Deuteronomy 15:19

All the firstling males that come of thy herd, or of thy flock, thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God,.... According to the law in Exodus 13:2.

All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.

With the firstling of thy bullock: this is meant, either, 1. Of the male firstlings; which, they say, is forbidden here, because some did plough with the firstlings of their oxen, and shear the firstlings of their sheep, before they were offered. But this seems absurd and incredible, because they were to be offered on the eighth day, , when they were very unfit for such uses. Or rather, 2. The second firstlings, of which see on .

(19) All the firstling males. . . . thou shalt sanctify—i.e., recognise them as the property of Jehovah by not using them for ordinary purposes. In Leviticus 27:26 we read, “No man shall sanctify it”—i.e., shall make it the subject of a special vow or dedication, because it already belongs to Jehovah. This is the only interpretation consistent with the context in Leviticus; for Deuteronomy 27 deals entirely with “voluntary” offerings, which are in a sense outside the Law. (See Notes at the commencement of Deuteronomy 28, 29).

19–23. Of Firstlings All male firstlings of herd and flock are to be sanctified to Jehovah; those of the ox shall not work nor those of the sheep be shorn; their flesh shall be eaten before the Lord by the offerer and his household at the One Altar year by year (Deuteronomy 15:9 f.). A blemished firstling shall not be sacrificed, but eaten at home under the conditions laid down (Deuteronomy 12:20 ff.) for the profane slaughter and eating of animals (Deuteronomy 15:21-23).—Sg. throughout. Steuern. takes Deuteronomy 15:21 and Deuteronomy 15:22 f. as probably later additions on the ground that the former is covered by Deuteronomy 17:1, the latter by Deuteronomy 12:22 ff. But their repetition in this law is pertinent to its central purpose. For reasons why the law is placed just here see below on Deuteronomy 15:20. The earliest law on firstlings is found in variant forms in J, Exodus 13:11-16; Exodus 34:19 f. and E, Exodus 22:2 f. (see the notes in Driver’s Exod. 108, 235, 370 ff. with comparative table). These enjoin the passing over or giving to the Lord of all firstborn males, both human and animal; those of men and ‘unclean’ animals (i.e. unfit for sacrifice) may be redeemed. D does not give so full a law on the subject, for his only intention is to adapt the practice enjoined in these earlier laws to the new conditions in which sacrifice is lawful only at the one shrine. Hence he says nothing of the firstborn of men or of unclean beasts. And hence he omits the provision in Exodus 22:29 f, that the firstlings of ox and sheep were to be taken from the dam after seven days and on the eighth given to the Lord; because, while this was practicable when there were many local shrines, it is no longer so when there is to be one altar. Hence also he substitutes the general direction that the offerings are to be made year by year. No more clear illustration could be afforded of the fact that D’s code was not intended as a complete legislation, but that its motive was simply to modify earlier codes or the consuetudinary laws of Israel to the new situation brought about by its central law of one sanctuary.—P’s law on the subject, Numbers 18:15-18, is similar to the others; but adds that the flesh of the firstlings of oxen, sheep and goats shall be the perquisite of the priests: an injunction irreconcileable with D’s, that it is to be enjoyed by the offerer and his family, and indicative, like so much else in P, of the growing power of the priesthood to absorb what had previously been the rights of the laity.

Compare Exodus 13:11 ff. The directions of the preceding legislation (see Numbers 18:15 ff) are here assumed, with the injunction added, that the animals thus set apart to God Deuteronomy 15:19 were

19-23. The firstling males — The firstborn of the herd and flock, if males, were to be set apart — not used for ordinary purposes — to be devoted to the service of Jehovah.