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Exodus 13:2-11
New English Translation

2 “Set apart[a] to me every firstborn male—the first offspring of every womb[b] among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.”[c]

3 Moses said to the people, “Remember[d] this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the place where you were enslaved,[e] for the Lord brought you out of there[f] with a mighty hand—and no bread made with yeast may be eaten.[g] 4 On this day,[h] in the month of Abib,[i] you are going out.[j]

5 “When[k] the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey,[l] then you will keep[m] this ceremony[n] in this month. 6 For seven days[o] you must eat[p] bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there is to be[q] a festival to the Lord. 7 Bread made without yeast must be eaten[r] for seven days;[s] no bread made with yeast shall be seen[t] among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.

8 “You are to tell your son[u] on that day,[v] ‘It is[w] because of what[x] the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 [y] It[z] will be a sign[aa] for you on your hand and a memorial[ab] on your forehead,[ac] so that the law of the Lord may be[ad] in your mouth,[ae] for[af] with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 10 So you must keep[ag] this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.[ah]

11 “When the Lord brings you[ai] into the land of the Canaanites,[aj] as he swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it[ak] to you,

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 13:2 tn The verb “sanctify” is the Piel imperative of קָדַשׁ (qadash). In the Qal stem it means “be holy, be set apart, be distinct,” and in this stem “sanctify, set apart.” sn Here is the central principle of the chapter—the firstborn were sacred to God and must be “set apart” (the meaning of the verb “sanctify”) for his use.
  2. Exodus 13:2 tn The word פֶּטֶּר (petter) means “that which opens”; this construction literally says, “that which opens every womb,” which means “the first offspring of every womb.” Verses 12 and 15 further indicate male offspring.
  3. Exodus 13:2 tn Heb “to me it.” The preposition here expresses possession; the construction is simply “it [is, belongs] to me.”
  4. Exodus 13:3 tn The form is the infinitive absolute of זָכַר (zakhar, “remember”). The use of this form in place of the imperative (also found in the Decalogue with the Sabbath instruction) stresses the basic meaning of the root word, everything involved with remembering (emphatic imperative, according to GKC 346 §113.bb). The verb usually implies that there will be proper action based on what was remembered.sn There is a pattern in the arrangement of vv. 3-10 and 11-16. Both sections contain commands based on the mighty deliverance as reminders of the deliverance. “With a mighty hand” occurs in vv. 3, 9, 14, 16. An explanation to the son is found in vv. 8 and 14. The emphases “sign on your hand” and “between your eyes” are part of the conclusions to both halves (vv. 9, 16).
  5. Exodus 13:3 tn Heb “from a house of slaves.” “House” is obviously not meant to be literal; it indicates a location characterized by slavery, a land of slaves, as if they were in a slave house. Egypt is also called an “iron-smelting furnace” (Deut 4:20).
  6. Exodus 13:3 tn Heb “from this” [place].
  7. Exodus 13:3 tn The verb is a Niphal imperfect; it could be rendered “must not be eaten” in the nuance of the instruction or injunction category, but permission fits this sermonic presentation very well—nothing with yeast may be eaten.
  8. Exodus 13:4 tn The word הַיּוֹם (hayyom) means literally “the day, today, this day.” In this sentence it functions as an adverbial accusative explaining when the event took place.
  9. Exodus 13:4 sn Abib appears to be an old name for the month, meaning something like “[month of] fresh young ears” (Lev 2:14 [Heb]) (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 106). B. Jacob (Exodus, 364) explains that these names were not precise designations, but general seasons based on the lunar year in the agricultural setting.
  10. Exodus 13:4 tn The form is the active participle, functioning verbally.
  11. Exodus 13:5 tn Heb “and it will be when.”
  12. Exodus 13:5 tn See notes on Exod 3:8.
  13. Exodus 13:5 tn The verb is וְעָבַדְתָּ (veʿavadta), the Qal perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive. It is the equivalent of the imperfect tense of instruction or injunction; it forms the main point after the temporal clause—“when Yahweh brings you out…then you will serve.”
  14. Exodus 13:5 tn The object is a cognate accusative for emphasis on the meaning of the service—“you will serve this service.” W. C. Kaiser notes how this noun was translated “slavery” and “work” in the book, but “service” or “ceremony” for Yahweh. Israel was saved from slavery to Egypt into service for God as remembered by this ceremony (“Exodus,” EBC 2:383).
  15. Exodus 13:6 tn Heb “Seven days.”
  16. Exodus 13:6 tn The imperfect tense functions with the nuance of instruction or injunction. It could also be given an obligatory nuance: “you must eat” or “you are to eat.” Some versions have simply made it an imperative.
  17. Exodus 13:6 tn The phrase “there is to be” has been supplied.
  18. Exodus 13:7 tn The imperfect has the nuance of instruction or injunction again, but it could also be given an obligatory nuance.
  19. Exodus 13:7 tn The construction is an adverbial accusative of time, answering how long the routine should be followed (see GKC 374 §118.k).
  20. Exodus 13:7 tn Or “visible to you” (B. Jacob, Exodus, 366).
  21. Exodus 13:8 tn The form is the Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive, carrying the sequence forward: “and you will declare to your son.”sn A very important part of the teaching here is the manner in which the memory of the deliverance will be retained in Israel—they were to teach their children the reasons for the feast, as a binding law forever. This will remind the nation of its duties to Yahweh in gratitude for the great deliverance.
  22. Exodus 13:8 tn Heb “day, saying.” “Tell…saying” is redundant, so “saying” has not been included in the translation here.
  23. Exodus 13:8 tn “it is” has been supplied.
  24. Exodus 13:8 tn The text uses זֶה (zeh), which Gesenius classifies as the use of the pronoun to introduce a relative clause after the preposition (GKC 447 §138.h)—but he thinks the form is corrupt. B. S. Childs, however, sees no reason to posit a corruption in this form (Exodus [OTL], 184).
  25. Exodus 13:9 sn This passage has, of course, been taken literally by many devout Jews, and portions of the text have been encased in phylacteries and bound on the arm and forehead. B. Jacob (Exodus, 368), weighing the pros and cons of the literal or the figurative meaning, says that those who took it literally should not be looked down on for their symbolic work. In many cases, he continues, it is the spirit that kills and the letter makes alive—because people who argue against a literal usage do so to excuse lack of action. This is a rather interesting twist in the discussion. The point of the teaching was obviously meant to keep the Law of Yahweh in the minds of the people, to remind them of their duties.
  26. Exodus 13:9 tn That is, this ceremony.
  27. Exodus 13:9 tn Heb “for a sign.”
  28. Exodus 13:9 tn Heb “for a memorial.”
  29. Exodus 13:9 tn Heb “between your eyes” (KJV and ASV both similar); the same expression occurs in v. 16.sn That these festivals and consecrations were to be signs and memorials is akin to the expressions used in the book of Proverbs (Prov 3:3, “bind them around your neck…write them on your heart”). The people were to use the festivals as outward and visible tokens to remind them to obey what the Law required.
  30. Exodus 13:9 tn The purpose of using this ceremony as a sign and a memorial is that the Law might be in their mouth. The imperfect tense, then, receives the classification of final imperfect in the purpose clause.
  31. Exodus 13:9 sn “Mouth” is a metonymy of cause; the point is that they should be ever talking about the Law as their guide as they go about their duties (see Deut 6:7; 11:19; Josh 1:8).
  32. Exodus 13:9 tn This causal clause gives the reason for what has just been instructed. Because Yahweh delivered them from bondage, he has the strongest claims on their life.
  33. Exodus 13:10 tn The form is a perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive, functioning as the equivalent of an imperfect of instruction or injunction.
  34. Exodus 13:10 tn Or “every year,” or “year after year.”
  35. Exodus 13:11 tn Heb “and it will be when Yahweh brings (will bring) you.”
  36. Exodus 13:11 sn The name “the Canaanite” (and so collective for “Canaanites”) is occasionally used to summarize all the list of Canaanitish tribes that lived in the land.
  37. Exodus 13:11 tn The verb וּנְתָנָהּ (unetanah) is the Qal perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; this is in sequence to the preceding verb, and forms part of the protasis, the temporal clause. The main clause is the instruction in the next verse.
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Exodus 13:11-16
New English Translation

11 “When the Lord brings you[a] into the land of the Canaanites,[b] as he swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it[c] to you, 12 then you must give over[d] to the Lord the first offspring of every womb.[e] Every firstling[f] of a beast that you have[g]—the males will be the Lord’s.[h] 13 Every firstling[i] of a donkey you must redeem[j] with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck.[k] Every firstborn of[l] your sons you must redeem.

14 [m] “In the future,[n] when your son asks you[o] ‘What is this?’[p] you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand[q] the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery.[r] 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused[s] to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals.[t] That is why I am sacrificing[u] to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’ 16 It will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets[v] on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”[w]

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 13:11 tn Heb “and it will be when Yahweh brings (will bring) you.”
  2. Exodus 13:11 sn The name “the Canaanite” (and so collective for “Canaanites”) is occasionally used to summarize all the list of Canaanitish tribes that lived in the land.
  3. Exodus 13:11 tn The verb וּנְתָנָהּ (unetanah) is the Qal perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; this is in sequence to the preceding verb, and forms part of the protasis, the temporal clause. The main clause is the instruction in the next verse.
  4. Exodus 13:12 tn The unusual choice of words in this passage reflects the connection with the deliverance of the firstborn in the exodus when the Lord passed over the Israelites (12:12, 23). Here the Law said, “you will cause to pass over (וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ, vehaʿavarta) to Yahweh.” The Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) provides the main clause after the temporal clauses. Yahweh here claimed the firstborn as his own. The remarkable thing about this is that Yahweh did not keep the firstborn that was dedicated to him, but allowed the child to be redeemed by his father. It was an acknowledgment that the life of the child belonged to God as the one redeemed from death, and that the child represented the family. Thus, the observance referred to the dedication of all the redeemed to God.sn It was once assumed by some scholars that child sacrifice lay behind this text in the earlier days, but that the priests and prophets removed those themes. Apart from the fact that there is absolutely no evidence for anything like that, the Law forbade child sacrifice, and always used child sacrifice as the sample of what not to do in conformity with the pagans (e.g., Deut 12:31). Besides, how absurd would it be for Yahweh to redeem the firstborn from death and then ask Israel to kill them. See further B. Jacob, Exodus, 371.
  5. Exodus 13:12 tn Heb “every opener of a womb,” that is, the firstborn from every womb.
  6. Exodus 13:12 tn The descriptive noun שֶׁגֶר (sheger) is related to the verb “drop, cast”; it refers to a newly born animal that is dropped or cast from the womb. The expression then reads, “and all that first open [the womb], the casting of a beast.”
  7. Exodus 13:12 tn Heb “that is to you.” The preposition expresses possession.
  8. Exodus 13:12 tn The Hebrew text simply has “the males to Yahweh.” It indicates that the Lord must have them, or they belong to the Lord.
  9. Exodus 13:13 tn Heb “and every opener [of a womb].”
  10. Exodus 13:13 tn The verb תִּפְדֶּה (tifdeh), the instructional imperfect, refers to the idea of redemption by paying a cost. This word is used regularly of redeeming a person, or an animal, from death or servitude (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 109).
  11. Exodus 13:13 tn The conditional clause uses an imperfect tense; this is followed by a perfect tense with the vav consecutive providing the obligation or instruction. The owner might not redeem the donkey, but if he did not, he could not keep it, he had to kill it by breaking its neck (so either a lamb for it, or the donkey itself). The donkey could not be killed by shedding blood because that would make it a sacrifice, and that was not possible with this kind of animal. See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1977): 1-15.
  12. Exodus 13:13 tn Heb “and every firstborn of man among your sons.” The addition of “man” is clearly meant to distinguish firstborn humans from animals.sn One was to sacrifice the firstborn animals to Yahweh, but the children were to be redeemed by their fathers. The redemption price was five shekels (Num 18:15-16).
  13. Exodus 13:14 sn As with v. 8, the Law now requires that the children be instructed on the meaning of this observance. It is a memorial of the deliverance from bondage and the killing of the firstborn in Egypt.
  14. Exodus 13:14 tn Heb “tomorrow.”
  15. Exodus 13:14 tn Heb “and it will be when your son will ask you.”
  16. Exodus 13:14 tn The question is cryptic; it simply says, “What is this?” but certainly refers to the custom just mentioned. It asks, “What does this mean?” or “Why do we do this?”
  17. Exodus 13:14 tn The expression is “with strength of hand,” making “hand” the genitive of specification. In translation “strength” becomes the modifier, because “hand” specifies where the strength was. But of course the whole expression is anthropomorphic for the power of God.
  18. Exodus 13:14 tn Heb “house of slaves.”
  19. Exodus 13:15 tn Heb “dealt hardly in letting us go” or “made it hard to let us go” (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). The verb is the simple Hiphil perfect הִקְשָׁה (hiqshah, “he made hard”); the infinitive construct לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ (leshallekhenu, “to release us”) could be taken epexegetically, meaning “he made releasing us hard.” But the infinitive more likely gives the purpose or the result after the verb “hardened himself.” The verb is figurative for “be stubborn” or “stubbornly refuse.”
  20. Exodus 13:15 tn The text uses “man” and “beast.”
  21. Exodus 13:15 tn The form is the active participle.
  22. Exodus 13:16 tn The word is טוֹטָפֹת (totafot, “frontlets”). The etymology is uncertain, but the word denotes a sign or an object placed on the forehead (see m. Shabbat 6:1). The Gemara interprets it as a band that goes from ear to ear. In the Targum to 2 Sam 1:10 it is an armlet worn by Saul (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 110). These bands may have resembled the Egyptian practice of wearing as amulets “forms of words written on folds of papyrus tightly rolled up and sewn in linen” (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:384).
  23. Exodus 13:16 sn The pattern of the passage now emerges more clearly; it concerns the grateful debt of the redeemed. In the first part eating the unleavened bread recalls the night of deliverance in Egypt, and it calls for purity. In the second part the dedication of the firstborn was an acknowledgment of the deliverance of the firstborn from bondage. They were to remember the deliverance and choose purity; they were to remember the deliverance and choose dedication. The NT will also say, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price, therefore, glorify God” (1 Cor 6:20). Here too the truths of God’s great redemption must be learned well and retained well from generation to generation.
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Deuteronomy 6:4-9
New English Translation

The Essence of the Covenant Principles

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one![a] 5 You must love[b] the Lord your God with your whole mind,[c] your whole being,[d] and all your strength.[e]

Exhortation to Teach the Covenant Principles

6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach[f] them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road,[g] as you lie down, and as you get up. 8 You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm[h] and fasten them as symbols[i] on your forehead. 9 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.[j]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 6:4 tn Heb “the Lord, our God, the Lord, one.” (1) One option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14). (2) Another option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.” In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship. Support for this view comes from parallel texts such as Deut 7:9 and 10:17, as well as the use of “one” in Song 6:8-9, where the starstruck lover declares that his beloved is unique (literally, “one,” that is, “one of a kind”) when compared to all other women.sn Verses 4-5 constitute the so-called Shema (after the first word שְׁמַע, shemaʿ, “hear”), widely regarded as the very heart of Jewish confession and faith. When Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment of all, he quoted this text (Matt 22:37-38).
  2. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn The verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) in this setting communicates not so much an emotional idea as one of covenant commitment. To love the Lord is to be absolutely loyal and obedient to him in every respect, a truth Jesus himself taught (cf. John 14:15). See also the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
  3. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn Heb “heart.” In OT physiology the heart (לֵב, לֵבָב; levav, lev) was considered the seat of the mind or intellect, so that one could think with one’s heart. See A. Luc, NIDOTTE 2:749-54.
  4. Deuteronomy 6:5 tn Heb “soul”; “being.” Contrary to Hellenistic ideas of a soul that is discrete and separate from the body and spirit, OT anthropology equated the “soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) with the person himself. It is therefore best in most cases to translate נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) as “being” or the like. See H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 10-25; D. Fredericks, NIDOTTE 3:133-34.
  5. Deuteronomy 6:5 sn For NT variations on the Shema see Matt 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-30; Luke 10:27.
  6. Deuteronomy 6:7 tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.
  7. Deuteronomy 6:7 tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”
  8. Deuteronomy 6:8 sn Tie them as a sign on your forearm. Later Jewish tradition referred to the little leather containers tied to the forearms and foreheads as tefillin. They were to contain the following passages from the Torah: Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; Deut 6:5-9; 11:13-21. The purpose was to serve as a “sign” of covenant relationship and obedience.
  9. Deuteronomy 6:8 sn Fasten them as symbols on your forehead. These were also known later as tefillin (see previous note) or phylacteries (from the Greek term). These box-like containers, like those on the forearms, held the same scraps of the Torah. It was the hypocritical practice of wearing these without heartfelt sincerity that caused Jesus to speak scathingly about them (cf. Matt 23:5).
  10. Deuteronomy 6:9 sn The Hebrew term מְזוּזֹת (mezuzot) refers both to the door frames and to small cases attached on them containing scripture texts (always Deut 6:4-9 and 11:13-21; and sometimes the decalogue; Exod 13:1-10, 11-16; and Num 10:35-36). See J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy (JPSTC), 443-44.
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Deuteronomy 11:13-21
New English Translation

13 Now, if you pay close attention[a] to my commandments that I am giving you today and love[b] the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being,[c] 14 then he promises,[d] “I will send rain for your land[e] in its season, the autumn and the spring rains,[f] so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil. 15 I will provide pasture[g] for your livestock and you will eat your fill.”

Exhortation to Instruction and Obedience

16 Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods![h] 17 Then the anger of the Lord will erupt[i] against you, and he will close up the sky[j] so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed[k] from the good land that the Lord[l] is about to give you. 18 Fix these words of mine into your mind and being,[m] tie them as a reminder on your hands, and let them be symbols[n] on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road,[o] as you lie down, and as you get up. 20 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates 21 so that your days and those of your descendants may be extended in the land that the Lord promised to give to your ancestors, like the days of heaven itself.[p]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 11:13 tn Heb “if hearing, you will hear.” The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute to emphasize the verbal idea. The translation renders this emphasis with the word “close.”
  2. Deuteronomy 11:13 tn Again, the Hebrew term אָהֵב (ʾahev) draws attention to the reciprocation of divine love as a condition or sign of covenant loyalty (cf. Deut 6:5).
  3. Deuteronomy 11:13 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
  4. Deuteronomy 11:14 tn The words “he promises” do not appear in the Hebrew text but are needed in the translation to facilitate the transition from the condition (v. 13) to the promise and make it clear that the Lord is speaking the words of vv. 14-15.
  5. Deuteronomy 11:14 tn Heb “the rain of your land.” In this case the genitive (modifying term) indicates the recipient of the rain.
  6. Deuteronomy 11:14 sn The autumn and the spring rains. The “former” (יוֹרֶה, yoreh) and “latter” (מַלְקוֹשׁ, malqosh) rains come in abundance respectively in September/October and March/April. Planting of most crops takes place before the former rains fall and the harvests follow the latter rains.
  7. Deuteronomy 11:15 tn Heb “grass in your field.”
  8. Deuteronomy 11:16 tn Heb “Watch yourselves lest your heart turns and you turn aside and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
  9. Deuteronomy 11:17 tn Heb “will become hot”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “will be kindled”; NAB “will flare up”; NIV, NLT “will burn.”
  10. Deuteronomy 11:17 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
  11. Deuteronomy 11:17 tn Or “be destroyed”; NAB, NIV “will soon perish.”
  12. Deuteronomy 11:17 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 11:4.
  13. Deuteronomy 11:18 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
  14. Deuteronomy 11:18 tn On the Hebrew term טוֹטָפֹת (totafot, “reminders”), cf. Deut 6:4-9.
  15. Deuteronomy 11:19 tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”
  16. Deuteronomy 11:21 tn Heb “like the days of the heavens upon the earth,” that is, forever.
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