Rights of the Firstborn
Deuteronomy 21:15-17
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Deu.21.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- תהיין: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- לאיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שתי: NUM,card,f,du
- נשים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- האחת: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אהובה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- והאחת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,def
- שנואה: ADJ,f,sg
- וילדו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- האהובה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- והשנואה: CONJ+ADJ,f,sg,def
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- הבן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הבכור: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לשניאה: PREP+ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 1:2 (verbal): Same household situation phrased nearly identically (a man with two wives, one loved and one hated) — a close verbal echo of the Deuteronomic scenario.
- Genesis 29:31–30:24 (thematic): Jacob’s marriages to Rachel and Leah (Rachel loved, Leah less loved) and the contrasting patterns of childbearing: a prominent narrative example of loved/hated wives affecting family dynamics and birth order.
- Deuteronomy 21:16–17 (structural): Immediate legal continuation of v.15 in the same pericope, specifying that the firstborn of the hated wife must not be deprived of his birthright — direct legal application of the situation posed in v.15.
- Genesis 25:28 (thematic): Isaac’s favoritism for Esau and Rebekah’s for Jacob illustrates parental partiality between children of different mothers, echoing the theme of familial preference and its consequences.
Alternative generated candidates
- If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other hated, and they bear him sons—the beloved and the hated—and the firstborn is the son of the hated,
- If a man has two wives, one loved and one hated, and they bear him sons, the loved and the hated, and the firstborn is the son of the hated,
Deu.21.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- הנחילו: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- בניו: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- את: PRT,acc
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- יוכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- לבכר: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האהובה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השנואה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- הבכר: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 25:29–34 (thematic): Parental favoritism and the contested rights of the firstborn: Esau is loved by Isaac while Jacob is favored by Rebekah; Esau sells his birthright, illustrating disputes over primogeniture that Deut.21:16 seeks to regulate.
- Genesis 27:1–40 (structural): Jacob receives the blessing intended for Esau (the elder) by deception; this narrative contrasts with the legal prohibition in Deut.21:16 against preferring a younger beloved son over the true firstborn.
- Genesis 48:5–20 (verbal): Jacob deliberately gives Ephraim (the younger) precedence over Manasseh (the elder) when adopting them as his heirs—an example of an authoritative override of normal primogeniture, which serves as a counterpoint to Deut.21:16’s rule.
- Malachi 1:2–3 (verbal): Uses the language of 'I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau'—the same loved/hated contrast found in Deut.21:16—highlighting how the vocabulary of familial preference appears elsewhere in the canon, often in theological or covenantal contexts.
- Romans 9:10–13 (quotation): Paul quotes Malachi ('Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated') to discuss divine election; this New Testament use echoes the loved/hated wording and shows how the motif of preferential status between brothers is reinterpreted theologically beyond family-inheritance law.
Alternative generated candidates
- then on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons he shall not be able to make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the true firstborn.
- on the day he assigns his possessions to his sons—what he has—he must not give the right of the firstborn to the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the hated, who is the firstborn.
Deu.21.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- הבכר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השנואה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- יכיר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לתת: VERB,qal,inf
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- פי: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ימצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ראשית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אנו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- משפט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הבכרה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 48:22 (verbal): Jacob explicitly gives Ephraim a larger share than his brothers (a double/greater portion) and treats him as holding firstborn privilege — a direct parallel to the Deuteronomic rule granting the firstborn a double portion.
- Genesis 25:31-34 (thematic): The sale of Esau’s birthright to Jacob highlights the substantive meaning of the birthright (preeminence and the double portion of inheritance) that Deut.21:17 protects for the acknowledged firstborn.
- Genesis 49:3-4 (verbal): In Jacob’s blessing Reuben is called the ‘firstborn, my might, the beginning of my strength’ — language closely echoing Deut.21:17’s rationale that the firstborn is ‘the beginning of his strength’ and thus entitled to the birthright.
- 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 (thematic): The Chronicler records Reuben’s forfeiture of preeminence and the transfer of firstborn rights to Joseph/Manasseh, illustrating how the rights and privileges of the firstborn (including inheritance priority/double portion) function in Israelite tradition, the same legal concern in Deut.21:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
- But he must acknowledge the firstborn son of the hated wife and give him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.
If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other hated, and they bear him sons, the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn is the son of the hated,
on the day he apportions to his sons the estate that he has, he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn in preference to the son of the hated, who is the firstborn. But he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the firstborn—his birthright belongs to him.