Commentaire de citation sur Les Nombres 18:16

Introduction Our mishnah deals with the laws concerning the human firstborn. There are two special rules with regard to the human first born: 1) he gets a double portion of his father’s inheritance (see Deuteronomy 21:17); 2) he must be redeemed from the priest for five shekels (see Numbers 18:16). Determining who is a firstborn is, however, different for these two matters. Our mishnah defines what firstborn counts as a firstborn for which of these two laws.

frei sein. die ihnen als Leviten innewohnende Heiligkeit bewirkt, dass die Vorschrift über die Erstgeburt auf ihre Kinder nicht anzuwenden ist. Aus der Nebeneinanderstellung (Num. 18, 16): אך פדה תפדה את בכור האדם ואת בכזר הבהמה הטמאה תפדה wird dann weiter gefolgert, dass, wer nicht verpflichtet ist, seinen erstgeborenen Sohn auszulösen, auch nicht die Erstgeburt seines unreinen Viehs auszulösen verpflichtet ist.

קדש לי כל בכור, they all have to be redeemed just as other sanctified items which cannot be used for their designated purpose can be redeemed; otherwise they are forbidden for secular use. This prohibition is spelled out in Deuteronomy 15,19 in the words לא תעבוד בבכור שורך, “you are not allowed to perform work with your firstborn ox.” The amount designated here by the Torah for redeeming a human being is the minimum applicable mentioned in connection with this legislation in chapter 27 in Leviticus. Whereas a fully mature male over 20 is valued at 50 shekel, the 30 day old infant is valued at 5 shekel.

וכל בכור בניך תפדה AND ALL THE FIRSTBORN OF MAN AMONGST THY SONS SHALT THOU REDEEM — His redemption money is fixed in another passage (Numbers 18:16) at five Sela’im.