Bible Strands
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 Mine; I am the LORD.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — YHWH speaks to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, immediately after designating the Levites as substitutes for Israel's firstborn. This declaration occurs during the Sinai covenant administration, formally establishing the transfer of firstborn rights to the priestly tribe.
The words — כָּל (kol) translates literally as "every" or "all," and בְּכוֹר (bekhor) means "firstborn," together specifying the complete set of consecrated subjects. These terms function as the grammatical foundation for the repeated claim "They are Mine."
The thread — The consecration mandate appears in Exodus 13:2 and Exodus 13:12 as an initial command to set apart firstborn males of womb and livestock, and is cited in Luke 2:23 during the presentation narrative. These references track the legal requirement from its initial proclamation through its New Testament recognition.
Why it lands — The text asserts YHWH's ownership of the firstborn as a direct result of the Egyptian plague, not as a later ritual invention. Readers must accept this transfer of rights as a settled legal reality that dictates subsequent covenant obligations.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 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.
- Luke 2:23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”),
- 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.”
- 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.’
- Leviticus 27:26 But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the LORD. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the LORD’s.
- 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, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.
- Exodus 22:29 You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.
- 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 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 all the sons of Israel.
- 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.