Tag Archives: First-born Sons

God Defines More Laws (Exodus 22)

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Bible Summary:

  1. Stealing sheep or cows can result in restitution up to five times the loss, and the thief can be sold as a slave if he cannot pay.
  2. A homeowner is innocent of killing a burglar at night, but guilty of murder if done during the day.
  3. If an animal strays and eats someone’s crops, the owner must repay the loss.
  4. If a fire gets out of control and destroys a neighbor’s crops, the fire starter must pay for the damages.
  5. If the money a man holds for another is stolen, he must make an oath at the place of worship that he did not steal it or face the penalty for stealing.
  6. If a man cares for another’s animals and they are stolen, he must repay the owner.
  7. If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, he must pay the bride price for her, even if the father refuses to allow him to marry her.
  8. Put to death, any woman practicing magic, any man having sex with animals, and anyone offering sacrifice to another god.
  9. Do not mistreat foreigners, widows or orphans.
  10. If you lend money to the poor, do not collect interest.
  11. All disputes are to be resolved at the place of worship.
  12. Do not speak evil of God.
  13. Do not curse the leader of your people.
  14. Give offerings of grain, wine, and olive oil when they are due.
  15. Give God your first-born sons, cattle, and sheep.

My Thoughts:

More Laws: These laws from 3500 years ago were likely the basis for our laws today.

Supporting Organized Religion: I believe this story announces the beginning of organized religion. All disputes are to be resolved at the place of worship, which were headed up by Moses’ appointed judges. People were to support these “priests” with regular offerings of grain, wine and olive oil.

First-born Interpretation: I do not read the first-born law literally, as in sacrificing them, but as giving the first-born sons into the priesthood and the animals for food.

Moses Warns of First-born Sons (Ex 11)

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Bible Summary:

God tells Moses he is sending his last punishment on Egypt and to tell the people of Israel to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver jewelry. Moses warns the king of Egypt that at midnight every first-born son in Egypt will die, from the heir to the throne down to the animals. But, the king still refuses to let the Israelites leave his country.

My Thoughts:

Negotiator: The idea that Moses existed and negotiated the release of the Israelites must be true. Why else would the Egyptians, who had kept the Hebrews as slaves for 430 years, allow them to leave, even if there had been a volcano-induced plague (see last bible study post)? If anything, the Egyptians would have forced the slaves to clean up all the dead animals and get back to work.

The plague must have impacted the Egyptians who lived along the Nile more than the Israelites who lived on the eastern part of the delta in Goshen. Moses could have taken this opportunity to free his people.

The story of Moses growing up as part of the royal family must be true as well, since he had the nerve to negotiate the release. As a slave, he would have never had the courage stand up to the royal family. Any way you look at it, the events in Egypt were truly miracles how they played out exactly as it needed to free the Israelites.

Stubborn King: Why in the world would the king sacrifice the first-born sons of Egypt, including his own, after Moses proved God could make it happen with all of the other plagues, darkness, and hail? By this time in Egypt’s history, the king had come from a long line of powerful Pharaohs who believed they were gods. So, either the king was arrogant enough to challenge the first-born warning or this is an embellished story of a plague that wiped out many people, especially the young, including the important first-born sons.

Okay, even after all my scientific theory about the events around the release of the Israelite, I still like the bible miracle story better.