Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.
Because all the firstborn belong to me; for on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set apart for myself all the firstborn in Israel, both people and animals: they shall be mine: I am the LORD.
God is declaring that all firstborn Israelites belong to Him because He spared them during the final plague in Egypt when He killed the Egyptian firstborn.
📚 Historical Context
This verse refers back to the tenth and final plague God sent upon Egypt, when He killed all the firstborn sons and animals throughout Egypt but passed over the Israelite homes marked with lamb's blood. Because God spared the Israelite firstborn during this plague, He claimed them as His own special possession. This established the principle that the firstborn of Israel belonged to God and would serve Him in special ways.
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