Numbers 18:15

15 All [the] first offspring of a womb of any creature that they offer to Yahweh, whether human or animal, will be yours; you will surely redeem the firstborn of the human and the unclean firstborn of the animal.

Numbers 18:15 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 18:15

Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh
The firstborn of every creature:

which they bring unto the Lord;
as they were obliged, he claiming it as his own, ( Exodus 13:2 ) ;

[whether it be] of men or beasts, shall be thine;
every firstborn of either, being the Lord's, became the priest's by his gift:

nevertheless, the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem;
that is, take the redemption price for it, which was five shekels, as in ( Numbers 18:16 ) ; for the original proprietor was, strictly speaking, the redeemer, and paid the money, and the priest was the receiver, to whom it was paid; see ( Exodus 13:13 ) ;

and the firstlings of unclean beasts shall thou redeem;
with lambs, as an ass, which is put for unclean beasts, is ordered to be redeemed with a lamb, or its neck to be broken, ( Exodus 13:13 ) ; the Africans, the shepherds among them, as Herodotus relates ^F11, of their firstlings they cut off the ear of the beast and throw it over a house, and then turn its neck back, for they worship only the sun and moon; which seems to be an imitation of this law.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 188.

Numbers 18:15 In-Context

13 [The] firstfruits of all that [is] in their land that they present to Yahweh will be for you; whoever [is] clean in your house may eat it.

14 All consecrated possessions in Israel will be for you.

15 All [the] first offspring of a womb of any creature that they offer to Yahweh, whether human or animal, will be yours; you will surely redeem the firstborn of the human and the unclean firstborn of the animal.

16 As to their price of redemption, from {a one-month-old} you will redeem them according to your proper value, five shekels of silver according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which [is] twenty gerah.

17 Only the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat you will not redeem; they [are] holy. Their blood you will sprinkle over the altar, and their fat you will turn into smoke [as] an offering made by fire, a fragrance of appeasement for Yahweh.