Firstborn

FIRSTBORN. - Every male that was the first birth (Heb. bēkhār, whose synonym is pēter rēhem, rendered exactly by the Vulgate as "qui aperit vulvam"), man or animal, was sacred to the Lord in the Mosaic Law (Ex. 13:2, 12, 15; 22:29 ff.; 34:19 ff.). This consecration was linked to the destruction of the Egyptian firstborn (ibid. 13:14 ff.; Num. 3:13; 8:17).

Exodus contemplates the possibility of the redemption of the firstborn of a donkey, by means of the sacrifice of a lamb (Ex. 13:12 ff.; 34:20). Leviticus (27:27) prescribes the redemption of every unclean animal according to the priest's assessment; the price is assigned to the sanctuary. In Num. 18:15-19 Yahweh transfers all his rights over the firstborn to the priests, to whom they belong entirely; an adaptation, it seems, later than Deut. 15:19-23 itself, where the flesh of the firstborn offered in a peace sacrifice was consumed, for their allotted portion, by the offerers themselves. Deuteronomy (ibid.) adapts the legislation of the desert to the new condition of Israel in Canaan. Thus, whereas in Ex. 22:29 the immolation of the firstborn was prescribed for the eighth day after birth, in Deuteronomy it must be carried out during the first year, for example, on the occasion of a pilgrimage to the single sanctuary. The firstborn, being sacred to Yahweh, cannot in the meantime be used for field work or subjected to shearing. The Mishnaic treatise Bēkhōrōth offers the Jewish interpretations and determinations on this law.

For human firstborn Yahweh sanctioned redemption (Ex. 13:13; 34:20) fixed at 5 silver shekels (Num. 3:47; 18:15 ff.); the substitution of the Levites, at the time of their establishment, took the place of redemption for an equal number of Israelite firstborn (Num. 3:11 ff., 41-51). On that occasion, the Lord assigned the sum of the redemption to the priests, who along with the Levites were exempt from that law. The firstborn of animals had to be immolated to Yahweh if clean, killed if unclean.

There is no obligation in the Tōrāh to present human firstborn at the Temple for redemption; this practice prevailed after the exile (Neh. 10:36); and advantage was taken of the visit to the Temple that the mother had to make (Lev. 12:2-8), for the other law of purification. The Most Holy Virgin conformed to the pious practice in force (Lk. 2:22). The Jews remained faithful to the prescription of the redemption of the firstborn even after the destruction of the Temple. On the 31st day after birth, the parents invited a priest to the banquet and gave him the 5 shekels. Jesus is called the firstborn of Mary (ibid. 2:7) according to Jewish usage, which takes no account at all of the birth of other children (cf. St. Jerome, Contra Helvidium, 101); this is confirmed by the use of πρωτότοκος in the inscription found in 1922 near Tell el-Jebudijjah in Egypt. In polygamy there could be several firstborn; the firstborn, in relation to the father, "firstfruits of his strength" (Gen. 49:3; Deut. 21:17), in ancient families held a place of privilege over his brothers; he inherited a double portion and the father's place as head of the lineage; a privilege that could be lost (Esau, Reuben) or transferred by the father to another son (Deut. 21:15 ff.). For this right (Heb. bēkhōrōth) cf. Gen. 25:31-34; 27:36; 43:33, etc.; Hebr. 12:16: τὰ πρωτοτόκια. Firstborn were the object of the greatest affection (cf. Gen. 22:2, 12, 16; Ios. 6:26; II Reg. 3:27; Zach. 12:10). God therefore calls Israel "his firstborn" (Ex. 4:22 ff.; Eccli. 36:14; cf. Ier. 31:9). And "beloved son" (Lk. 20:13: ἀγαπητός) is equivalent to only son (Mc. 12:6: cf. M.-J. Lagrange, Ev. selon st Luc, 3rd ed., Paris 1927, p. 509).

Francesco Spadafora