Exodus 13:2

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 13:2

Exodus 13:2. Sanctify That is, command all the people to sanctify; unto me To my use and service, in a manner I shall hereafter explain; all the firstborn That are males, as the command is limited, Exodus 13:12; whatsoever openeth the womb That is, every child which is the firstborn of his mother: so that if a man had many wives, either together or successively, his first child by every one of these was a firstborn, and, if a male, was claimed by the Lord. But if a female came... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 13:1-16

Dedication of the firstborn (13:1-16)Since God had spared the firstborn of Israel’s people and animals in the Passover judgment, these rightly belonged to him. The people were to acknowledge this by dedicating, or setting apart, their firstborn to God in an act of thankful worship (13:1-2; see also v. 15). This act also symbolized the consecration (or dedication) of the entire redeemed nation to God, since Israel as a whole was God’s firstborn (see 4:22). The people were reminded again to keep... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 13:2

Sanctify. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject). App-6 . = Declare that I will sanctify (or set apart), which Moses did in verses: Exodus 13:12 . children = sons. man . Hebrew. 'adam. App-14 . There are two pairs of Phylacteries, so called (in Greek) from their use - a prayer-fillet or band worn to-day on forehead and hands during prayer. First pair here, Exodus 13:3-10 and Exodus 13:11-16 . Second pair in Deuteronomy 6:4-8 and Exo 11:13-2 . Compare the structures in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 13:1-2

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine."There were three great memorials of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, namely: (1) The Passover; (2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread; and (3) the Sanctification of the First-born. Each of these was uniquely associated with the event of the deliverance and is incapable of being intelligently associated with... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 13:2

Exodus 13:2. Sanctify unto me all the first-born— The Lord not only appointed an annual festival commemorative of his redemption of Israel, and ordained a weekly remembrance of it, Deu 5:15 but also commanded all the first-born of the males (Exo 13:12 and Numbers 3:40.) to be sanctified; that is, (as the word קדשׁ cadesh always signifies,) to be separated, or set apart, from common and ordinary to higher and sacred uses. In this command, the reference to God's preservation of the first-born of... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 13:2

2. Sanctify unto me all the first-born—To "sanctify" means to "consecrate," to "set apart" from a common to a sacred use. The foundation of this duty rested on the fact that the Israelites, having had their first-born preserved by a distinguishing act of grace from the general destruction that overtook the families of the Egyptians, were bound in token of gratitude to consider them as the Lord's peculiar property (compare :-). :-. MEMORIAL OF THE PASSOVER. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 13:1-2

"Every" refers to the first-born males only (Exodus 13:2). This is clear from the Hebrew word used and the context (Exodus 13:12-13). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 13:1-16

5. The sanctification of the first-born 13:1-16This section is somewhat repetitive, but the emphasis is on the Lord’s right to the first-born in Israel and how the Israelites were to acknowledge that right. The repetition stresses its importance. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 13:1-22

The Consecration of the Firstborn. The March to Etham1-16. The Consecration of the Firstborn.All Israel was holy unto the Lord: see on Exodus 19:5, Exodus 19:6. But the firstborn of man and beast were specially consecrated to Him, as the part representing the whole. There was a special fitness in the consecration of the firstborn, seeing they had been spared in the destruction which overtook the Egyptians. The firstborn of mankind were to be consecrated to the service of Jehovah as priests; the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 13:2

XIII.SANCTIFICATION OF THE FIRSTBORN, AND LAW OF REDEMPTION.(2) Sanctify unto me all the firstborn.—It was a reasonable demand that the existing firstborn of Israel, spared by God when the Egyptian firstborn were destroyed, should be regarded thenceforth as His, and set apart for His service. The extension of the demand to existing beasts was also reasonable, since they too had been spared. God’s further requirement, that henceforth all the future firstborn should also be His, was intended to... read more