Exodus 13:1-16

The Dedication of the Firstborn

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹

2 “Consecrate to Me every firstborn male. ^[a] The firstborn from every womb among the Israelites belongs to Me, both of man and beast.”

3 So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.

4 Today, in the month of Abib, ^[b] you are leaving.

5 And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey—you shall keep this service in this month.

6 For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD.

7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten during those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, nor shall leaven be found anywhere within your borders.

8 And on that day you are to explain to your son, ‘This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

9 It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.

10 Therefore you shall keep this statute at the appointed time year after year.

11 And after the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as He swore to you and your fathers,

12 you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.

13 You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.

14 In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

15 And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’

16 So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”

Exodus 13:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 13

This chapter begins with an order to sanctify or set apart the firstborn of man and beast to the Lord, Ex 13:1,2 and the people of Israel are charged to keep the feast of unleavened bread in its season, from year to year, when they came into the land of Canaan, the reason of which they were to acquaint their children with, Ex 13:3-10 and they are also directed, when come into the land of Canaan, to set apart every firstling of a beast unto the Lord, and particularly the firstling of an ass was to be redeemed with a lamb, or its neck to be broke, and all the firstborn of men were to be redeemed also, Ex 13:11-13, and when their children inquired the reason of it, they were to be told it was on account of the Lord's slaying the firstborn of men and beast among the Egyptians, when Pharaoh would not let Israel go, and of saving the firstborn of his people, Ex 13:14-16, and it is observed, that when the children of Israel went out of Egypt, they were not led by the nearest way, the way of the land of the Philistines, but a round about way, the way of the wilderness of the Red sea, when they took the bones of Joseph with them, as he had adjured them to do, Ex 13:17-19, and the chapter is concluded with an account of their journeying from Succoth to Etham, the Lord going before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, Ex 13:20-22.

Cross References

• 1. (Deuteronomy 15:19–23)

Footnotes

• [a]. Cited in Luke 2:23
• [b]. Abib was the first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurring within the months of March and April.