Deuteronomy 21:17

But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
acknowledge	יַכִּ֗יר ya.Kir	H5234	properly · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
hated	הַשְּׂנוּאָ֜ה ha.se.nu.'Ah	H8130	to hate (personally) · definite article + verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular absolute
firstborn	הַבְּכֹ֨ר ha.be.Khor	H1060	firstborn · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
giving	לָ֤תֶת La.tet	H5414	to give · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
double	שְׁנַ֔יִם she.Na.yim	H8147	two · noun, common both genders dual absolute
portion	פִּ֣י pi	H6310	the mouth (as the means of blowing) · noun, common masculine singular construct
hath	יִמָּצֵ֖א yi.ma.Tze'	H4672	properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
beginning	רֵאשִׁ֣ית re.Shit	H7225	the first · noun, common feminine singular construct
strength	אֹנ֔וֹ 'o.No	H202	ability · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
right	מִשְׁפַּ֥ט mish.Pat	H4941	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
firstborn	הַבְּכֹרָֽה ha.be.kho.Rah	H1062	the firstling of man or beast · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
Genesis 25:31-34 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was…
Psalms 105:36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
Genesis 25:5-6 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 21:15-17

This law restrains men from disinheriting their eldest sons out of mere caprice, and without just provocation. I. The case here put (Deu 21:15) is very instructive. 1. It shows the great mischief of having more wives than one, which the law of Moses did not restrain, probably in hopes that men's own experience of the great inconvenience of it in families would at last put an end to it and make them a law to themselves. Observe the supposition here: If a man have two wives, it is a thousand to one but one of them is beloved and the other hated (that is, manifestly loved less) as Leah was by Jacob, and the effect of this cannot but be strifes and jealousies, envy, confusion, and every evil wor…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 21:15

If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated--In the original and all other translations, the words are rendered "have had," referring to events that have already taken place; and that the "had" has, by some mistake, been omitted in our version, seems highly probable from the other verbs being in the past tense--"hers that was hated," not "hers that is hated"; evidently intimating that she (the first wife) was dead at the time referred to. Moses, therefore, does not here legislate upon the case of a man who has two wives at the same time, but on that of a man who has married twice in succession, the second wife after the decease of the first; and there was an obvious necessity for…

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John Gill on Deuteronomy 21:17

But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn,.... Own him and declare him to be so, both by his will and the division of goods by him; or he shall "separate" him, as Onkelos; distinguish him from all his other sons, and make known to all, as the Targum of Jonathan, that he is his firstborn: by giving him a double portion of all that he hath; or, "that is found with him" (t); which he was in the possession of when he made his will, or divided his goods; and so refers not to what might come into his hands afterwards, or should be his in reversion afterwards; in this the firstborn had not his double portion, only in what his father was for the present possessed of; so that i…

The Church Fathers

This digression then of ours from one part of the Law to the other, for the purpose of shewing that the firstborn is not the son of the beloved, that is of the more remiss and voluptuous wife, has not been needless, although the words of the chapter before us express the same truth: He may not make the son of the beloved first-born before the son of the hated, which is indeed the first-born. He is indeed the first-born who is the holy son of a holy mother; true sons do not wander from their true mother, though sinners do wander; the true first-born therefore is he who is the son of the true mother: and he who is not truly the first-born, is strengthened by riches as if he were the first-born, and is honoured that he may not be in want: but he who is truly the first-born receives a double portion of all that he hath, that he may be rich.
— Ambrose of Milan, Letters 31-40

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Birthright — (1.) This word denotes the special privileges and advantages belonging to the first-born son among the Jews. He became the priest of the family. Thus Reuben was the first-born of the patriarchs, and…
Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
First-born — Sons enjoyed certain special privileges (Deut. 21:17; Gen. 25:23, 31, 34; 49:3; 1 Chr. 5:1; Heb. 12:16; Ps. 89:27). (See BIRTHRIGHT.) The “first-born of the poor” signifies the most miserable of the…
Heir — Under the patriarchs the property of a father was divided among the sons of his legitimate wives (Gen. 21:10; 24:36; 25:5), the eldest son getting a larger portion than the rest. The Mosaic law made…
Jacob — One who follows on another’s heels; supplanter, (Gen. 25:26; 27:36; Hos. 12:2-4), the second born of the twin sons of Isaac by Rebekah. He was born probably at Lahai-roi, when his father was…
Birthright · Entitled the firstborn to a double portion of inheritance — Entitled the firstborn to a double portion of inheritance
Children · Partiality among, forbid — Partiality among, forbid
Favoritism · .Forbid — .Forbid
First Born, The · The beginning of strength and excellency of power — The beginning of strength and excellency of power
Firstborn · .A double portion of inheritance — .A double portion of inheritance
Heir · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Deuteronomy 21:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 21:15

John Gill on Deuteronomy 21:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 21:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 21:15

John Gill on Deuteronomy 21:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 21:14-17

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 21:15-17

Rashi on Deuteronomy 21:17