Keluaran 13:2

13:2 “Set apart ¹  to me every firstborn male – the first offspring of every womb ²  among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.” ³ 

Bilangan 8:16-17

8:16 For they are entirely given ⁴  to me from among the Israelites. I have taken them for myself instead of ⁵  all who open the womb, the firstborn sons of all the Israelites. 8:17 For all the firstborn males among the Israelites are mine, both humans and animals; when I destroyed ⁶  all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I set them apart for myself.

Lukas 2:23

2:23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male ⁷  will be set apart to the Lord” ⁸ ),

[13:2]  ¹ tn The verb “sanctify” is the Piel imperative of קָדַשׁ (qadash). In the Qal stem it means “be holy, be set apart, be distinct,” and in this stem “sanctify, set apart.”

[13:2]  sn Here is the central principle of the chapter – the firstborn were sacred to God and must be “set apart” (the meaning of the verb “sanctify”) for his use.

[13:2]  ² tn The word פֶּטֶּר (petter) means “that which opens”; this construction literally says, “that which opens every womb,” which means “the first offspring of every womb.” Verses 12 and 15 further indicate male offspring.

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “to me it.” The preposition here expresses possession; the construction is simply “it [is, belongs] to me.”

[8:16]  ⁴ tn As before, the emphasis is obtained by repeating the passive participle: “given, given to me.”

[8:16]  ⁵ tn Or “as substitutes” for all the firstborn of the Israelites.

[8:17]  ⁶ tn The idiomatic “on the day of” precedes the infinitive construct of נָכָה (nakhah) to form the temporal clause: “in the day of my striking…” becomes “when I struck.”

[2:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “every male that opens the womb” (an idiom for the firstborn male).

[2:23]  ⁸ sn An allusion to Exod 13:2, 12, 15.