Exodus 13:2
in Exodus 13“Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: 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.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 13
Commentary
10 notes on this verseMales 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.
This site's exposition
the LORD said to Moses
on Exodus 13:1-2
The command to consecrate falls on the firstborn who lived through the night of chapter 12, so God claims them by right of rescue. Numbers 3:13 states that ground, and Luke 2:23 cites this law when Jesus is brought to the temple.
This site's exposition
Consecrate to Me every firstborn male
Adam Clarke defines the Hebrew verb behind consecrate as setting man or beast apart from common use for the service of the LORD. He matches it with the Greek hagiazo.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Therefore let us draw together from the divine Scriptures instances in which we find "holy" used, and discover not only persons but also mute animals that are called "holy," and also find both "the vessels" of the ministry that are called "holy," and the garments which are said to be "holy," and even the places which were located in cities and suburbs and counted as priestly. Indeed, among the brute animals it is commanded through the law that "the firstborn" of calves or cattle be sacrificed to the Lord, and it says, You will not do any work with them because they have been consecrated to the Lord.
For who is really holy but the Son of God? Who properly opened the womb but he who opened a closed one? But it is marriage which opens the womb in all cases. The Virgin's womb, therefore, was especially opened, because it was especially closed.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 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.
Sanctify unto me all the firstborn,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Sanctify unto me all the first-born - To sanctify, קדש kadash, signifies to consecrate, separate, and set apart a thing or person from all secular purposes to some religious use; and exactly answers to the import of the Greek ἁγιαζω, from a, privative, and γη, the earth, because every thing offered or consecrated to God was separated from all earthly uses. Hence a holy person or saint is termed ἁγιος, i.e., a person separated from the earth; one who lives a holy life, entirely devoted to the service of God.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Sanctify unto me all the first-born--To "sanctify" means to "consecrate," to "set apart" from a common to a sacred use.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Sanctify unto me - The command is addressed to Moses. It was to declare the will of God that all firstborn were to be consecrated to Him, set apart from all other creatures. The command is expressly based upon the Passover. The firstborn exempt from the destruction became in a new and special sense the exclusive property of the Lord: the firstborn of man as His ministers, the firstborn of cattle as victims. In lieu of the firstborn of men the Levites were devoted to the temple services.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קַדֶּשׁ־ | kadesh- | consecrate | H6942 → | 171 times |
| לִ֨י | li | to me | ||
| כָל־ | khol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכ֜וֹר | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| פֶּ֤טֶר | peter | [the] firstborn of | H6363 → | 12 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| רֶ֙חֶם֙ | rechem | womb | H7358 → | 26 times |
| בִּבְנֵ֣י | bivnei | among [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בָּאָדָ֖ם | baadam | among <the> humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑ה | uvabehemah | and among the livestock | H929 → | 190 times |
| לִ֖י | li | [belongs] to me | ||
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
קַדֶּשׁ־consecrate
kadesh-H6942 →171 times
לִ֨יto me
li
כָל־every
khol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכ֜וֹרfirstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
פֶּ֤טֶר[the] firstborn of
peterH6363 →12 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
רֶ֙חֶם֙womb
rechemH7358 →26 times
בִּבְנֵ֣יamong [the] people of
bivneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בָּאָדָ֖םamong <the> humankind
baadamH120 →551 times
וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑הand among the livestock
uvabehemahH929 →190 times
לִ֖י[belongs] to me
li
הֽוּא׃it
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 2:23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”),
it leads to
- Numbers 18:15
The 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 22:29
You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.
- Numbers 3:13
for 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…
- Exodus 34:19
The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.
- Numbers 8:16–17
For 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…
- Numbers 18:15
Through
Numbers 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…
it leads to
- Exodus 13:12
you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 2:23
(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”),
- Exodus 13:12
Through
Deuteronomy 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:14
And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.
- Deuteronomy 16:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 14:7-8; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 11.1.2 and Tertullian, ON THE FLESH OF CHRIST 23.4-5.