Chapter Thirteen
Consecration of the Firstborn
13:1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.”
God had given Moses instructions on how Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread would be celebrated in the future, so that future generations would know God’s might and remember what YHWH did for them this day. God now institutes another ordinance, not only to help the Israelites remember what happened during the first Passover, but also to personally relate to it. God had saved the lives of every firstborn that participated in the Passover, even though God claimed Israel as His “firstborn” (see Exodus 4:22), all firstborn Israelites were now His.
God tells Moses that all firstborn from now on are to be dedicated to Him. The Hebrew word translated here as ‘consecrate’, is ‘qǎd·děš’,[1] meaning to be holy, the act of being set apart, in this situation set apart for God (second time this word is used in Scripture).[2] Moses will return to this subject and reiterates this command with further explanation in verses 12-15.
God is claiming all firstborn as His own, which will later be required to be redeemed. “The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the LORD will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of ceremonially unclean animals. Redeem them when they are one month old. The redemption price is five pieces of silver (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs)” (Numbers 18:15-16, NLT, see also Numbers 3:11-13; 18:17-18)
This regulation was still being practiced during Jesus’ time. Since Jesus was Mary’s firstborn, He was redeemed with a sacrifice of two turtledoves and two young pigeons (see Luke 2:22-24). It was during this visit to the Temple when Jesus, Joseph, and Mary encountered Simeon and Anna.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
13:3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. 4 Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out.
Moses relays God’s instructions on how to remember this day of departure from Egypt through the keeping of the Festival of Unleavened Bread as God explained to Moses and Aaron in Exodus 12:15-20.
13:5 And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you, and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.
Moses now tells the people that they are to begin celebrating this feast when they first arrive at the Promised Land. First described as the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing in milk and honey, in Exodus 3:7-12, God will continue to remind the Israelites that the land is currently occupied. Even though God says He will remove those that live there (see Exodus 23:23; 33:2; 34:11), it will require faith and diligence (see Joshua 24:11).
Moses relays God’s instructions concerning the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Israelites (see Exodus 12:15-20). Additional instruction for the feast will later be given in Leviticus 23:6-8; Numbers 28:17-25 and Deuteronomy 16:3-8.
13:8 You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ 9 And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.
The reason for the festival was to remind future generations of what God did for their fathers and forefathers in getting them out of Egypt. The festival will serve as a sign,[3] something that will represent and point to what YHWH did to help them remember. Even though God’s law was not yet written,[4] the Israelites were to understand the teachings of God. “This annual festival will be a visible sign to you, like a mark branded on your hand or your forehead. Let it remind you always to recite this teaching of the LORD: ‘With a strong hand, the LORD rescued you from Egypt.’” (Exodus 13:9, NLT)
Verse nine, and later verse sixteen, gives birth to the Jewish tradition of wearing tefillin or phylacteries on their bodies (see also Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18). These small ‘boxes’ usually contain selected verses from the Torah and are strapped to either the forehead or wrist using leather straps. This tradition started shortly after the Jews returned from their Babylonian captivity, which takes a literal interpretation of placing the law between their eyes, a practice later rebuked by Jesus (see Matthew 23:5).
13:10 You shall therefore keep this statute at its appointed time from year to year. 11 “When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD’s. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
After describing the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the consecration of the firstborn, Moses now reiterates the key elements of both. This is the first appearance of the Hebrew word ‘ṯip·dě(h)’[5] (found three times in verse 13 and once in verse 15), a verb meaning to ransom, to redeem or to deliver.[6] Redemption of the firstborn included paying a price (see Numbers 18:15; Leviticus 27:27) or through sacrifice of acceptable animals (see Numbers 18:15-17). Note that the donkeys could not be sacrificed because they are considered an unclean animal (later codified in Leviticus 11) and need to be redeemed with a lamb.
Redemption of a human firstborn is never sacrificed, as human beings are highly valued by God (see commentary under Genesis 9:5-6 regarding the uniqueness of human beings). The New Living Translation offers clarification in their translation: “And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the LORD brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery. Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, so the LORD killed all the firstborn males throughout the land of Egypt, both people and animals. That is why I now sacrifice all the firstborn males to the LORD—except that the firstborn sons are always bought back.’” (Exodus 13:14-15, NLT)
13:16 It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”
Moses also reiterates and amplifies his earlier statement regarding the mark (same Hebrew word in verse nine, except it is translated there as ‘sign’), now giving the choice of hand or frontlets between their eyes. A sign to remember the power and might YHWH demonstrated to the world for their release from Egypt. This is the first of three appearances of the Hebrew word ‘ṭô·ṭā·pōṯ’,[7] found always in the plural (see also Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18), denoting a mark or sign placed on the forehead between the eyes.
The placing of “frontlets” upon the forehead is always associated with making “signs upon your hand.” A common means of identifying slaves in the ancient near east was to mark their hands and/or their foreheads. Perhaps these “frontlets” were marking Israelites as the Lord’s servants who were to be identified by allowing the Law to permeate their thoughts and actions. The literal “marking” (whatever the form) had its primary sense in the figurative equation with God’s commandments as the “frontlets”—the statutes of the feast of unleavened bread (Ex 13:1–10), the regulations of the firstborn (Ex 13:11–16), and the overall stipulations of the Mosaic covenant (Deut 6:8; 11:18). These “frontlets” were to be “memorials” on the forehead (cf. the substitution of zikkārôn for ṭôṭāpôt in Ex 13:9), reminding the Israelite to think upon the commandments of the Lord and to keep them. Later Jewry took these “frontlets” in a literal ostentatious way and were rebuked by Jesus (Mt 23:5). They tied little boxes on their foreheads and wrists and placed scripture verses in them as a reminder. One of these phylacteries was found in the caves of Qumran.[8]
Considerations
History has shown that people, especially when things are going well for them, quickly forget important facts about events, people, and values. We all need reminders to keep what is important a priority in life. God institutes many reminders to help the Israelites from straying away from Him.
Being redeemed is the central theme of the gospel message, here the first use of the verb that refers to the act of redemption points us to what we can call an Old Testament model of God’s redemption of His people.[9] Which was ultimately fulfilled by Jesus in the New Testament.
Redemption, in theology, denotes our recovery from sin and death by the obedience and sacrifice of Christ, who on this account is called the “Redeemer” (Isa. 59:20; Job 19:25). “Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19). “And ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19, 20).[10]
God Guides the Israelites Out of Egypt
13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”
Instead of taking the shorter route through the land of the Philistines, God leads them a different way. Some believe that war between them would have been unavoidable, so to prevent the people from changing their minds and wanting to go back to Egypt, God directs them away from the Philistines. But we also know that God has several additional supernatural feats yet to demonstrate, some will be remembered many years later (see Joshua 2:9-10).
13:18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.
Instead of north toward the Philistines (the only route that would not require crossing water), God directed the Israelites east towards the Red Sea.[11] The Hebrew plural adjective ‘ḥǎmǔ·šîm’,[12] refers to being arrayed for battle or harnessed together, often being five abreast. Does not imply the use of any weapons.
13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.”
Joseph made his brothers swear that they would carry his bones with them when they left Egypt (see Genesis 50:25). Moses, as Israel’s new leader, took on the responsibility of fulfilling that promise.
13:20 And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
They progressed from Succoth (see Exodus 12:37) and stopped at Etham, of which, other than being described here as being on the edge of the wilderness, the exact location remains unknown.
13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
If there was any doubt if God was with them, being led by a pillar of a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night, should extinguish any doubts. This was another visual form of evidence that YHWH was with the Israelites. The evidence of the presence of God was both seen and sometimes heard (see Numbers 12:5-6; Deuteronomy 31:15-16; Psalms 99:6-7) in these supernatural pillars.
⇐Previous Chapter (Introduction/Index) Next Chapter⇒
[1] Strong’s Hebrew 6942.
[2] See commentary under Genesis 2:1-3.
[3] See Considerations under Genesis 1:14-19 for discussion regarding signs.
[4] See commentary under Genesis 26:1-5 for discussion regarding God’s law.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 6299.
[6] See commentary under Genesis 6:14-16 for discussion regarding atonement and the price for redemption.
[7] Strong’s Hebrew 2903.
[8] Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., Jr., & Waltke, B. K. (Eds.). (1999). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 348). Chicago: Moody Press.
[9] See Considerations under Genesis 2:15-17 for discussion on types and models.
[10] M’Clintock, J., & Strong, J. (1894). Redemption. In Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Vol. 8, p. 972). New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
[11] See commentary under Exodus 10:16-20 regarding the name of the sea.
[12] Strong’s Hebrew 2571.