Discovery BoxExodus 13:2 
Context13:2 “Set apart 1 to me every firstborn male – the first offspring of every womb 2 among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.” 3
Exodus 21:10
Context21:10 If he takes another wife, 4 he must not diminish the first one’s food, 5 her clothing, or her marital rights. 6
Exodus 26:25
Context26:25 So there are to be eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under the first frame, and two bases under the next frame.
Exodus 28:17
Context28:17 You are to set in it a setting for stones, four rows of stones, a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl – the first row;
Exodus 39:10
Context39:10 They set on it 7 four rows of stones: a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl – the first row;
1 tn The verb “sanctify” is the Piel imperative of קָדַשׁ (qadash). In the Qal stem it means “be holy, be set apart, be distinct,” and in this stem “sanctify, set apart.”
sn Here is the central principle of the chapter – the firstborn were sacred to God and must be “set apart” (the meaning of the verb “sanctify”) for his use.
2 tn The word פֶּטֶּר (petter) means “that which opens”; this construction literally says, “that which opens every womb,” which means “the first offspring of every womb.” Verses 12 and 15 further indicate male offspring.
3 tn Heb “to me it.” The preposition here expresses possession; the construction is simply “it [is, belongs] to me.”
4 tn “wife” has been supplied.
5 tn The translation of “food” does not quite do justice to the Hebrew word. It is “flesh.” The issue here is that the family she was to marry into is wealthy, they ate meat. She was not just to be given the basic food the ordinary people ate, but the fine foods that this family ate.
6 sn See S. Paul, “Exodus 21:10, A Threefold Maintenance Clause,” JNES 28 (1969): 48-53. Paul suggests that the third element listed is not marital rights but ointments since Sumerian and Akkadian texts list food, clothing, and oil as the necessities of life. The translation of “marital rights” is far from certain, since the word occurs only here. The point is that the woman was to be cared for with all that was required for a woman in that situation.
7 tn That is, they set in mountings.
