The Death of the Firstborn: firstborn sons only, or firstborn sons and daughters?

Question

In the Passover story, in the Exodus, the tenth plague is the Death of the Firstborn. But did this apply to only the firstborn men and boys, or also to the firstborn women and girls? In the movie The Ten Commandments, it was both sexes. Exodus 11 in the NIV translation says "firstborn son", but the KJV says just "firstborn", and The Message "firstborn child". Perhaps some translations fell victim to sexist assumptions? What do you think? Can you back up your answer with scholarly proof or good logic?

Answer 1

Sons.
My scholarly logic and proof comes from a program I saw recently on the Histiry Channel.
In Egypt, it was common practice to have the family sleep on the roof, or second floor, but the forstborn sons were honored by having their sleeping chambers on the ground floor. They explained how methane gasses escape from cracks in the earth and flow along the ground like a creeping cloud, sort of like the "fog" on Cecil B. DeMille's "10 Commandments" movie. This gas killed the firstborn male children, and seeped away before anyone noticed it, and that's how only the firstborn sons were killed.

Answer 2

Just firstborn, it even included their animals. Exodus 12:29 And it came about that at midnight Jehovah struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on the throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the prison hole, and every firstborn of beast.

Answer 3

I think it was the firstborn sons. Wow! For once there is something in the bible that makes it not suck to be a female! Woot! Go Passover!

Answer 4

It was the firstborn sons..