Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

15 "If a man has two wives, ¹the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,^[a]

16 then on the day when ²he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn,

17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is ³the firstfruits of his strength. ⁴The right of the firstborn is his.

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Deuteronomy 21:15-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 21

This chapter treats of the beheading of the heifer, for the expiation of unknown murder, and the rules to be observed in it, De 21:1-9 of a beautiful captive woman an Israelite is desirous of having for his wife, and what methods he must take to accomplish it, De 21:10-14, of giving the double portion to the firstborn, which he must not be deprived of in favour of the son of a beloved wife, De 21:15-17 and of the stubborn and rebellious son, who remaining so must be put to death, De 21:18-21 and of burying a person hanged on a tree the same day he is executed, De 21:22,23.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 4

1. [Genesis 29:30, 33; 1 Samuel 1:4, 5]
2. 1 Chronicles 5:1, 2; [1 Chronicles 26:10; 2 Chr. 11:19, 20, 22]
3. Genesis 49:3
4. Genesis 25:31, 33; Genesis 27:36

Footnotes 1

[a]. Or hated; also verses 16, 17

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.