What Does Exodus 22:29 Mean in the King James?
Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse joins the first yield of the field and the firstborn of the womb under one claim: neither is to be held back.
THE MEANING
The first yield of field and vine is not to be delayed, and the firstborn son is expressly named as given to God. The verse places produce, wine, and a human firstborn under the same uncompromising claim of firstness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The first and most valuable can be kept back until everything else feels secure.
THE ROOT
בְּכוֹר
bekhor
GROWS FROM
בכר
בכר (b-k-r; bakar): to be firstborn, to break forth first.
The verse names the harvest as fullness and vintage, but its word for firstborn belongs to the same root family as בִּכּוּרִים (bikkurim, firstfruits). Hebrew holds the womb’s first yield and the field’s first yield close together: the claim reaches life, not only produce.
ALSO GROWS
bikkurim: firstfruits, first produce
בִּכּוּרִים
This branch links firstborn to the first yield of a harvest, bringing womb and field into one family of firstness.
bekhorah: birthright, firstborn status
בְּכוֹרָה
The root names more than sequence; the firstborn also carries a distinct standing and portion.
תְאַחֵר
te'acher
GROWS FROM
אחר
אחר (ʾ-ḥ-r; achar): to be behind, come after, or be late.
At root, delay is being after or behind. The verse’s force is not mere punctuality: it refuses to move what is first into the after.
ALSO GROWS
achar: after, behind
אַחַר
The root makes delay a placing of the required first yield behind something else.
acharon: last, latter
אַחֲרוֹן
The same root can name what comes last, showing how postponement moves the first toward the end.
THE PATTERN
The first portion is claimed as the representative beginning of the whole that follows.
Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.THE THREAD
And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.This verse repeats the בכר (b-k-r, firstborn) root and makes the human firstborn’s disposition explicit: the child is to be redeemed. It opens the claim in Exodus 22:29 further by showing redemption as the answer given for the firstborn of a person.
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