What Does Exodus 34:20 Mean in the King James?
But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
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 “firstling” is the womb’s opener, and this verse gives that opening a stark choice: a lamb’s ransom or a broken neck.
THE MEANING
The verse places you before a stark rule: a donkey’s firstling is either redeemed with a lamb or killed by a broken neck, while the sons are redeemed. Its closing line addresses your approach to God now: no one appears empty.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that one can appear before God with nothing given: the verse says no one appears empty.
THE ROOT
פֶּטֶר
petter
GROWS FROM
פטר
To open or release; פֶּטֶר names the one that opens the womb.
English “firstling” foregrounds rank, but פֶּטֶר (petter) names the womb’s opener. Its פטר root also carries the sense of opening and release, while this verse makes the first opening costly: ransom it with a lamb, or break its neck.
ALSO GROWS
pāṭar: To open, release, or let go.
פָּטַר
It shares the consonants פטר and brings the firstling into view as an opening event.
pāṭūr: Released or exempt from an obligation.
פָּטוּר
This derived form carries the sense of release; in this verse, the animal’s release from the claim on the firstborn comes at a cost.
תִּפְדֶּה
tipdeh
GROWS FROM
פדה
To redeem or ransom; to secure release through a price or substitute.
“redeem” in this verse is tipdeh. The verb פדה repeats for both the donkey and the sons, using the same root for animal and human redemption. The lamb named here makes that ransom concrete.
ALSO GROWS
pōdeh: One who redeems or ransoms.
פֹּדֶה
This active form shares the root’s consonants and names the agent who secures the redemption.
nipdāh: He is or was redeemed.
נִפְדָּה
This form shares the root’s consonants and shows the other side of the verse’s action: the one released through ransom.
THE PATTERN
What opens first belongs to God; redemption and offerings make that claim visible, and no approach is empty.
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.Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)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.The Hebrew פֶּטֶר (petter, “womb-opener”) recurs here, and פדה (pādâ, “redeem”) governs both the donkey and the sons. The echo shows why the closing line belongs to the same structure: what opens first is claimed, and its passage is marked by redemption or death.
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