Keluaran 13:12

13:12 then you must give over ¹  to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. ²  Every firstling ³  of a beast that you have ⁴  – the males will be the Lord’s. ⁵ 

Keluaran 22:14-16

22:14 “If a man borrows an animal ⁶  from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it ⁷  will surely pay. 22:15 If its owner was with it, he will not have to pay; if it was hired, what was paid for the hire covers it. ⁸ 

Moral and Ceremonial Laws

22:16 ⁹ “If a man seduces a virgin ¹⁰  who is not engaged ¹¹  and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow ¹²  her to be his wife.

Keluaran 30:15

30:15 The rich are not to increase it, ¹³  and the poor are not to pay less than the half shekel when giving ¹⁴  the offering of the Lord, to make atonement ¹⁵  for your lives.

Keluaran 34:24

34:24 For I will drive out ¹⁶  the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet ¹⁷  your land when you go up ¹⁸  to appear before the Lord your God three times ¹⁹  in the year.

[13:12]  ¹ tn The unusual choice of words in this passage reflects the connection with the deliverance of the firstborn in the exodus when the Lord passed over the Israelites (12:12, 23). Here the Law said, “you will cause to pass over (וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ, vÿha’avarta) to Yahweh.” The Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) provides the main clause after the temporal clauses. Yahweh here claimed the firstborn as his own. The remarkable thing about this is that Yahweh did not keep the firstborn that was dedicated to him, but allowed the child to be redeemed by his father. It was an acknowledgment that the life of the child belonged to God as the one redeemed from death, and that the child represented the family. Thus, the observance referred to the dedication of all the redeemed to God.

[13:12]  sn It was once assumed by some scholars that child sacrifice lay behind this text in the earlier days, but that the priests and prophets removed those themes. Apart from the fact that there is absolutely no evidence for anything like that, the Law forbade child sacrifice, and always used child sacrifice as the sample of what not to do in conformity with the pagans (e.g., Deut 12:31). Besides, how absurd would it be for Yahweh to redeem the firstborn from death and then ask Israel to kill them. See further B. Jacob, Exodus, 371.

[13:12]  ² tn Heb “every opener of a womb,” that is, the firstborn from every womb.

[13:12]  ³ tn The descriptive noun שֶׁגֶר (sheger) is related to the verb “drop, cast”; it refers to a newly born animal that is dropped or cast from the womb. The expression then reads, “and all that first open [the womb], the casting of a beast.”

[13:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “that is to you.” The preposition expresses possession.

[13:12]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text simply has “the males to Yahweh.” It indicates that the Lord must have them, or they belong to the Lord.

[22:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “if a man asks [an animal] from his neighbor” (see also Exod 12:36). The ruling here implies an animal is borrowed, and if harm comes to it when the owner is not with it, the borrower is liable. The word “animal” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[22:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who borrowed the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:15]  ⁸ tn Literally “it came with/for its hire,” this expression implies that the owner who hired it out and was present was prepared to take the risk, so there would be no compensation.

[22:16]  ⁹ sn The second half of the chapter records various laws of purity and justice. Any of them could be treated in an expository way, but in the present array they offer a survey of God’s righteous standards: Maintain the sanctity of marriage (16-17); maintain the purity of religious institutions (18-20), maintain the rights of human beings (21-28), maintain the rights of Yahweh (29-31).

[22:16]  ¹⁰ tn This is the word בְּתוּלָה (bÿtulah); it describes a young woman who is not married or a young woman engaged to be married; in any case, she is presumed to be a virgin.

[22:16]  ¹¹ tn Or “pledged” for marriage.

[22:16]  ¹² tn The verb מָהַר (mahar) means “pay the marriage price,” and the related noun is the bride price. B. Jacob says this was a proposal gift and not a purchase price (Exodus, 700). This is the price paid to her parents, which allowed for provision should there be a divorce. The amount was usually agreed on by the two families, but the price was higher for a pure bride from a noble family. Here, the one who seduces her must pay it, regardless of whether he marries her or not.

[30:15]  ¹³ tn Or “pay more.”

[30:15]  ¹⁴ tn The form is לָתֵת (latet), the Qal infinitive construct with the lamed preposition. The infinitive here is explaining the preceding verbs. They are not to increase or diminish the amount “in paying the offering.” The construction approximates a temporal clause.

[30:15]  ¹⁵ tn This infinitive construct (לְכַפֵּר, lÿkhapper) provides the purpose of the giving the offering – to atone.

[34:24]  ¹⁶ tn The verb is a Hiphil imperfect of יָרַשׁ (yarash), which means “to possess.” In the causative stem it can mean “dispossess” or “drive out.”

[34:24]  ¹⁷ sn The verb “covet” means more than desire; it means that some action will be taken to try to acquire the land that is being coveted. It is one thing to envy someone for their land; it is another to be consumed by the desire that stops at nothing to get it (it, not something like it).

[34:24]  ¹⁸ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffixed subject to form the temporal clause.

[34:24]  ¹⁹ tn The expression “three times” is an adverbial accusative of time.