Firstborn

How Nave’s arranged it

• Of man and beast, reserved to himself by GodExodus 13:2Exodus 13:12–16Exodus 22:29Exodus 22:30Exodus 34:19Exodus 34:20Leviticus 27:26Numbers 3:13Numbers 8:17Numbers 8:18Deuteronomy 15:19–23Nehemiah 10:36
• Redemption ofExodus 13:13Exodus 34:20Leviticus 27:27Numbers 3:40–51Numbers 18:15–17
• Levites taken instead of firstborn of the families of IsraelNumbers 3:12Numbers 3:40–45Numbers 8:16–18
• Of Egyptians killedExodus 11:5Exodus 12:12Exodus 12:29Exodus 13:15Numbers 33:4
• Of idolaters, sacrificedEzekiel 20:26
• BIRTHRIGHT OF THE
• Authority over younger members of the householdGenesis 4:7
• A double portion of inheritanceDeuteronomy 21:15–17
• Royal succession2 Chronicles 21:3
• Honorable distinction ofExodus 4:22Psalms 89:27Jeremiah 31:9Romans 8:29Colossians 1:15Hebrews 1:6Hebrews 12:23Revelation 1:5
• Sold by EsauGenesis 25:29–34Genesis 27:36Romans 9:12Romans 9:13Hebrews 12:16
• Forfeited by ReubenGenesis 49:3Genesis 49:41 Chronicles 5:11 Chronicles 5:2

The passages, in Bible order (47)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 4:7

   If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 4:72 voices

   “SINNERS are not all of the laughing sort—Cain's mind was angry and his heart was heavy. The short life of the vicious is not always a merry one. See, here you have a man who is utterly without God, but he is not without sorrow. His countenance has fallen, his looks are sullen—he is a miserable man. There are many ungodly people still in the world who are not happy in the condition in which they find themselves. The present does not content them and they have no future from which to borrow the light of hope.

   “If thou doest well - That which is right in the sight of God, shalt thou not be accepted? Does God reject any man who serves him in simplicity and godly sincerity? But if thou doest not well, can wrath and indignation against thy righteous brother save thee from the displeasure under which thou art fallen? On the contrary, have recourse to thy Maker for mercy; לפתח חטאת רבץ lappethach chattath robets, a sin-offering lieth at thy door; an animal proper to be offered as an atonement for sin is now couching at the door of thy fold.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 4:7→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Genesis 25:29–34

   One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 25:29–342 voices

   “Jacob sod pottage--made of lentils or small beans, which are common in Egypt and Syria. It is probable that it was made of Egyptian beans, which Jacob had procured as a dainty; for Esau was a stranger to it.

   “Sod pottage - יזד נזיד yazed nazid, he boiled a boiling; and this we are informed, Gen 25:34, was of עדשים adashim, what the Septuagint render φακος, and we, following them and the Vulgate lens, translate lentils, a sort of pulse.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 25:29–34→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Genesis 27:36

   So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 27:362 voices

   “(Verse 36.) And Esau said, rightly is his name called Jacob: for he hath supplanted me these two times. Jacob is interpreted supplanter. And therefore, because he had deceived his brother by art, he alluded to the name. Therefore, he was called Jacob before, because he had taken hold of his brother's heel in his birth.

   “Is not he rightly named Jacob? - See note on Gen 25:26. He took away my birthright - So he might say with considerable propriety; for though he sold it to Jacob, yet as Jacob had taken advantage of his perishing situation, he considered the act as a species of robbery.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 27:36→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Genesis 48:15–20

   Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

   ›Commentary on Genesis 48:15–201 voice

   “He blessed Joseph - The father first, and then the sons afterwards. And this is an additional proof to what has been adduced under Gen 48:12, of Jacob’s superiority; for the less is always blessed of the greater. The God which fed me all my life long - Jacob is now standing on the verge of eternity, with his faith strong in God.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 48:15–20→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. Genesis 49:3

   Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 49:32 voices

   “(Chapter 49, verse 3) Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the first of my sons, tough in bearing and tough in insolence and injury, like water that does not boil. You went up on your father's bed, then you defiled it when you went up. In Hebrew it is written: Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength, and the first in power among my sons. Greater in carrying, and greater in strength. You are poured out like water, do not exceed. For you have ascended the bed of your father and defiled the couch in his ascent.

   “How welcome he was to his parents his name bespeaks, Reuben, See a son. To him belonged the excellency of dignity above his brethren, and some power over them. Christ Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren, and to him, of right, belong the most excellent power and dignity: his church also, through him, is a church of firstborn.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 49:3→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. Genesis 49:4

   Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 49:42 voices

   “Jacob charges him particularly with the sin for which he was disgraced, thou wentest up to thy father's bed - It was forty years ago that he had been guilty of this sin, yet now it is remembered against him. Reuben's sin left an indelible mark of infamy upon his family; a wound not to be healed without a scar.

   “Pouring out like the waters - This is an obscure sentence because unfinished. It evidently relates to the defilement of his father’s couch; and the word פחז pachaz, here translated pouring out, and in our Version unstable, has a bad meaning in other places of the Scripture, being applied to dissolute, debauched, and licentious conduct.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 49:4→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Exodus 4:22

   Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,

   ›Commentary on Exodus 4:221 voice

   “My firstborn - The expression would be perfectly intelligible to Pharaoh, whose official designation was “son of Ra.” In numberless inscriptions the Pharaohs are styled “own sons” or “beloved sons” of the deity. It is here applied for the first time to Israel; and as we learn from Exo 4:23, emphatically in antithesis to Pharaoh’s own firstborn.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 4:22→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Exodus 11:5

   and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well as the firstborn of all the cattle.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 11:52 voices

   “Two points are to be noticed: 1. The extent of the visitation: the whole land suffers in the persons of its firstborn, not merely for the guilt of the sovereign, but for the actual participation of the people in the crime of infanticide Exo 1:22. 2. The limitation: Pharaoh’s command had been to slay ALL the male children of the Israelites, but only one child in each Egyptian family was to die. If Tothmosis II was the Pharaoh, the visitation fell with special severity on his family. He left no son, but was succeeded by his widow.

   “Two portable millstones are used for the purpose, of which the uppermost is turned by a small wooden handle, and during the operation the maid sits behind the mill.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 11:5→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Exodus 12:12

   On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 12:122 voices

   “Against all the gods of Egypt, etc. - As different animals were sacred among the Egyptians, the slaying of the first-born of all the beasts might be called executing judgment upon the gods of Egypt. As this however does not appear very clear and satisfactory, some have imagined that the word אלהי elohey should be translated princes, which is the rendering in our margin; for as these princes, who were rulers of the kingdom under Pharaoh, were equally hostile to the Hebrews with Pharaoh himself, therefore these judgments fell equally heavy on them also.

   “Moses does not mention the fulfillment, in this chapter, yet he speaks of it Num. xxxiii. It is very probable that the idols which the Egyptians worshipped were destroyed, those of metal melted, those of wood consumed, and those of stone broken to pieces, whence Jethro infers ( ch. xviii. 11 ), The Lord is greater than all gods.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 12:12→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Exodus 12:29

    Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 12:292 voices

    "He that has opened a pit and dug it." We do not find the name of "pit" (lakkos) ever assigned in the divine Scriptures in the case of something good, nor a "well" of water (phrear) in the case of something bad. That into which Joseph was thrown by his brothers is a pit (lakkos). And there is a slaughter "from the firstborn of Pharaoh unto the firstborn of the captive woman that was in the prison (lakkos)."

    “This plague is distinctly attributed here and in Exo 12:23 to the personal intervention of the Lord; but it is to be observed that although the Lord Himself passed through to smite the Egyptians, He employed the agency of “the destroyer” Exo 12:23, in whom, in accordance with Heb 11:28, all the ancient versions, and most critics, recognize an Angel (compare 2Ki 19:35; 2Sa 24:16).

    Everything gathered on Exodus 12:29→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. Exodus 13:2

    “Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

    ›Commentary on Exodus 13:22 voices

    “Commentary on Chapter XIII 2. Sanctify to me all the first-born - The parents were not to look upon themselves as interested in their first-born, till they had first solemnly presented them to God, and received them back from him again. It is mine - By a special right, being by my singular favour preserved from the common destruction.

    “Males were sacred because they opened their mothers' wombs. They were offered before the altar of the Lord. Scripture says, "Every male that opens the womb.…" This phrase has a spiritual meaning. For you might say that "every male is brought forth from the womb" but does not open the womb of his mother in the way that the Lord Jesus did. In the case of every other woman, it is not the birth of an infant but intercourse with a man that opens the womb.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 13:2→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Exodus 13:12–16

    you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Exodus 13:13

    You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 13:131 voice

    “An ass - The ass could not be offered in sacrifice, being an unclean animal: possibly the only unclean animal domesticated among the Israelites at the time of the Exodus. This principle was extended to every unclean beast; see Num 18:15. Thou shalt redeem - The lamb, or sheep, was given to the priest for the service of the sanctuary. Firstborn of man - The price of redemption was fixed at five shekels of the sanctuary: Num 3:47, where see the note.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 13:13→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Exodus 13:15

    And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’

    ›Commentary on Exodus 13:151 voice

    “Mercies to our fathers are mercies to us; we reap the benefit of them, and therefore must keep up a grateful remembrance of them. We stand upon the bottom of former deliverances, and were in the loins of our ancestors when they were delivered. Much more reason have we to say that in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we were redeemed.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 13:15→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Exodus 22:29

    You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 22:291 voice

    “The offering of firstfruits appears to have been a custom of primitive antiquity and was connected with the earliest acts of sacrifice. See Gen 4:3-4. The references to it here and in Exo 23:19 had probably been handed down from patriarchal times. The specific law relating to the firstborn of living creatures was brought out in a strong light in connection with the deliverance from Egypt Exo 13:2, Exo 13:12-13; compare Exo 23:19; Lev 22:27; Deu 26:2-11; Neh 10:35. The first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors - See the margin.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 22:29→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Exodus 22:30

    You shall do likewise with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to Me.

    ›Commentary on Exodus 22:302 voices

    “Scripture says, "At least grant the offspring to its mother for its first seven days." For if nothing comes to be without reason and milk flows in the mothers for the nourishment of the offspring, then in taking the offspring away from the providential endowment of milk, a person is doing violence to nature. So Greeks and anyone else who runs the law down ought to blush for shame if the law is generous over irrational beasts, whereas they actually expose human offspring to die.

    “Seven days it shall be with his dam - For the mother’s health it was necessary that the young one should suck so long; and prior to this time the process of nutrition in a young animal can scarcely be considered as completely formed. Among the Romans lambs were not considered as pure or clean before the eighth day; nor calves before the thirtieth: Pecoris faetus die octavo purus est, bovis trigesimo - Plin. Hist. Nat., lib. viii.

    Everything gathered on Exodus 22:30→

    Verse page →Original language →