Can someone explain to me Exodus 22:29-30?

Question

You must give me the firstborn of your sons. Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.

Answer 1

It's a dedication. You acknowledge that what has been given to you is a gift from the Lord. You then promise that your firstborn will be used for His purposes and pass on the blessing of His Words and truth accordingly.

Answer 2

Exodus 22 Commentary

Answer 3

Exodus
29 "You shall not delay to offer the first of your ripe produce and your juices. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. 30 Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

In Egypt, the firstborn of the Egyptian died, so there was something special about every firstborn child

Ex 13:2 - Show Context
"Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."

As god created, it is like with the lamb and sheep, god created them in the first place and giving them back is just a sign of graditude in return.

Answer 4

Respect for God's holiness also implies keeping basic rules such as the tithe and the firstborn offering because these are things that he rightfully owns and are thus due him automatically. Withholding these from him represents a direct act of defiance, an open (to him even if not to others) refusal to cooperate with his covenant by keeping from him those things that directly show that he is the sovereign and that all things belong to him. Any Israelite might be tempted to keep back offerings or payments to God of any sort, just as people today tend to make religious and charitable offerings from what they regard as their discretionary (leftover) income rather than even placing such giving in the same category as mortgage or car payments—let alone giving them the highest priority of all. God can seem less demanding, less threatening, more "distant," more forgiving than the tax collector or the lending institution, and what is owed him can therefore end up being treated as secondary to what is owed to others. Note also the stern reminder in 30:15 relative to bringing tithes and offerings to the central sanctuary at the annual feast times. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed" (23:15).

The firstborn males of all humans and animals were God's. Did he actually expect that these would be given over to him in their infancy? Yes and no. Only those animals suitable for sacrificing (lambs, goat kids, calves, etc.) were actually received at the tabernacle and slaughtered, cooked, and eaten (or dedicated entirely to God as whole burnt offerings). The firstborn male offspring of all other animals and humans were to be redeemed instead, bought back from God by the payment of a price that substituted for their lives.

Answer 5

"So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak." Gen. 32:24. Jacob was wrestling with an angel of God. Angels represent God's will exactly as he wants it, so someone talking with an angel would not differentiate between an angel and God (the authority is the same). Also, in Gen. 32:30 it was Jacob that said he had seen the face of God, it was not God that said this. Jacob had seen an angel's face, which of course happens many times in the Bible. In Exodus, it was God that said no one can see his face - the difference.

Answer 6

"You shall not delay giving the fullness of your crops and the juices of your vintage. You shall give to Me the first-born of your sons. So you shall do to your oxen, to your sheep: it shall be seven days with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me. "
Looks pretty self-explanatory to me. Don't offer second-rate stuff to God. As for the "first-born of your sons", this is not a sacrifice, but devoting them to serving God (cf. Exodus 13:2).

Answer 7

Exo 22:29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
Exo 22:30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.


The Jews were expected to present to God from of the first of their harvest, the herds, and their sons. The fruit was used to feed the priest and others who worked in the temple. The first born of their flock of sheep or cattle were offered when they were eight days old. They were butchered, and some of the parts not edible were burned as an offering to God. The rest was given to priest as food.

As they son, at eight days of age, were "given" to God through the act of circumcision. You will see an example of this in Luke 2, where at eight days of age Jesus was taken to the temple and "given to God" in circumcision.

Today, few people raise their own food and cattle, so instead money is given to support the priest and others who work in the "temple". Also children when still infants are still "given" to God in a dedication or baptism.

Answer 8

Israelites were tithed.
They were suppose to give a tenth of all produce to the temple.
They were to also dedicate their first-born child to God ....meaning, he was reserved for temple work.

Answer 9

Sounds to me like that would be a ceremonial of blessings. A dedication of sorts. Sort of like the baptismal ceremony.
No, I don't think they were talking about sacrificing children to God, if that's what you are trying to imply.

Answer 10

Burnt offerings.