Numbers 3:13
in Numbers 3for 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 Mine; I am the LORD.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast; mine they shall be: I am Jehovah.
KJV
Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the Lord.
⋯
This verse in Numbers 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The concluding words are better expressed thus: “Mine shall they be, Mine, the Lord’s.” On the subject of the firstborn see the notes at Num 3:43-51.
This site's exposition
I have taken the Levites from
on Numbers 3:12-13
The exchange is stated as an exchange and the ground given for it is the night of Exodus 12:29. Every firstborn in Israel was claimed on the day Egypt's firstborn were struck, which Exodus 13:2 and 13:15 had already set down as a standing due, and one tribe is now taken in place of that entire class. Genesis spent fifty chapters setting a younger son over an elder, Exodus spared the firstborn under blood and claimed them, and Numbers substitutes Levi for them here.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): All the first-born are mine. That was sufficient to make them his, though he had given no reason for it, for he is the sole fountain and Lord of all beings and powers; but because all obedience must flow from love, and acts of duty must be acts of gratitude, before they were challenged into peculiar services they were crowned with peculiar favours.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Because all the firstborn are mine,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
By an appointment made in memory of the last solemn judgment on Egypt (from which the Israelitish households were miraculously exempt) all the first-born were consecrated to God (Ex 13:12;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The reason for this statement is that since Scripture said above in the day that the Eternal spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai, 154 Above, Verse.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לִי֮ | li | [belongs] to <the> me | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכוֹר֒ | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| בְּיוֹם֩ | beyom | on [the] day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַכֹּתִ֨י | hakoti | struck I | H5221 → | 499 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכ֜וֹר | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֗יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| הִקְדַּ֨שְׁתִּי | hikdashti | I set apart | H6942 → | 171 times |
| לִ֤י | li | for <the> myself | ||
| כָל־ | khol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּכוֹר֙ | bekhor | firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מֵאָדָ֖ם | meadam | from humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בְּהֵמָ֑ה | behemah | livestock | H929 → | 190 times |
| לִ֥י | li | to <the> me | ||
| יִהְי֖וּ | yihyu | they will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לִי֮[belongs] to <the> me
li
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכוֹר֒firstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
בְּיוֹם֩on [the] day
beyomH3117 →2304 times
הַכֹּתִ֨יstruck I
hakotiH5221 →499 times
כָל־every
khol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכ֜וֹרfirstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֗יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
הִקְדַּ֨שְׁתִּיI set apart
hikdashtiH6942 →171 times
לִ֤יfor <the> myself
li
כָל־every
khol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּכוֹר֙firstborn
bekhorH1060 →122 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
מֵאָדָ֖םfrom humankind
meadamH120 →551 times
עַד־unto
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
בְּהֵמָ֑הlivestock
behemahH929 →190 times
לִ֥יto <the> me
li
יִהְי֖וּthey will belong
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃ ס[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
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
- 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…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 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…
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 22:29–30
You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.
- Deuteronomy 15:19
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 3 separate paths from here.
- 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.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 34:19
The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep.
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 18:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.