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Please explain: Does the firstborn refer to son or male of the beasts only? Or does it mean the first child of the family regardless of gender? What happened if the family has no male children? Exodus 11:5, 13:12, 15
Exodus 11:5 “And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.”
The word ‘firstborn’ in these verses refer only to the first male offspring, because of the following reasons:
a. The purpose of the 10th plague was stated in Exodus 4:22,23 – “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”
b. Only males could be used as the Passover lamb to protect the home. Exodus 12:5 – “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.”
c. The Hebrew word for firstborn used in these verses is ‘bekor’ which is masculine in gender. The feminine form of the word is ‘bekiyrah’ which is used only in Genesis 19:31-37 for the firstborn daughter of Lot, in Genesis 29:26 for Leah, the firstborn daughter of Laban, and in 1 Samuel 14:49 for Merab, the firstborn daughter of Saul.
d. Because the firstborn of Israel were saved, the Israelites were to devote their firstborn to the Lord. However, only the males were thus devoted and redeemed: Exodus 13:15 – “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.” (see also Exodus 34:20; Numbers 3:43-45)
This implies that Egyptian families that had no male children suffered no deaths in the 10th plague! But why were only the firstborn sons targeted in the 10th plague? This is due to the fact that the firstborn son was considered to be the father’s ‘beginning of strength.’ (Genesis 49:3; Psalm 78:51; 105:36) The firstborn son inherited a double portion of his father’s estate (Deuteronomy 21:16,17) while the other sons received a single portion each.
Daughters received no portion. However in cases where a man had no sons but daughters, his daughters would inherit equal portions of their father’s estate. (Numbers 27:7,8).
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