession and duty.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Hebrew writers have generally regarded this as a formal injunction to write the precepts on slips of parchment, and to fasten them on the wrists and forehead; but other commentators are generally agreed that it is to be understood metaphorically. The words appear to be put into the mouths of the parents. They were to keep all the facts of the Passover constantly in mind, and, referring to a custom prevalent ages before Moses in Egypt, to have them present as though they were inscribed on papyrus or parchment fastened on the wrists, or on the face between the eyes. If, as may be inferred from Deuteronomy 6:7-8, Moses adopted this custom, he would take care to warn the people against the Egyptian superstition of amulets. Modern Israelites generally allege this precept as a justification for the use of phylacteries.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

12, 13. every firstling, &c.—the injunction respecting the consecration of the first-born, as here repeated, with some additional circumstances. The firstlings of clean beasts, such as lambs, kids, and calves, if males, were to be devoted to God and employed in sacrifice. Those unclean beasts, as the ass's colt, being unfit for sacrifice, were to be redeemed (Nu 18:15).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Thou shalt set apart, i. e. separate it from the rest, resign thy right in it to God. Heb.

Cause it to pass, not through the fire, as that verb is used, Deu 18:10 2 Kings 16:3; but under the rod, as it is used, and more fully expressed, Leviticus 27:32, which was the rite when any thing was separated and consecrated to God.

The males shall be the Lord’s, devoted to him, either to be sacrificed, if it was clean, or to be otherwise destroyed, if it was unclean, as it here follows.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix,.... Or "the womb", as in Exodus 13:2, and this phrase, "set apart", explains the word "sanctify" there, and shows that it signifies the separating of such to the use and service of God, causing it to "pass", as the word (d) here used signifies, from a man's own power and use, to be the Lord's only:

and every firstling that cometh from a beast which thou hast; or "even every firstling" (e), explaining what is meant by what opens the matrix or womb, even every firstborn of a beast; though Jarchi interprets it of an abortion, what comes before its time, that this also should be set apart to the Lord; this must be understood of the firstlings of clean creatures, fit for food and sacrifice, such as the firstlings of cows, sheep, and goats, Numbers 18:17 as distinguished from unclean ones in the following verse:

the males shall be the Lord's; which explains what sort of firstborn of man and beast were to be set apart for his use, not females, though the first that opened the womb; but males.

(d) "et transire facies", Pagninus, Montanus, Fagius, Vatablus, Drusius, Cartwright; so Ainsworth. (e) "etiam quicunque vel quicquid aperuerit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Ainsworth.

Geneva Study Bible

That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD's.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12. thou shalt cause to pass over unto Jehovah] The word is not the ordinary Heb. for ‘set apart’; and its use here is remarkable. In Numbers 27:7 f. (P), cf. 2 Samuel 3:10, it is indeed used in the simple sense of transferring or making over (an inheritance): but it is also the word regularly used of causing to pass over children in fire to Molech (2 Kings 16:3, Ezekiel 20:31 al.), and with ‘to Molech’ alone, Leviticus 18:21 (H), Jeremiah 32:35, cf. Ezekiel 16:21; Ezekiel 23:37 (‘to them,’ i.e. to the idols), an esp. Exodus 20:25-26 (the same expression as here) ‘in that they caused to pass over (viz. in the fire) all that first openeth the womb.’ It may be (cf., p. 409) that this heathen practice determined the use of the same verb here: Jehovah claimed the firstborn; and the Israelite was to cause his firstborn to pass over to Him: the child was not, however, retained by Him, or offered to Him as a sacrifice, but was to be ‘redeemed’ by its father (v. 13).

and every firstling, &c.] lit. and all that first openeth [the womb], (even) the casting (שגר) of beasts, that thou shalt have: shéger (the root is preserved in the Aram. shegar, to ‘cast’), denotes a newly born animal, Deuteronomy 7:13; Deuteronomy 28:4; Deuteronomy 28:18; Deuteronomy 28:51 †. The ‘beasts’ meant (as the parallel, Exodus 34:19, states explicitly) are ox and sheep.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 12. - Set apart. The expression is especially appropriate to the case of first-born animals, which would have to be separated off from the rest of the flock, or of the herd, and "put aside" for Jehovah, so as not to be mixed up and confounded with the other lambs, kids, and calves. The males shall be the Lord's. This limitation, implied in verse 2, is here brought prominently into notice. Exodus 13:12

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In Exodus 13:11-16, Moses communicated to the people the law briefly noticed in Exodus 13:2, respecting the sanctification of the first-born. This law was to come into force when Israel had taken possession of the promised land. Then everything which opened the womb was to be given up to the Lord. ליהוה העביר: to cause to pass over to Jehovah, to consecrate or give up to Him as a sacrifice (cf. Leviticus 18:21). In "all that openeth the womb" the first-born of both man and beast are included (Exodus 13:2). This general expression is then particularized in three clauses, commencing with וכל: (a) בּהמה cattle, i.e., oxen, sheep, and goats, as clean domestic animals, but only the males; (b) asses, as the most common of the unclean domestic animals, instead of the whole of these animals, Numbers 18:15; (c) the first-born of the children of Israel. The female first-born of man and beast were exempted from consecration. Of the clean animals the first-born male (פּטר abbreviated from רחם פּטר, and שׁגר from the Chaldee שׁגר to throw, the dropped young one) was to belong to Jehovah, i.e., to be sacrificed to Him (Exodus 13:15, and Numbers 18:17). This law is still further explained in Exodus 22:29, where it is stated that the sacrificing was not to take place till the eighth day after the birth; and in Deuteronomy 15:21-22, it is still further modified by the command, that an animal which had any fault, and was either blind or lame, was not to be sacrificed, but to be slain and eaten at home, like other edible animals. These two rules sprang out of the general instructions concerning the sacrificial animals. The first-born of the ass was to be redeemed with a male lamb or kid (שׂה, as at Exodus 12:3); and if not redeemed, it was to be killed. ערף: from ערף the nape, to break the neck (Deuteronomy 21:4, Deuteronomy 21:6). The first-born sons of Israel were also to be consecrated to Jehovah as a sacrifice; not indeed in the manner of the heathen, by slaying and burning upon the altar, but by presenting them to the Lord as living sacrifices, devoting all their powers of body and mind to His service. Inasmuch as the first birth represented all the births, the whole nation was to consecrate itself to Jehovah, and present itself as a priestly nation in the consecration of the first-born. But since this consecration had its foundation, not in nature, but in the grace of its call, the sanctification of the first birth cannot be deduced from the separation of the first-born to the priesthood. This view, which was very prevalent among early writers, has been thoroughly overthrown by Outram (de Sacrif. 1, c. 4) and Vitringa (observv. ii. c. 2, pp. 272ff.). As the priestly character of the nation did not give a title in itself to the administration of the priesthood within the theocracy, so the first-born were not eo ipso chosen as priests through their consecration to Jehovah. In what way they were to consecrate their life to the Lord, depended upon the appointment of the Lord, which was, that they were to perform the non-priestly work of the sanctuary, to be servants of the priests in their holy service. Even this work was afterwards transferred to the Levites (Numbers 3). At the same time the obligation was imposed upon the people to redeem their first-born sons from the service which was binding upon them, but was now transferred to the Levites, who were substituted for them; in other words, to pay five shekels of silver per head to the priesthood (Numbers 3:47; Numbers 18:16). In anticipation of this arrangement, which was to be introduced afterwards, the redemption (פּדה) of the male first-born is already established here. - On Exodus 13:14, see Exodus 12:26. מחר: to-morrow, for the future generally, as in Genesis 30:33. מה־זאת: what does this mean? quid sibi vult hoc praeceptum ac primogenitura (Jonathan).