Exodus 13:15

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

and it happened, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of animal. Therefore I sacrifice to Yahweh all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'

World English Bible · Public Domain

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פֶּ֤טֶר

peṭer

H6363

“firstborn of”

Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct

Appears 12× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Exodus 13:2

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H6362

TWOT: 1764a , 1764b

firstborn, firstling, that which separates or first opens

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

29: words
23: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is פֶּ֤טֶר firstborn H6363 — appearing just 12 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

פֶּ֤טֶר firstborn H6363 occurs in 10 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

6 verbs
18 nouns
1 pronoun
2 prepositions
1 conjunction
1 particle

Verb forms

וַיְהִ֗י Qal · Sequential Imperfect
הִקְשָׁ֣ה Hiphil · Perfect
לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ֒ Piel · Infinitive Construct
וַיַּהֲרֹ֨ג Qal · Sequential Imperfect
זֹבֵ֜חַ Qal · Participle Active
אֶפְדֶּֽה Qal · Imperfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

בְּכוֹר֙ firstborn H1060 ×4
כָּל all H3605 ×3
יְהֹוָ֤ה LORD H3068 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 52 words from the Hebrew and 56 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 29 Hebrew tokens and 38 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Exodus 13:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 12:29 It happened at midnight, that Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Exodus 13:15 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַיְהִ֗י כִּֽי הִקְשָׁ֣ה פַרְעֹה֮ לְשַׁלְּחֵנוּ֒ וַיַּהֲרֹ֨ג יְהֹוָ֤ה כָּל בְּכוֹר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם מִבְּכֹ֥ר אָדָ֖ם וְעַד בְּכ֣וֹר בְּהֵמָ֑ה עַל כֵּן֩ אֲנִ֨י זֹבֵ֜חַ לַֽיהוָ֗ה כָּל פֶּ֤טֶר רֶ֨חֶם֙ הַזְּכָרִ֔ים וְכָל בְּכ֥וֹר בָּנַ֖י אֶפְדֶּֽה

and it happened, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of animal. Therefore I sacrifice to Yahweh all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.'

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Exodus 13:15 Septuagint · lemma form

ἡνίκα δέ σκληρύνω φαραώ ἐκ ἀποστέλλω ἐγώ ἀποκτείνω πᾶς πρωτότοκος ἐν γῆ αἴγυπτος ἀπό πρωτότοκος ἄνθρωπος ἕως πρωτότοκος κτῆνος διά οὗτος ἐγώ θύω ὁ κύριος πᾶς δια ἀναοἴγω μήτρα ὁ ἀρσενικός καί πᾶς πρωτότοκος ὁ υἱός ἐγώ λυτρόω

And when Pharao hardened his heart so as not to send us away, he killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast; therefore do I sacrifice every offspring that opens the womb, the males to the Lord, and every firstborn of my sons I will redeem.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וַהֲוָה אֲרֵי אַקְשֵׁי פַרְעֹה לְשַׁלָחוּתָנָא וּקְטַל יְיָ כָּל בּוּכְרָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרַיִם מִבּוּכְרָא דַאֲנָשָׁא וְעַד בּוּכְרָא דִבְעִירָא עַל כֵּן אֲנָא דָבַח קֳדָם יְיָ כָּל פָּתַח וַלְדָא דִכְרִין וְכָל בּוּכְרָא דִבְנַי אֶפְרוֹק:

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וַהֲוָה כַּד אַקְשֵׁי מֵימְרָא דַיְיָ יַת לִבָּא דְפַרְעה לְמִפְטְרָנָא וְקָטַל יְיָ כָּל בּוּכְרָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרַיִם מִן בּוּכְרָא דְּאֵינָשָׁא וְעַד בּוּכְרָא דִבְעִירָא בְּגִין כֵּן אֲנָא דַבַּח קֳדָם יְיָ כָּל פְּתַח וַולְדָא דוּכְרַיָיא וְכָל בּוּכְרָא דִבְרַיי אֶפְרוֹק בְּכַסְפָּא

And when the Word of the Lord had hardened the heart of Pharoh (that be would) not deliver us, he killed all the firstborn in the land of Mizraim, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of cattle; therefore do I sacrifice before the Lord every male that openeth the womb, and every firstborn of my sons I redeem with silver.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Exodus 13:15 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Exo 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.

Ver. 15. Would hardly let us go.] Heb., Was hard to send us away, He had as leave have been knocked on the head almost as have done it. It was morely extorted, as sour juice is wrung out of a crab apple. It was an honest prayer of an ancient, Domine duc me quo non volo.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

15. would hardly, &c.] Heb. dealt hardly in letting us go (or made it hard to let us go), i.e. made difficulties in letting us go: cf., for the Heb., Gen_35:16.

that Jehovah slew, &c.] cf. Num_3:13; Num_8:17 (P).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go,.... Showed great reluctance to it, and with difficulty was prevailed upon to dismiss them:

that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of men, and the firstborn of beast: which he did in one night, making use of a destroying angel or angels for that purpose:

therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth thee matrix, being males; that is, the firstborn of all clean creatures, as oxen, sheep, and goats:

but all the firstborn of my children I redeem; by paying five shekels apiece to the priest for them, as before observed; and this law continues to be observed with the Jews; the manner of which, as related by Leo Modena (i), is as follows,"Thirty days being expired after the birth of the child, they call a priest to them; that is to say, one that is descended of the stock of Aaron, whom the father of the child pleaseth; and so, many people being gathered together at the time appointed, the father of the child bringeth before the priest, in a bowl or basin, a good quantity of gold and silver, and then they give him the child into his arms; the priest then calling the mother of it before him, saith unto her, mistress, is this your son? she answereth, yes; then, replies he, have you never had any child before, either male or female, or have miscarried anyone? she saith unto him, no; then doth the priest say, this child is mine, as being the firstborn; then turning himself toward the father, he asketh him, whether he will redeem it or not? who answereth him, saying, see, here is gold and silver, take your own price; then saith the priest unto him, you will redeem it then? the father answereth, I will redeem it; it shall be so then, saith the priest, this child is mine as being the firstborn, as it is written, Num 18:16. I therefore take this in exchange, &c. and so he takes the sum of two French crowns, or thereabout, as he thinks good, and then delivers the child to his father and mother, and this day they make a feasting day.''This custom was used in Christ's time, and was observed with respect to him, Luk 2:27.

(i) History of the Jews, par. 4. c. 9. sect. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Hardened. Hebrew, "by himself," or by his own malice. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Pulpit Commentary

When Pharaoh would hardly let us go. Bather, "when Pharaoh hardened himself against letting us go." At his last interview with Moses, Pharaoh had absolutely refused to let them go with their cattle, (Exo_10:24-27) and Moses had absolutely refused to go without them. I sacrifice all that openeth the womb, being males. And being clean animals. The common sense of the reader or hearer, is expected to supply the restriction. Of my children. Rather, as in verse 13, "of my sons."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Exodus, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 29 words (23 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is peṭer (“firstborn”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word peṭer carries the sense “firstborn.” How does it shape the verse?
Exodus 13:2 shares the word «firstborn» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“firstborn” occurs 4× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
The verb «וַיְהִ֗י» is Qal Sequential Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 29 Hebrew ↔ 38 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 29 words in this verse.
“firstborn” occurs 4× in this single verse.
23 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 29 words in this verse.