Deuteronomy 21:17

21:17 Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved ¹  wife as firstborn and give him the double portion ²  of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power ³  – to him should go the right of the firstborn.

Deuteronomy 30:20

30:20 I also call on you ⁴  to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually ⁵  in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

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¹ tn See note on the word “other” in v. 15.

² tn Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (piy shÿnayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31-34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8-22).

³ tn Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ’on; cf. HALOT 22 s.v.). Cf. NAB “the first fruits of his manhood”; NRSV “the first issue of his virility.”

⁴ tn The words “I also call on you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20 are one long sentence, which the translation divides into two.

⁵ tn Heb “he is your life and the length of your days to live.”