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Numbers 18:15

in Numbers 18

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Everything that openeth the womb, of all flesh which they offer unto Jehovah, both of man and beast shall be thine: nevertheless the first-born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

KJV

Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

This verse in Numbers 18

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jerome

AGAINST HELVIDIUS 10 · Written before 420.

Every only child is a firstborn child; but not every firstborn is an only child. A firstborn child is not only one after whom other children are also born but also one before whom no other child is born. "All that opens the womb," says the Lord to Aaron, "of all flesh that are offered to the Lord, of men and beasts, shall belong to you; only the firstborn of men shall be redeemed with a price and the firstborn of beasts that are unclean." The Word of God defined what was meant by a "firstborn."

This site's exposition

Every thing that openeth the matrix

on Numbers 18:15-19

The claim on the firstborn made at Exodus 13:2 comes back here as income for the priests, and the five shekels of verse 16 is the price Numbers 3:46-51 set when the Levites were counted against the firstborn of Israel. Clean and unclean are separated in the payment, since a clean firstling is killed with its blood sprinkled and its flesh given to the priest, while a man and an unclean beast are bought back with money. Verse 19 calls the arrangement a covenant of salt, a phrase used of the meat offering at Leviticus 2:13 and of the throne of David at 2 Chronicles 13:5. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie it to the eating of salt as a pledge of fidelity in the East, which makes the shared meal the sign of the bond.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Surely redeem ... redeem - A stronger expression is intentionally used in reference to the redemption of the first-born of man than in reference to that of unclean beasts. For the rule as to the former admitted of no exception: the owner of the latter, if unwilling to redeem, might destroy the beasts. Compare the marginal references.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The first-born of man - and the firstling of unclean beasts - Thus vain man is ranked with the beasts that perish; and with the worst kinds of them too, those deemed unclean.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H36055413 times

  • פֶּ֣טֶרfirstborn of

    peterH636312 times

  • רֶ֠חֶםa womb

    rechemH735826 times

  • לְֽכָל־of all

    lekholH36055413 times

  • בָּשָׂ֞רflesh

    basarH1320270 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H8345497 times

  • יַקְרִ֧יבוּthey will bring near

    yakrivuH7126280 times

  • לַֽיהוָ֛הto Yahweh

    layahwehH30686520 times

  • בָּאָדָ֥םamong <the> humankind

    baadamH120551 times

  • וּבַבְּהֵמָ֖הand among <the> animal[s]

    uvabehemahH929190 times

  • יִֽהְיֶה־it will belong

    yihyeh-H19613559 times

  • לָּ֑ךְto <the> you

    lakh

  • אַ֣ךְ׀only

    ʾakhH389161 times

  • פָּדֹ֣הcertainly <to redeem>

    padohH629959 times

  • תִפְדֶּ֗הyou will redeem

    tifdehH629959 times

  • אֵ֚ת<obj.>

    ʾetH85310935 times

  • בְּכ֣וֹר[the] firstborn of

    bekhorH1060122 times

  • הָֽאָדָ֔ם<the> humankind

    haadamH120551 times

  • וְאֵ֛תand <obj.>

    veetH85310935 times

  • בְּכֽוֹר־[the] firstborn of

    bekhor-H1060122 times

  • הַבְּהֵמָ֥ה<the> animal[s]

    habehemahH929190 times

  • הַטְּמֵאָ֖ה<the> unclean

    hatemeahH293188 times

  • תִּפְדֶּֽה׃you will redeem

    tifdehH629959 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    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.”

    it leads to

    • Luke 2:23

      (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”),

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 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…

    • Deuteronomy 15:19

      You 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…

    • Exodus 22:29–30

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

    • 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…

  • Through

    Exodus 34:20

    You 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…

    it leads to

    • 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.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 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…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Exodus 23:15

      You 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…

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Bronze Serpent, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

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; Jerome, AGAINST HELVIDIUS 10; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.