Ulangan 21:16-17

21:16 In the day he divides his inheritance ¹  he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other ²  wife’s son who is actually the firstborn. 21:17 Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved ³  wife as firstborn and give him the double portion ⁴  of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power ⁵  – to him should go the right of the firstborn.

Ulangan 21:1

Laws Concerning Unsolved Murder

21:1 If a homicide victim ⁶  should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you, ⁷  and no one knows who killed ⁸  him,

1 Tawarikh 5:1-2

Reuben’s Descendants

5:1 The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn –

(Now he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s bed, ⁹  his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph, Israel’s son. So Reuben is not listed as firstborn in the genealogical records. ¹⁰  5:2 Though Judah was the strongest among his brothers and a leader descended from him, ¹¹  the right of the firstborn belonged to Joseph.)

[21:16]  ¹ tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”

[21:16]  ² tn Heb “the hated.”

[21:17]  ³ tn See note on the word “other” in v. 15.

[21:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (piy shÿnayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31-34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8-22).

[21:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ’on; cf. HALOT 22 s.v.). Cf. NAB “the first fruits of his manhood”; NRSV “the first issue of his virility.”

[21:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “slain [one].” The term חָלָל (khalal) suggests something other than a natural death (cf. Num 19:16; 23:24; Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15; 30:24; 31:17-18).

[21:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “struck,” but in context a fatal blow is meant; cf. NLT “who committed the murder.”

[5:1]  ⁹ sn The phrase when he defiled his father’s bed refers to Reuben having sexual relations with his father Jacob’s concubine Bilhah. This incident is recorded in Gen 35:22.

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and not to be listed in the genealogical records as (having) the right of the firstborn.”

[5:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and [one] for a leader [was] from him.” This probably refers to the Davidic king.