Bible Strands
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 one shall appear before Me empty-handed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Moses and the Israelites during the covenant renewal after the golden calf incident, establishing requirements for the upcoming festivals. The speaker commands the people regarding the consecration of firstborn offspring and the observance of sacred times.
The words — פֶּטֶר (pe.ter) means firstborn offspring, and תִּפְדֶּה (tif.deh) means you will redeem. These terms anchor the command to substitute a lamb for an unredeemed donkey or to provide a substitute for the firstborn son.
The thread — The donkey redemption rule appears in Exodus 13:13, while the requirement to appear before God three times yearly is echoed in Deuteronomy 16:16. Exodus 23:15 references the Feast of Unleavened Bread and appearing before God but does not mention animal redemption.
Why it lands — The text requires the redemption of every firstborn son and donkey, or the breaking of the donkey’s neck, and mandates that no one approach God empty-handed. It demands practical acknowledgment of divine ownership through substitution and tangible offerings.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 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.
- 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 the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Three 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 of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.
- 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.’
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 9:7 “If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”
- Exodus 13:10 Therefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year.
- Numbers 3:45 “Take the Levites in place of all the firstborn of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock. The Levites belong to Me; I am the LORD.
- 2 Samuel 24:24 “No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.