61 Bible Verses about Firstborn
Most Relevant Verses
And they were all given their seats before him in order of birth, from the oldest to the youngest: so that they were looking at one another in wonder.
These are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their generations: Ishmael's first son was Nebaioth; then Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam
Now Jacob had twelve sons: the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's first son, and Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun;
These were the chiefs among the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz, Esau's first son: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt, even Jacob and all his sons: Reuben, Jacob's oldest son;
He is a young ox, glory is his; his horns are the horns of the mountain ox, with which all peoples will be wounded, even to the ends of the earth: they are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.
If a man has two wives, one greatly loved and the other hated, and the two of them have had children by him; and if the first son is the child of the hated wife: Then when he gives his property to his sons for their heritage, he is not to put the son of his loved one in the place of the first son, the son of the hated wife: But he is to give his first son his birthright, and twice as great a part of his property: for he is the first-fruits of his strength and the right of the first son is his.
And their father gave them much silver and gold and things of great value, as well as walled towns in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, because he was the oldest.
And Jacob said, I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you said: come now, be seated and take of my meat, so that you may give me a blessing.
And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright. And Esau said, Truly, I am at the point of death: what profit is the birthright to me? And Jacob said, First of all give me your oath; and he gave him his oath, handing over his birthright to Jacob.read more.
Then Jacob gave him bread and soup; and he took food and drink and went away, caring little for his birthright.
And that there may not be any evil liver, or any man without respect for God, like Esau, who let his birthright go for a plate of food. For you have knowledge that even long after, when he was desiring the blessing for his heritage, he was turned away, though he made his request frequently and with weeping; because the past might not be changed.
And Israel, stretching out his right hand, put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands on purpose, for Manasseh was the older.
And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the older; put your right hand on his head. But his father would not, saying, I am doing it on purpose, my son; he will certainly become a nation and a great one; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a great family of nations.
Reuben, you are my oldest son, the first-fruit of my strength, first in pride and first in power: But because you were uncontrolled, the first place will not be yours; for you went up to your father's bed, even his bride-bed, and made it unclean.
The sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah; these three were his sons by Bathshua, the Canaanite woman. And Er, Judah's oldest son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord; and he put him to death.
And the sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, (for he was the oldest son, but, because he made his father's bride-bed unclean, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; but he is not to be given the place of the oldest. Though Judah became stronger than his brothers, and from him came the ruler, the birthright was Joseph's:)
And Hosah, a son of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the oldest, his father made him chief);
And I said to you, Let my son go, so that he may give me worship; and you did not let him go: so now I will put the first of your sons to death.
And Moses said, This is what the Lord says: About the middle of the night I will go out through Egypt: And death will come to every mother's first male child in all the land of Egypt, from the child of Pharaoh on his seat of power, to the child of the servant-girl crushing the grain; and the first births of all the cattle. And there will be a great cry through all the land of Egypt, such as never has been or will be again.
For on that night I will go through the land of Egypt, sending death on every first male child, of man and of beast, and judging all the gods of Egypt: I am the Lord.
While the Egyptians were placing in the earth the bodies of their sons on whom the Lord had sent destruction: and their gods had been judged by him.
Then Joshua gave the people orders with an oath, saying, Let that man be cursed before the Lord who puts his hand to the building up of this town: with the loss of his first son will he put the first stone of it in place, and with the loss of his youngest son he will put up its doors.
In his days Hiel made Jericho; he put its base in position at the price of Abiram, his oldest son, and he put its doors in place at the price of his youngest son Segub; even as the Lord had said by Joshua, the son of Nun.
He gave to destruction all the first sons of Egypt; the first-fruits of their strength in the tents of Ham;
He put to death the first child of every family in the land, the first-fruits of their strength.
He put to death the first-fruits of Egypt, of man and of beast.
To him who put to death the first-fruits of Egypt: for his mercy is unchanging for ever:
By faith he kept the Passover, and put the sign of the blood on the houses, so that the angel of destruction might not put their oldest sons to death.
And I will send down on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayer; and their eyes will be turned to the one who was wounded by their hands: and they will be weeping for him as for an only son, and their grief for him will be bitter, like the grief of one sorrowing for his oldest son.
And Abel gave an offering of the young lambs of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering;
Now after these things, God put Abraham to the test, and said to him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. And he said to him, Take your son, your dearly loved only son Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and give him as a burned offering on one of the mountains of which I will give you knowledge.
And the Lord said to Moses, Let the first male child of every mother among the children of Israel be kept holy for me, even the first male birth among man or beast; for it is mine.
And when the Lord takes you into the land of Canaan, as he made his oath to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, You are to put on one side for the Lord every mother's first male child, the first-fruit of her body, and the first young one of every beast; every male is holy to the Lord. And for the young of an ass you may give a lamb in payment, or if you will not make payment for it, its neck is to be broken; but for all the first sons among your children, let payment be made.read more.
And when your son says to you in time to come, What is the reason for this? say to him, By the strength of his hand the Lord took us out of Egypt, out of the prison-house: And when Pharaoh made his heart hard and would not let us go, the Lord sent death on all the first sons in Egypt, of man and of beast: and so every first male who comes to birth is offered to the Lord; but for all the first of my sons I give a price.
Do not keep back your offerings from the wealth of your grain and your vines. The first of your sons you are to give to me.
Every first male child is mine; the first male birth of your cattle, the first male of every ox and sheep. A lamb may be given in payment for the young of an ass, but if you will not make payment for it, its neck will have to be broken. For all the first of your sons you are to make payment. No one is to come before me without an offering.
The first birth of every living thing which is offered to the Lord, of man or beast, is to be yours; but for the first sons of man payment is to be made, and for the first young of unclean beasts.
And make a feast before the Lord your God, in the place which is to be marked out, where his name will be for ever, of the tenth part of your grain and your wine and your oil, and the first births of your herds and your flocks; so that you may have the fear of the Lord your God in your hearts at all times.
All the first males to come to birth in your herd and your flock are to be holy to the Lord your God: the first birth of your ox is not to be used for work, the wool of your first lamb is not to be cut.
As well as the first of our sons and of our cattle, as it is recorded in the law, and the first lambs of our herds and of our flocks, which are to be taken to the house of our God, to the priests who are servants in the house of our God:
And the Lord said to Moses, See, I have taken the Levites out of the children of Israel to be mine in place of the first sons of the children of Israel; For all the first sons are mine; on the day when I put to death all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I took for myself every first male birth of man and beast. They are mine; I am the Lord.
After that, the Levites will go in to do whatever has to be done in the Tent of meeting; you are to make them clean and give them as a wave offering. For they have been given to me from among the children of Israel; in place of every mother's first son, the first to come to birth in Israel, I have taken them for myself. For every mother's first son among the children of Israel is mine, the first male birth of man or beast: on the day when I sent death on all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I made them mine.read more.
And in place of the first sons among the children of Israel, I have taken the Levites.
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of sheep or with ten thousand rivers of oil? am I to give my first child for my wrongdoing, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
More than this, he had offerings burned in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and made his children go through fire, copying the disgusting ways of the nations whom the Lord had sent out of the land before the children of Israel.
I made them unclean in the offerings they gave, causing them to make every first child go through the fire, so that I might put an end to them.
And she had her first son; and folding him in linen, she put him to rest in the place where the cattle had their food, because there was no room for them in the house.
Because those of whom he had knowledge before they came into existence, were marked out by him to be made like his Son, so that he might be the first among a band of brothers:
Who is the image of the unseen God and existed before all living things;
And again, when he is sending his only Son into the world, he says, Let all the angels of God give him worship.
And he is the head of the body, the church: the starting point of all things, the first to come again from the dead; so that in all things he might have the chief place.
And from Jesus Christ, the true witness, the first to come back from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who had love for us and has made us clean from our sins by his blood;
And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth.
They will come with weeping, and going before them I will be their guide: guiding them by streams of water in a straight way where there is no falling: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is the first of my sons.
To the great meeting and church of the first of those who are named in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of good men made complete,
From Thematic Bible
Firstborn » Of man and beast, reserved to himself by God
For all the first sons are mine; on the day when I put to death all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I took for myself every first male birth of man and beast. They are mine; I am the Lord.
Let the first male child of every mother among the children of Israel be kept holy for me, even the first male birth among man or beast; for it is mine.
You are to put on one side for the Lord every mother's first male child, the first-fruit of her body, and the first young one of every beast; every male is holy to the Lord. And for the young of an ass you may give a lamb in payment, or if you will not make payment for it, its neck is to be broken; but for all the first sons among your children, let payment be made. And when your son says to you in time to come, What is the reason for this? say to him, By the strength of his hand the Lord took us out of Egypt, out of the prison-house: read more.
And when Pharaoh made his heart hard and would not let us go, the Lord sent death on all the first sons in Egypt, of man and of beast: and so every first male who comes to birth is offered to the Lord; but for all the first of my sons I give a price. And this will be for a sign on your hand and for a mark on your brow: for by the strength of his hand the Lord took us out of Egypt.
Do not keep back your offerings from the wealth of your grain and your vines. The first of your sons you are to give to me. In the same way with your oxen and your sheep: for seven days let the young one be with its mother; on the eighth day give it to me.
Every first male child is mine; the first male birth of your cattle, the first male of every ox and sheep. A lamb may be given in payment for the young of an ass, but if you will not make payment for it, its neck will have to be broken. For all the first of your sons you are to make payment. No one is to come before me without an offering.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Honorable distinction of
They will come with weeping, and going before them I will be their guide: guiding them by streams of water in a straight way where there is no falling: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is the first of my sons.
Because those of whom he had knowledge before they came into existence, were marked out by him to be made like his Son, so that he might be the first among a band of brothers:
And again, when he is sending his only Son into the world, he says, Let all the angels of God give him worship.
And from Jesus Christ, the true witness, the first to come back from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who had love for us and has made us clean from our sins by his blood;
Firstborn » Redemption of
And for the young of an ass you may give a lamb in payment, or if you will not make payment for it, its neck is to be broken; but for all the first sons among your children, let payment be made.
A lamb may be given in payment for the young of an ass, but if you will not make payment for it, its neck will have to be broken. For all the first of your sons you are to make payment. No one is to come before me without an offering.
And if it is an unclean beast, then the owner of it may give money to get it back, in agreement with the value fixed by you, by giving a fifth more; or if it is not taken back, let it be given for money in agreement with your valuing.
And the Lord said to Moses, Let all the first male children be numbered, and take the number of their names. And give to me the Levites (I am the Lord) in place of the first sons of the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of the first births among the cattle of the children of Israel. So Moses had all the first sons among the children of Israel numbered, as the Lord said to him. read more.
Every first son from a month old and over was numbered by name, and the number came to twenty-two thousand, two hundred and seventy-three. And the Lord said to Moses, Take the Levites in place of all the first sons of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle; the Levites are to be mine; I am the Lord. And the price you have to give for the two hundred and seventy-three first sons of the children of Israel which are in addition to the number of the Levites, Will be five shekels for every one, by the scale of the holy place (the shekel is twenty gerahs); And this money, the price of those over the number of the Levites, is to be given to Aaron and his sons. So Moses took the money, the price of those whose place had not been taken by the Levites; From the first sons of Israel he took it, a thousand, three hundred and sixty-five shekels, by the scale of the holy place; And he gave the money to Aaron and his sons, as the Lord had said.
The first birth of every living thing which is offered to the Lord, of man or beast, is to be yours; but for the first sons of man payment is to be made, and for the first young of unclean beasts. Payment is to be made for these when they are a month old, at the value fixed by you, a price of five shekels by the scale of the holy place, that is, twenty gerahs to the shekel. But no such payment may be made for the first birth of an ox or a sheep or a goat; these are holy: their blood is to be dropped on the altar, and their fat burned for an offering made by fire, a sweet smell to the Lord.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Sold by esau
And one day Jacob was cooking some soup when Esau came in from the fields in great need of food; And Esau said to Jacob, Give me a full meal of that red soup, for I am overcome with need for food: for this reason he was named Edom. And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright. read more.
And Esau said, Truly, I am at the point of death: what profit is the birthright to me? And Jacob said, First of all give me your oath; and he gave him his oath, handing over his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave him bread and soup; and he took food and drink and went away, caring little for his birthright.
And he said, Is it because he is named Jacob that he has twice taken my place? for he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not kept a blessing for me?
And that there may not be any evil liver, or any man without respect for God, like Esau, who let his birthright go for a plate of food.
It was said to her, The older will be the servant of the younger. Even as it is said, I had love for Jacob, but for Esau I had hate.
Firstborn » Of egyptians killed
And death will come to every mother's first male child in all the land of Egypt, from the child of Pharaoh on his seat of power, to the child of the servant-girl crushing the grain; and the first births of all the cattle.
And in the middle of the night the Lord sent death on every first male child in the land of Egypt, from the child of Pharaoh on his seat of power to the child of the prisoner in the prison; and the first births of all the cattle.
And when Pharaoh made his heart hard and would not let us go, the Lord sent death on all the first sons in Egypt, of man and of beast: and so every first male who comes to birth is offered to the Lord; but for all the first of my sons I give a price.
For on that night I will go through the land of Egypt, sending death on every first male child, of man and of beast, and judging all the gods of Egypt: I am the Lord.
While the Egyptians were placing in the earth the bodies of their sons on whom the Lord had sent destruction: and their gods had been judged by him.
Firstborn » Levites taken instead of firstborn of the families of israel
See, I have taken the Levites out of the children of Israel to be mine in place of the first sons of the children of Israel;
And the Lord said to Moses, Let all the first male children be numbered, and take the number of their names. And give to me the Levites (I am the Lord) in place of the first sons of the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites in place of the first births among the cattle of the children of Israel. So Moses had all the first sons among the children of Israel numbered, as the Lord said to him. read more.
Every first son from a month old and over was numbered by name, and the number came to twenty-two thousand, two hundred and seventy-three. And the Lord said to Moses, Take the Levites in place of all the first sons of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites in place of their cattle; the Levites are to be mine; I am the Lord.
For they have been given to me from among the children of Israel; in place of every mother's first son, the first to come to birth in Israel, I have taken them for myself. For every mother's first son among the children of Israel is mine, the first male birth of man or beast: on the day when I sent death on all the first sons in the land of Egypt, I made them mine. And in place of the first sons among the children of Israel, I have taken the Levites.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Set aside: that of manasseh
And he gave Joseph a blessing, saying, May the God to whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, gave worship, the God who has taken care of me all my life till this day, The angel who has been my saviour from all evil, send his blessing on these children: and let my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, be given to them; and let them become a great nation in the earth. Now when Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it did not seem right to him; and lifting his father's hand he would have put it on the head of Manasseh. read more.
And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the older; put your right hand on his head. But his father would not, saying, I am doing it on purpose, my son; he will certainly become a nation and a great one; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a great family of nations. So he gave them his blessing that day, saying, You will be the sign of blessing in Israel, for they will say, May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh; and he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
And the sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, (for he was the oldest son, but, because he made his father's bride-bed unclean, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; but he is not to be given the place of the oldest.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Forfeited by reuben
And the sons of Reuben, the oldest son of Israel, (for he was the oldest son, but, because he made his father's bride-bed unclean, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; but he is not to be given the place of the oldest. Though Judah became stronger than his brothers, and from him came the ruler, the birthright was Joseph's:)
Reuben, you are my oldest son, the first-fruit of my strength, first in pride and first in power: But because you were uncontrolled, the first place will not be yours; for you went up to your father's bed, even his bride-bed, and made it unclean.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » A double portion of inheritance
If a man has two wives, one greatly loved and the other hated, and the two of them have had children by him; and if the first son is the child of the hated wife: Then when he gives his property to his sons for their heritage, he is not to put the son of his loved one in the place of the first son, the son of the hated wife: But he is to give his first son his birthright, and twice as great a part of his property: for he is the first-fruits of his strength and the right of the first son is his.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Hosah's son
And Hosah, a son of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the oldest, his father made him chief);
Firstborn » Of idolaters, sacrificed
I made them unclean in the offerings they gave, causing them to make every first child go through the fire, so that I might put an end to them.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Royal succession
And their father gave them much silver and gold and things of great value, as well as walled towns in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, because he was the oldest.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Adonijah
And he said, You saw how the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had the idea that I would be their king; but now the kingdom is turned about, and has become my brother's, for it was given to him by the Lord.
Firstborn » Birthright of the » Authority over younger members of the household
If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong, sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you, but do not let it be your master.
Israel » Children » Saved » Firstborn » Killed
And the blood will be a sign on the houses where you are: when I see the blood I will go over you, and no evil will come on you for your destruction, when my hand is on the land of Egypt.
For the Lord will go through the land, sending death on the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the two sides and the top of the door, the Lord will go over your door and will not let death come in for your destruction.
Jesus Christ » Names of » Firstborn
And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth.
priests » Revenues of » Firstborn » Of animals
But no such payment may be made for the first birth of an ox or a sheep or a goat; these are holy: their blood is to be dropped on the altar, and their fat burned for an offering made by fire, a sweet smell to the Lord. Their flesh is to be yours; like the breast of the wave offering and the right leg, it is to be yours.
Topics on Firstborn
Christ The Firstborn
Psalm 89:27And I will make him the first of my sons, most high over the kings of the earth.
Death Of The Firstborn
Exodus 4:23And I said to you, Let my son go, so that he may give me worship; and you did not let him go: so now I will put the first of your sons to death.
Firstborn Daughters
Genesis 19:31And the older daughter said to her sister, Our father is old, and there is no man to be a husband to us in the natural way:
Firstborn Sons
Genesis 27:19And Jacob said, I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you said: come now, be seated and take of my meat, so that you may give me a blessing.
Sacrificing The Firstborn
2 Kings 3:27Then he took his oldest son, who would have been king after him, offering him as a burned offering on the wall. So there was great wrath against Israel; and they went away from him, back to their country.