Exodus 22:30

30 You will do likewise for your ox and for your sheep and goats; seven days it will be with its mother; on the eighth, you will give it to me.

Exodus 22:30 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 22:30

Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep,
&c.] That is, with the firstborn, which were to be set apart to the Lord; and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,

``the firstborn of thine oxen, and of thy sheep;''

for having spoken of the firstborn of men, the Scripture proceeds to speak of the firstborn of cattle, great and small, the separation of which was enjoined in one and the same precept, ( Exodus 13:2 ) ,

seven days it shall be with his dam;
whether it be a calf or a lamb; before it was seven days old it was not to be taken from it, and given to the Lord:

on the eighth day thou shall give it me;
that is, they might do it then, but not before; yet they were not obliged to bring it exactly on that day, but they might do it any time within the month, and at a month's end they were obliged to redeem it, that is, give the priest the sum of five shekels for it, ( Numbers 18:16 ) . The Jewish canon runs thus {n};

``how long are Israelites bound for the bringing of the firstborn, i.e. before they offer it to the priest? in small cattle thirty days, in large cattle fifty days.''


FOOTNOTES:

F14 Misn. Becorot, c. 4. sect. 1.

Exodus 22:30 In-Context

28 " 'You will not curse God, and you will not curse a leader among your people.
29 " 'You will not delay the fullness of your harvest and the juice from your press; you will give me the firstborn of your sons.
30 You will do likewise for your ox and for your sheep and goats; seven days it will be with its mother; on the eighth, you will give it to me.
31 And you will be men of holiness for me; and you will not eat meat [from] a carcass mangled in the field; you will throw it to the dog.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.