Deuteronomy 21:15-17
English Standard Version
Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn
15 “If a man has two wives, (A)the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,[a] 16 then on the day when (B)he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is (C)the firstfruits of his strength. (D)The right of the firstborn is his.
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- Deuteronomy 21:15 Or hated; also verses 16, 17
Deuteronomy 21:15-17
New English Translation
Laws Concerning Children
15 Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other,[a] and they both[b] bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less-loved wife. 16 In the day he divides his inheritance[c] he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other wife’s[d] son who is actually the firstborn. 17 Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less-loved wife[e] as firstborn and give him the double portion[f] of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power[g]—to him should go the right of the firstborn.
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- Deuteronomy 21:15 tn Heb “one whom he loves and one whom he hates.” For the idea of שָׂנֵא (saneʾ, “hate”) meaning to be rejected or loved less (cf. NRSV “disliked”), see Gen 29:31, 33; Mal 1:2-3. Cf. A. Konkel, NIDOTTE 3:1256-60.
- Deuteronomy 21:15 tn Heb “both the one whom he loves and the one whom he hates.” On the meaning of the phrase “one whom he loves and one whom he hates” see the note on the word “other” earlier in this verse. The translation has been simplified for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
- Deuteronomy 21:16 tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”
- Deuteronomy 21:16 tn Heb “the hated.”
- Deuteronomy 21:17 tn See note on the word “other” in v. 15.
- Deuteronomy 21:17 tn Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (pi shenayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31-34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8-22).
- Deuteronomy 21:17 tn Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ʾon; cf. HALOT 22 s.v.). Cf. NAB “the firstfruits of his manhood”; NRSV “the first issue of his virility.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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