For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
For all the firstborn among the people of Israel belong to me, both people and animals. On the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, I set them apart as holy for myself.
God is declaring that all firstborn Israelites belong to Him because He saved them when He killed Egypt's firstborn during the final plague.
📚 Historical Context
This verse refers back to the tenth plague in Egypt when God killed all the firstborn in Egypt but spared the Israelites who had marked their doorposts with lamb's blood during the first Passover. Because God saved the Israelite firstborn from death, they now belonged to Him in a special way. This principle was part of establishing the Levites as God's chosen tribe to serve in the tabernacle instead of requiring every firstborn to serve.
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