🔢WEB · Numbers 18:15
What does Numbers 18:15 mean?
"Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals."
— Numbers 18:15 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
“I have given to you all the best of the oil, and all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh.
The first-ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to Yahweh, shall be yours. Everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it.
“Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours.
Everything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to Yahweh, both of man and animal shall be yours. Nevertheless, you shall surely redeem the firstborn of man, and you shall redeem the firstborn of unclean animals.
You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of money, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which weighs twenty gerahs.
“But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
Their meat shall be yours, as the wave offering breast and as the right thigh, it shall be yours.
Explanation
Numbers 18:15 states that everything which "opens the womb" — meaning every firstborn offspring, whether human or animal, that is offered to Yahweh — belongs to the priests, in this case Aaron and his sons. However, the verse immediately qualifies this: the firstborn of humans must be redeemed, meaning bought back with a payment rather than actually given over to priestly service or sacrifice, and the same applies to the firstborn of unclean animals, which could not be offered on the altar.
This verse comes from a larger section of Numbers 18 in which Yahweh speaks to Aaron, laying out the rights and responsibilities of the priesthood. The book of Numbers records Israel's wilderness journey after the exodus from Egypt, and by this point God has established a clear structure for worship: the Levites assist in the tabernacle, while Aaron's line serves as priests. Numbers 18 addresses the priests' provision — since they receive no tribal land inheritance like the other tribes, God designates specific offerings, tithes, and firstborn animals as their means of support. The command to redeem firstborn sons and unclean animals echoes earlier instructions in Exodus 13 and 34, which commemorate the Passover, when God spared Israel's firstborn while striking down Egypt's firstborn. Because every firstborn Israelite technically belonged to God as a result of that deliverance, families were required to pay a redemption price (five shekels, per Numbers 18:16) to "buy back" their son rather than dedicate him to permanent tab
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