Exodus 34:20
in Exodus 34You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
KJV
But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
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This verse in Exodus 34
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.
This site's exposition
The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me
on Exodus 34:19-20
The claim on the firstborn goes back to the night in Egypt, where 13:2 said Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. The donkey is redeemed with a lamb or its neck is broken, so an unclean animal lives because a clean one dies in its place.
This site's exposition
No one shall appear before Me empty-handed
The rule that no one appear before the LORD empty-handed closed the feast law of 23:15. John Gill applies it to the three feasts, Unleavened Bread, Weeks and Ingathering, when all the males appear three times a year. Deuteronomy 16:17 sets the gift by what each can give.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem,.... This goes along with the former; see Gill on Exo 13:13, and none shall appear before me empty; at the grand festivals, the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles; see Gill on Exo 13:15.
This feast was instituted, ch. xii. 13 , and urged again, ch. xxiii. The feast of weeks, that is, that of pentecost, seven weeks after the passover; and to this is annexed the law of the first-fruits.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפֶ֤טֶר | ufeter | and [the] firstborn of | H6363 → | 12 times |
| חֲמוֹר֙ | chamor | a donkey | H2543 → | 96 times |
| תִּפְדֶּ֣ה | tifdeh | you will redeem | H6299 → | 59 times |
| בְשֶׂ֔ה | veseh | with a sheep | H7716 → | 47 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִפְדֶּ֖ה | tifdeh | you will redeem [it] | H6299 → | 59 times |
| וַעֲרַפְתּ֑וֹ | vaarafto | and you will break neck its | H6202 → | |
| כֹּ֣ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכ֤וֹר | bekhor | [the] firstborn of | H1060 → | 122 times |
| בָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ | baneikha | sons your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| תִּפְדֶּ֔ה | tifdeh | you will redeem | H6299 → | 59 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵרָא֥וּ | yerau | people will present themselves | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| פָנַ֖י | fanai | face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| רֵיקָֽם׃ | reikam | empty | H7387 → | 16 times |
וּפֶ֤טֶרand [the] firstborn of
ufeterH6363 →12 times
חֲמוֹר֙a donkey
chamorH2543 →96 times
תִּפְדֶּ֣הyou will redeem
tifdehH6299 →59 times
בְשֶׂ֔הwith a sheep
vesehH7716 →47 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִפְדֶּ֖הyou will redeem [it]
tifdehH6299 →59 times
וַעֲרַפְתּ֑וֹand you will break neck its
vaaraftoH6202 →
כֹּ֣לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
בְּכ֤וֹר[the] firstborn of
bekhorH1060 →122 times
בָּנֶ֙יךָ֙sons your
baneikhaH1121 →4930 times
תִּפְדֶּ֔הyou will redeem
tifdehH6299 →59 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵרָא֥וּpeople will present themselves
yerauH7200 →1300 times
פָנַ֖יface my
fanaiH6440 →2123 times
רֵיקָֽם׃empty
reikamH7387 →16 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
Deuteronomy 16:16Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast…
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:9–10
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 96:8
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and enter His courts.
- Haggai 1:9
You expected much, but behold, it amounted to little. And what you brought home, I blew away. Why? declares the LORD of Hosts. Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you…
- Exodus 23:14–17
Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.
- Matthew 2:11
On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense…
- Proverbs 3:9–10
Through
Exodus 13:15And 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…
it leads to
- 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,…
- Exodus 12:29
Through
Exodus 23:15You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was…
it leads to
- Luke 22:7
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed.
- Numbers 28:16–25
The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover.
- Luke 22:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies27
- Six Days You Shall Labor
- The Words Nasa, Salach and Aphiemi
- Generational Curses
- Thanks for Who He Is
- Hesed, the LORD's Loving Devotion
- God Is Love
Show the next 6 titles
- The Words Rachamim, Chesed and Eleos
- The 153 Fish
- Patience
- The Farmer Waits for the Rain
- The Words Erek Appayim and Makrothymia
- Sinai, the Mountain of God
Show the next 6 titles
About Exodus

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
