Reference: Birthright
American
The privilege of the firstborn son. Among the Hebrews, as indeed among most other nations, the firstborn enjoyed particular privileges; and wherever polygamy was tolerated, it was highly necessary to fix them, De 21:15-17. Besides the father's chief blessing, Ge 27, and various minor advantages, the firstborn son was, first, specially consecrated to the Lord,
Ex 13:11-16; 22:29; and the firstborn son of a priest succeeded his father in the priestly office. Among the sons of Jacob, Reuben the firstborn forfeited the right of the firstborn, Ge 35:22; 49:3-4, and God gave it to Levi, Nu 3:12-13; 8:18. Secondly, the firstborn was entitled to a share of his father's estate twice as large as any of the other brethren received, De 21:17. Thirdly, he succeeded to the official dignities and rights of his father, 2Ch 21:3. In some of these privileges there is an allusion to Him, who is "the firstborn among many brethren," Ro 8:29; Col 1:18; Heb 1:2-6. Universal dominion is his, and an everlasting priesthood.
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And it came to pass when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine; and Israel heard of it. And the sons of Jacob were twelve.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength. Impetuous as the waters, thou shalt have no pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father's couch: Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my bed.
And it shall be when Jehovah hath brought thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he hath sworn to thee and to thy fathers, and hath given it thee, that thou shalt offer unto Jehovah all that breaketh open the womb, and every firstling that cometh of cattle which is thine: the males shall be Jehovah's. read more. And every firstling of an ass shalt thou ransom with a lamb; and if thou do not ransom it, thou shalt break its neck; and every firstborn of a man among thy sons shalt thou ransom. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say to him, With a powerful hand Jehovah brought us out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that Jehovah slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of men and the firstborn of cattle: therefore I sacrifice to Jehovah all that breaketh open the womb being males; and every firstborn of my children I ransom. And it shall be for a sign on thy hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes, for with a powerful hand Jehovah brought us forth out of Egypt.
Thou shalt not delay the fulness of thy threshing-floor and the outflow of thy winepress. The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine; for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.
And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
If a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated; then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn; read more. but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
And their father had given them great gifts of silver and of gold and of precious things, besides fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.
Because whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren.
And he is the head of the body, the assembly; who is the beginning, firstborn from among the dead, that he might have the first place in all things:
at the end of these days has spoken to us in the person of the Son, whom he has established heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the effulgence of his glory and the expression of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, having made by himself the purification of sins, set himself down on the right hand of the greatness on high, read more. taking a place by so much better than the angels, as he inherits a name more excellent than they. For to which of the angels said he ever, Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him for father, and he shall be to me for son? and again, when he brings in the firstborn into the habitable world, he says, And let all God's angels worship him.
Easton
(1.) This word denotes the special privileges and advantages belonging to the first-born son among the Jews. He became the priest of the family. Thus Reuben was the first-born of the patriarchs, and so the priesthood of the tribes belonged to him. That honour was, however, transferred by God from Reuben to Levi (Nu 3:12-13; 8:18).
(2.) The first-born son had allotted to him also a double portion of the paternal inheritance (De 21:15-17). Reuben was, because of his undutiful conduct, deprived of his birth-right (Ge 49:4; 1Ch 5:1). Esau transferred his birth-right to Jacob (Ge 25:33).
(3.) The first-born inherited the judicial authority of his father, whatever it might be (2Ch 21:3). By divine appointment, however, David excluded Adonijah in favour of Solomon.
(4.) The Jews attached a sacred importance to the rank of "first-born" and "first-begotten" as applied to the Messiah (Ro 8:29; Col 1:18; Heb 1:4-6). As first-born he has an inheritance superior to his brethren, and is the alone true priest.
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And Jacob said, Swear unto me now. And he swore unto him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
Impetuous as the waters, thou shalt have no pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father's couch: Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my bed.
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine; for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.
And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel.
If a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated; then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn; read more. but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
And their father had given them great gifts of silver and of gold and of precious things, besides fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.
Because whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren.
And he is the head of the body, the assembly; who is the beginning, firstborn from among the dead, that he might have the first place in all things:
taking a place by so much better than the angels, as he inherits a name more excellent than they. For to which of the angels said he ever, Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him for father, and he shall be to me for son? read more. and again, when he brings in the firstborn into the habitable world, he says, And let all God's angels worship him.
Fausets
A double portion fell to the firstborn, compare De 21:15-17, whence Joseph's two sons, who received the birthright forfeited by Reuben the firstborn, were counted as heads of the tribes Ephraim and Manasseh (Ge 48:5-6,22; 49:4; 1Ch 5:1). The "princes" of the congregation were so probably by primogeniture (Nu 7:2; 21:18). The rebellion of the Reubenite leaders, Dathan and Abiram, may have arisen through jealousy at the preeminence which others enjoyed above them, Reuben their first father baring had originally the primogeniture; compare Nu 16:1-2, with Nu 26:5-9. Esau transferred his birthright to Jacob for a paltry mess of pottage, profanely setting at nought what was the spiritual privilege connected with it, the being progenitor of the promised Messiah (Ge 25:33; Heb 12:16-17).
It is striking how often God set aside the birthright, in order to show that the objects of His choice are "born not of bloods (Greek natural descents), nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Joh 1:13).Thus Isaac is preferred to Ishmael, Jacob to Esau, Joseph to Reuben, David to his elder brothers. Solomon to Adonijah the elder of the two (1Ki 2:15). Ordinarily the firstborn inherited the throne (2Ch 21:3), typifying Messiah the "first begotten" of the Father, "the Firstborn among many brethren," and Heir of all things (Ro 8:29; Heb 1:6). All the firstborn of Israel were claimed by Jehovah as His, He having saved them when Egypt's firstborn were slain (Ex 22:29). He allowed them to be redeemed, and the tribe of Levi to serve Him in their stead (Nu 3:12-13). The whole nation was God's firstborn among all the peoples (Ex 4:22). The spiritual Israel in a still higher sense is "the church of the first born written in heaven" (enrolled as its citizens in the book of life) (Heb 12:23; Jas 1:18; Re 14:1-4).
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And Jacob said, Swear unto me now. And he swore unto him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
And Jacob said, Swear unto me now. And he swore unto him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon.
And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon. And thy family which thou hast begotten after them shall be thine: they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
And thy family which thou hast begotten after them shall be thine: they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
And I have given to thee one tract of land above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
And I have given to thee one tract of land above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
Impetuous as the waters, thou shalt have no pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father's couch: Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my bed.
Impetuous as the waters, thou shalt have no pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father's couch: Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my bed.
And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah: Israel is my son, my firstborn.
And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah: Israel is my son, my firstborn.
Thou shalt not delay the fulness of thy threshing-floor and the outflow of thy winepress. The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
Thou shalt not delay the fulness of thy threshing-floor and the outflow of thy winepress. The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine;
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn that breaketh open the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine; for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.
for every firstborn is mine. On the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and beast; mine shall they be: I am Jehovah.
that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, the princes of the tribes, they that were over them that had been numbered, offered;
that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, the princes of the tribes, they that were over them that had been numbered, offered;
And Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, made bold, and with him Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, the sons of Reuben;
And Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, made bold, and with him Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, the sons of Reuben; and they rose up against Moses, with two hundred and fifty men of the children of Israel, princes of the assembly, summoned to the council, men of renown;
and they rose up against Moses, with two hundred and fifty men of the children of Israel, princes of the assembly, summoned to the council, men of renown;
Well which princes digged, which the nobles of the people hollowed out at the word of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah;
Well which princes digged, which the nobles of the people hollowed out at the word of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah;
Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: the children of Reuben: of Enoch, the family of the Enochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;
Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: the children of Reuben: of Enoch, the family of the Enochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.
of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. These are the families of the Reubenites; and they that were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.
These are the families of the Reubenites; and they that were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty. And the sons of Pallu: Eliab;
And the sons of Pallu: Eliab; and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, summoned of the assembly, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the band of Korah, when they contended against Jehovah.
and the sons of Eliab were Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, summoned of the assembly, who contended against Moses and against Aaron in the band of Korah, when they contended against Jehovah.
If a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated;
If a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated; then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn;
then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn; but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign; but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's, for it was his from Jehovah.
And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their faces on me that I should reign; but the kingdom is turned about and is become my brother's, for it was his from Jehovah.
And their father had given them great gifts of silver and of gold and of precious things, besides fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.
And their father had given them great gifts of silver and of gold and of precious things, besides fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.
who have been born, not of blood, nor of flesh's will, nor of man's will, but of God.
who have been born, not of blood, nor of flesh's will, nor of man's will, but of God.
Because whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren.
Because whom he has foreknown, he has also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brethren.
and again, when he brings in the firstborn into the habitable world, he says, And let all God's angels worship him.
and again, when he brings in the firstborn into the habitable world, he says, And let all God's angels worship him.
lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright;
lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright; for ye know that also afterwards, desiring to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, (for he found no place for repentance) although he sought it earnestly with tears.
for ye know that also afterwards, desiring to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, (for he found no place for repentance) although he sought it earnestly with tears.
the universal gathering; and to the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven; and to God, judge of all; and to the spirits of just men made perfect;
the universal gathering; and to the assembly of the firstborn who are registered in heaven; and to God, judge of all; and to the spirits of just men made perfect;
According to his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a certain first-fruits of his creatures.
According to his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a certain first-fruits of his creatures.
And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing upon mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written upon their foreheads.
And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing upon mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written upon their foreheads. And I heard a voice out of the heaven as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder. And the voice which I heard was as of harp-singers harping with their harps;
And I heard a voice out of the heaven as a voice of many waters, and as a voice of great thunder. And the voice which I heard was as of harp-singers harping with their harps; and they sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song save the hundred and forty-four thousand who were bought from the earth.
and they sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song save the hundred and forty-four thousand who were bought from the earth. These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins: these are they who follow the Lamb wheresoever it goes. These have been bought from men as first-fruits to God and to the Lamb:
These are they who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins: these are they who follow the Lamb wheresoever it goes. These have been bought from men as first-fruits to God and to the Lamb:
Hastings
Smith
the advantages accruing to the eldest son. These were not definitely fixed in patriarchal times. Great respect was paid to him in the household, and, as the family widened into a tribe, this grew into a sustained authority, undefined save by custom, in all matters of common interest. Thus the "princes" of the congregation had probably rights of primogeniture.
(Gradually the rights of the eldest son came to be more definite: (1) The functions of the priesthood in the family with the paternal blessing. (2) A "double portion" of the paternal property was allotted by the Mosaic law.
De 21:16-17
(3) The eldest son succeeded to the official authority of the father. The first-born of the king was his successor by law.
In all these Jesus was the first-born of the father.
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that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, the princes of the tribes, they that were over them that had been numbered, offered;
Well which princes digged, which the nobles of the people hollowed out at the word of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah;
And the name of the man of Israel that was slain, who was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, the prince of a father's house of the Simeonites.
then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn; but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
Watsons
BIRTHRIGHT, or PRIMOGENITURE, the right of the first-born or eldest son. The birthright, or right of primogeniture, had many privileges annexed to it. The first-born was consecrated to the Lord, Ex 22:29; had a double portion of the estate allotted him, De 21:17; had a dignity and authority over his brethren, Ge 49:3; succeeded in the government of the family or kingdom, 2Ch 21:3; and, as some with good reason suppose, in ancient times to the priesthood or chief government in matters, ecclesiastical. Jacob, having bought Esau's birthright, acquired a title to the particular blessing of his dying father; and, accordingly, he had consigned to him the privilege of the covenant which God made with Abraham, that from his loins the Messiah should spring; a prerogative which descended to his posterity. Reuben forfeited the blessings of his birthright, as we see by the express declaration of his father Jacob, in his benediction of his children, Ge 49:1, &c, for the crime of incest with his father's concubine, on account of which his tribe continued all along in obscurity; while the priesthood was conferred on Levi, the government on Judah, and the double portion on Joseph, to descend to their respective tribes. And this preeminence of the first born took place from the beginning, and as much belonged to Cain, before his forfeiture of it, as it did to Reuben before his. See Ge 4:7; 49:3. Thus the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, offered sacrifices, and were priests as well as kings in their respective families, Ge 12:7-8; 13:18; 17:7; 26:25; 31:54; 35:7. Job, in Arabia, acted in the same capacity, Job 1:5; and it is highly probable that, among the ancient Heathen nations in general, the first-born were entitled not only to the civil authority, but also to the priesthood. This seems to have been the case in Egypt, in the time of Moses: and hence Jehovah's destroying their first- born, as it was the last miracle wrought in that country before the Exodus, so was it the most dreadful, and most effectual in prevailing on Pharaoh and the Egyptians to dismiss the Israelites.
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If thou doest well, will not thy countenance look up with confidence? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him. And he removed thence towards the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel toward the west, and Ai toward the east; and there he built an altar to Jehovah, and called on the name of Jehovah.
Then Abram moved his tents, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron. And he built there an altar to Jehovah.
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee.
And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.
And Jacob offered a sacrifice upon the mountain, and invited his brethren to eat bread: and they ate bread, and lodged on the mountain.
And he built there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el; because there God had appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.
And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength.
Thou shalt not delay the fulness of thy threshing-floor and the outflow of thy winepress. The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
And their father had given them great gifts of silver and of gold and of precious things, besides fortified cities in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, for he was the firstborn.
And it was so, when the days of the feasting were gone about, that Job sent and hallowed them; and he rose up early in the morning, and offered up burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.