Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 13:11

And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,

11. See on v. 5.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Exo 13:11-13

All the firstborn.

Firstborn to be dedicated to God

1. Jehovah is the beginning and end of His own ordinances. He sets them for Himself.

2. The Church must act these duties from God unto God Himself.

3. All that God requires must His people make to pass from them to Him.

4. Firstborn males of beasts God required in the law for special use to Himself (Exo 13:12).

5. Clean and unclean among creatures is a distinction made by God for men, not for Himself.

6. God hath a proprietary in all creatures be they never so unclean.

7. God hath ordered redemption for unclean by putting the clean in their stead.

8. Unclean unredeemed must be destroyed.

9. A price hath God set for mans redemption to gain a Church of the firstborn.

10. The law of the firstborn hath its truth and accomplishment in Christ Jesus, the Firstborn of every creature (Col 1:15; verse 13). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

The land of the Canaanites, under which general name all the other nations are contained, as being all the children of Canaan.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites,…. Put for all the rest of the nations:

as he sware unto thee, and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee; to them as they were in their loins, and from thence might certainly conclude it would be given them.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

      11 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,   12 That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD‘s.   13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.   14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:   15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.   16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

      Here we have,

      I. Further directions concerning the dedicating of their firstborn to God. 1. The firstlings of their cattle were to be dedicated to God, as part of their possessions. Those of clean beasts–calves, lambs, and kids–if males, were to be sacrificed, Exo 22:30; Num 18:17; Num 18:18. Those of unclean beasts, as colts, were to be redeemed with a lamb, or knocked on the head. For whatsoever is unclean (as we all are by nature), if it be not redeemed, will be destroyed, Exo 13:11; Exo 13:13. 2. The firstborn of their children were to be redeemed, and by no means sacrificed, as the Gentiles sacrificed their children to Moloch. The price of the redemption of the firstborn was fixed by the law (Num. xviii. 16) at five shekels. We were all obnoxious to the wrath and curse of God; by the blood of Christ we are redeemed, that we may be joined to the church of the firstborn. They were to redeem their children, as well as the firstlings of the unclean beasts, for our children are by nature polluted. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?

      II. Further directions concerning the catechising of their children, and all those of the rising generation, from time to time, in this matter. It is supposed that, when they saw all the firstlings thus devoted, they would ask the meaning of it, and their parents and teachers must tell them (v. 14-16) that God’s special propriety in their firstborn, and all their firstlings, was founded in his special preservation of them from the sword of the destroying angel. Being thus delivered, they must serve him. Note, 1. Children should be directed and encouraged to ask their parents questions concerning the things of God, a practice which would be perhaps of all others the most profitable way of catechising; and parents must furnish themselves with useful knowledge, that they may be ready always to give an answer to their enquiries. If ever the knowledge of God cover the earth, as the waters do the sea, the fountains of family-instruction must first be broken up. 2. We should all be able to show cause for what we do in religion. As sacraments are sanctified by the word, so they must be explained and understood by it. God’s service is reasonable, and it is then acceptable when we perform it intelligently, knowing what we do and why we do it. 3. It must be observed how often it is said in this chapter that by strength of hand (Exo 13:3; Exo 13:14; Exo 13:16), with a strong hand (v. 9), the Lord brought them out of Egypt. The more opposition is given to the accomplishment of God’s purposes the more is his power magnified therein. It is a strong hand that conquers hard hearts. Sometimes God is said to work deliverance not by might nor power (Zech. iv. 6), not by such visible displays of his power as that recorded here. 4. Their posterity that should be born in Canaan are directed to say, The Lord brought us out of Egypt,Exo 13:14; Exo 13:16. Mercies to our fathers are mercies to us; we reap the benefit of them, and therefore must keep up a grateful remembrance of them. We stand upon the bottom of former deliverances, and were in the loins of our ancestors when they were delivered. Much more reason have we to say that in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we were redeemed.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 11-13:

This is the “law of the firstborn,” introduced in v. 2.

“Set apart” (v. 12) is especially fitting for animals, as a provision to assure the firstborn would not be mixed with the others of the flocks or herds.

The “ass” was the only beast of burden the Israelites took with them out of Egypt, see Ex 20:17. Camels were used only rarely among the Egyptians. Horses were exclusively used in warfare. The ass was an unclean animal and might not be offered as sacrifice to Jehovah. The firstborn male ass must be redeemed by the offering of a lamb. If not, then the animal’s neck must be broken. There would be monetary loss if one refused to redeem the ass.

Every firstborn male son of Israel was to be redeemed by a certain ransom payment. Verse 13 does not specify what this payment would be; that was set later, Nu 3:47, as five shekels of the sanctuary.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

11. And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee. He proceeds with what had been glanced at in the beginning of the chapter with respect to the consecration of the first-born, that in this way they should bear witness to the special blessing of God which preserved them when He destroyed the first-born of the Egyptians. But He commands the animals to (329) be brought to Him, in order that they should be slain in the tabernacle. It is a common figure of speech to say, that the faithful and their gifts were placed in God’s sight when they entered the tabernacle. I conceive that they were ordered, in Exo 22:30, to keep the first-born seven days, in order to prevent deceptions, because if the young had been earlier torn from the teats of their dams, and immediately delivered to the priests, the offering would have been useless. Yet I doubt not that the eighth day was chosen because it was the one prescribed for circumcision. An exception is added, that a price should be paid for an ass, the offering of which would have been unclean. With regard to their children, it was requisite that they should be redeemed, because they could not be offered in sacrifice, nor made priests.

(329) Observe A. V. , “thou shalt set apart;” margin, “cause to pass over;” Lat., “transferes.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(11) The land of the Canaanites.Either their superior importance or their genealogical position (Gen. 10:15) caused the term Canaanites to be used inclusively of all the Palestinian nations. The land is always the land of Canaan (Gen. 11:31; Gen. 12:5; Gen. 13:12, &c).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

11-16. Moses here repeats to Israel the law of the firstborn, given to him in Exo 13:1-2. As in the instance just given, there is here not a mere repetition, but an amplification and enforcement . The ass is mentioned as a representative of unclean animals, which could not be offered in sacrifice . This law for the redemption of an unclean by a clean animal was a temporary arrangement, while as yet the priesthood had not been ordained; but after the consecration of the Levites there was a fixed price of redemption. Lev 27:27. The ransom of the firstborn of man was afterwards fixed at five shekels, the tribe of Levi being taken for the service of the sanctuary instead of the firstborn of the other eleven tribes, man for man, and then the over-plus of the firstborns being ransomed at this rate . Num 3:44-48.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Redemption of the Firstborn Who Are Holy to Yahweh ( Exo 13:11-16 ).

Further regulation and explanation concerning the firstborn is now laid down, with special reference to its being explained to their children. The analysis again follows the usual pattern:

a Yahweh will bring them into the land of Canaan as He swore to their fathers (Exo 13:11).

b All that opens the womb to be caused to pass over to Yahweh, either by death or redemption through a substitute (Exo 13:12-13).

c Their sons will ask, ‘What is this?’ They will be told how Yahweh delivered them from bondage by strength of hand (Exo 13:14).

c Yahweh did it by slaying all the firstborn in the land of Egypt (Exo 13:15 a).

b That is why they sacrifice all that opens the womb to Yahweh and redeem their firstborn sons (Exo 13:15 b).

a This is the sign that Yahweh brought them forth from Egypt by strength of hand, which is to affect all that their hands do or their eyes see (Exodus 13:e16)

In ‘a’ the bringing into the land of Canaan is paralleled with their being brought forth from Egypt. In ‘b’ all that opens the womb is to be sanctified to Yahweh and either sacrificed or redeemed, while in the parallel the explanation for this is given. In ‘c’ their sons will be told how Yahweh delivered them from bondage, and in the parallel it is brought home that Yahweh did it by slaying all the firstborn of Egypt.

Exo 13:11-12

“And it will be when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to you and to your fathers, and will give it to you, that you will hand over to Yahweh all that opens the womb, and every firstling which you have that comes from a beast. The males shall be Yahweh’s.”

There appears to be a deliberate connection here between God’s promise to their forefathers and the subsequent giving of the land, with the handing over of the male firstlings. This was to be their grateful response and tribute for what God had given them. Notice that ‘all that opens the womb’ is then restricted to ‘the males’. These belong to Yahweh and must be handed over to Him. This had the twofold purpose of reminding them of the deliverance of the Passover, and reminding them that they were tenants in God’s land. Then in the case of unclean animals and man they can be redeemed. But the clean animals must be sacrificed. Later part of these would then be given as food to the priests (Num 18:18) who were also ‘holy’. It is possible that here, when there was no unique, set apart priesthood, they were whole burnt offerings, completely given to Yahweh.

Exo 13:13

“And every firstling of an ass you will redeem with a lamb, and if you will not redeem it you will break its neck, and all the firstborn of man among your sons you will redeem.”

The ass was a valuable animal and its firstborn could be bought back from Yahweh by the offering of a lamb (of lesser value) in substitution. But if it was not bought back it had to be killed by breaking its neck for it belonged to Yahweh and was holy. This breaking of the neck might happen because it had been born disabled or weak. It could not be offered as a sacrifice for it was not seen as suitable for this purpose. It was ritually ‘unclean’. The breaking of the neck would not involve the shedding of blood and was therefore not a sacrifice. So the idea of ‘uncleanness’ was already present, distinguishing animals which could be sacrificed from those that could not (compare Gen 7:2), although probably not in the detail explained later (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14).

With firstborn sons there was no option. They had to be redeemed, presumably at this stage in the same way as an ass by the ‘payment’ of the sacrifice of a lamb (later it would become five shekels – Num 18:15-16). This was to be a continual sign to all of how Yahweh had spared the firstborn of Israel when He had smitten all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. But having been redeemed from death they were still servants of Yahweh, for they were thereby ‘holy’.

Later in 22:29 it is stated that the sacrificing was not to take place until the eighth day after the birth; and in Deu 15:21-22 it is still further modified by the command that an animal which had any fault, and was either blind or lame, was not to be sacrificed, but to be slain and eaten at home, like other edible animals

Exo 13:14-15

“And it will be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’, that you will say to him, ‘By strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondmen. And it came about that, when Pharaoh hardened himself against letting us go, Yahweh slew the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. That is why I sacrifice to Yahweh all that opens the womb, being males. But all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ”

Again we learn that one of the purposes of these sacrifices and redemptions was as a testimony to future generations. This idea of testimony to the young is constantly emphasised. It is seen as important that they know what Yahweh did for His people in revealing His strength against the might of Egypt and delivering them from bondage. It was a continual reminder to them of the power of their God and His love for His people. And the reminder (and warning) is also given that it was because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart. It was a constant reminder of the danger of hardness of heart when facing Yahweh’s commands.

Exo 13:16

“And it will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets between your eyes, for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”

See on Exo 13:9 where ‘frontlets’ were ‘memorials’. As with eating unleavened bread, so redeeming the firstborn was to be the equivalent of signs on the hands and some sign or mark on the forehead. And they would be a memorial of Yahweh’s strong deliverance. They were to be instead of such literal marks or signs.

Note for Christians.

These ordinance had great significance for Israel, but the New Testament tells us that what underlay them had great significance for us. Paul makes clear that the Passover lamb was a ‘type’ of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, as our Passover lamb, was offered for us, and that just as the Israelites were to abstain from leavened bread so are we to avoid the leaven of malice and wickedness and partake of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1Co 5:7-9). In Gal 5:9 he uses the leavening of bread as a warning against insidious teaching.

We can compare with this how Jesus Christ Himself warned against the leaven (insidious teaching which can begin to work and spread) of the Pharisees and the Herodians (Mar 8:15).

In the sanctification of the firstborn we can see a picture of the dedication and consecration that God requires from His own. As those who like the firstborn have been redeemed by blood we should be fully set aside to His service.

End of note

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett