They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. ¹  The men looked at each other in astonishment. ² 

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.

Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

“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 

“Look, ¹  I myself have taken the Levites from among the Israelites instead of ²  every firstborn who opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites belong to me,

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Number all the firstborn males of the Israelites from a month old and upward, and take ¹  the number of their names.

And all the firstborn males, by the number of the names from a month old and upward, totaled 22,273.

Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The Reubenites: from ¹  Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; from Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

Now the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them; the Lord also executed judgments on their gods.

He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on! ¹  Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, ²  because he was still young.

The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba.

The sons of Caleb, Jerahmeel’s brother: His firstborn Mesha, the father of Ziph, and his second son Mareshah, ¹  the father of Hebron.

Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.

Though Judah was the strongest among his brothers and a leader descended from him, ¹  the right of the firstborn belonged to Joseph.)

Azel had six sons: Azrikam his firstborn, ¹  followed by Ishmael, Sheariah, ²  Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.

(just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male ¹  will be set apart to the Lord” ² ),

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, ¹  so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.

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.

We also accept responsibility, as is written in the law, for bringing the firstborn of our sons and our cattle and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks to the temple of our God, to the priests who are ministering in the temple of our God.

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ¹  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ²