◄ Exodus 22:30 ►
You shall do likewise with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to Me.
Study Bible
You are to do the same
This phrase indicates a continuation of a previously established command or principle. In the context of Exodus 22, God is providing a series of laws to the Israelites, emphasizing justice, compassion, and holiness. The phrase suggests that the instructions given here are part of a broader pattern of behavior expected from God's people. The Hebrew root for "do" (עָשָׂה, asah) implies action and obedience, highlighting the importance of following God's commands diligently.

with your cattle and your sheep
Cattle and sheep were vital to the agrarian society of ancient Israel, serving as sources of food, clothing, and economic stability. The mention of these animals underscores the practical aspects of the law, as well as the spiritual principle of dedicating one's livelihood to God. The Hebrew words for cattle (בָּקָר, baqar) and sheep (צֹאן, tson) reflect the everyday life of the Israelites, reminding them that their daily work and possessions are under God's sovereignty.

Let them stay with their mothers for seven days
This command reflects God's compassion and understanding of the natural order. Allowing the young animals to stay with their mothers for seven days ensures their well-being and proper development. The number seven is significant in the Bible, often symbolizing completeness and perfection. This period allows for the natural bond between mother and offspring, emphasizing the importance of nurturing and care in God's creation.

but on the eighth day
The eighth day marks a new beginning, a concept seen throughout Scripture. In Jewish tradition, the eighth day often signifies a time of dedication and consecration, as seen in the practice of circumcision (Genesis 17:12). Here, it represents the moment when the animal is set apart for God, symbolizing a transition from the natural to the sacred.

you are to give them to Me
This phrase highlights the principle of offering the first and best to God, a recurring theme in the Old Testament. The act of giving the animals to God is an acknowledgment of His provision and sovereignty. The Hebrew root for "give" (נָתַן, natan) implies a voluntary and intentional act of worship. This command reminds the Israelites that all they possess ultimately belongs to God, and they are stewards of His creation. The offering serves as a tangible expression of faith and devotion, reinforcing the covenant relationship between God and His people.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Israelites
The recipients of the law, God's chosen people, who are being instructed on how to live in covenant relationship with Him.

2. Oxen and Sheep
Livestock that were central to the agrarian lifestyle of the Israelites and significant in their sacrificial system.

3. God
The divine lawgiver who is establishing His covenant and expectations with the Israelites.

4. Eighth Day
A specific time frame that holds significance in biblical law and ritual, often associated with dedication and new beginnings.

5. Sacrificial System
The broader context of the law, where offerings and sacrifices were a means of worship and atonement.
Teaching Points
Principle of Firstfruits
The command to give the firstborn to God reflects the broader biblical principle of offering the first and best to the Lord, acknowledging His sovereignty and provision.

Significance of the Eighth Day
The eighth day symbolizes new beginnings and dedication, reminding believers of the importance of setting apart time and resources for God.

Holistic Worship
The inclusion of livestock in worship practices underscores the idea that all aspects of life, including work and livelihood, are to be consecrated to God.

Trust in God's Provision
By giving the firstborn animals to God, the Israelites were exercising faith in His continued provision, a principle that applies to trusting God with our resources today.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the command to give the firstborn animals to God reflect the principle of firstfruits in other areas of life?

2. What is the significance of the eighth day in biblical practices, and how can this inform our understanding of dedication and new beginnings in our spiritual lives?

3. In what ways can we apply the principle of holistic worship in our daily routines and work environments?

4. How does trusting God with our resources, as seen in this passage, challenge us to live out our faith in practical ways today?

5. How do the connections between Old Testament laws and New Testament practices, such as circumcision, enhance our understanding of God's covenantal relationship with His people?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Leviticus 22:27
This verse also discusses the requirement for animals to stay with their mothers for seven days before being offered, reinforcing the principle of maturity and readiness before dedication to God.

Genesis 17:12
The practice of circumcision on the eighth day for male infants, highlighting the significance of the eighth day as a time of dedication and covenant.

Luke 2:21
Jesus being circumcised on the eighth day, connecting the Old Testament law to the New Testament fulfillment in Christ.
Sermons
First Fruits to GodR. B. Brindley.Exodus 22:29-30
Jehovah's DuesJ. Orr Exodus 22:29-31
People
Moses
Places
Mount Sinai
Topics
Calf, Cattle, Dam, Eighth, Likewise, Mothers, Ox, Oxen, Seven, Sheep, Stay
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 22:30

     4624   cow

Library
Excursus on Usury.
The famous canonist Van Espen defines usury thus: "Usura definitur lucrum ex mutuo exactum aut speratum;" [96] and then goes on to defend the proposition that, "Usury is forbidden by natural, by divine, and by human law. The first is proved thus. Natural law, as far as its first principles are concerned, is contained in the decalogue; but usury is prohibited in the decalogue, inasmuch as theft is prohibited; and this is the opinion of the Master of the Sentences, of St. Bonaventura, of St. Thomas …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Parable of the Importunate Widow.
^C Luke XVIII. 1-8. ^c 1 And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man [an utterly abandoned character]: 3 and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of [rather, Do justice to me as to] mine adversary. [In Scripture language widowhood is symbolic of defenselessness (Ex. xxii. 22-24; Deut. x. 18; xxvii. 19; Mal. iii. 5; Mark xii. 40), …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Ciii. Zacchæus. Parable of the Pounds. Journey to Jerusalem.
(Jericho.) ^C Luke XIX. 1-28. ^c 1 And he entered and was passing through Jericho. [This was about one week before the crucifixion. Jericho is about seven miles from the Jordan and about seventeen and a half from Jerusalem.] 2 And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich. [See p. 76. It is probable that Zacchæus was a sub-contractor under some Roman knight who had bought the privilege of collecting taxes at Jericho, or perhaps the privilege of all …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Epistle Xl. To Mauricius Augustus.
To Mauricius Augustus. Gregory to Mauricius, &c. The Piety of my Lords in their most serene commands, while set on refuting me on certain matters, in sparing me has by no means spared me. For by the use therein of the term simplicity they politely call me silly. It is true indeed that in Holy Scripture, when simplicity is spoken of in a good sense, it is often carefully associated with prudence and uprightness. Hence it is written of the blessed Job, The man was simple and upright (Job i. 1). …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Appeal to the Christian Women of the South
BY A.E. GRIMKE. "Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not within thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place: but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this. And Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer:--and so will I go in unto the king, …
Angelina Emily Grimke—An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South

Epistle xvii. To Felix, Bishop of Messana.
To Felix, Bishop of Messana. To our most reverend brother, the Bishop Felix, Gregory, servant of the servants of God [246] . Our Head, which is Christ, to this end has willed us to be His members, that through His large charity and faithfulness He might make us one body in Himself, to whom it befits us so to cling that, since without Him we can do nothing, through Him we may be enabled to be what we are called. From the citadel of the Head let nothing divide us, lest, if we refuse to be His members, …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Feast of the Dedication. The Jews Attempt to Stone Jesus and He Retires to Peræa.
(Jerusalem and Beyond Jordan.) ^D John X. 22-42. ^d 22 And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: 23; it was winter; and Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. [The feast of dedication was one of eight days' duration and began upon the 25th Chisleu, which, according to the calculation of M. Chevannes, fell upon the nineteenth or twentieth of December, a.d. 29. The feast was kept in honor of the renovation and purification of the temple in the year b.c. 164, after it had been desecrated …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

A Summary of the Christian Life. Of Self-Denial.
The divisions of the chapter are,--I. The rule which permits us not to go astray in the study of righteousness, requires two things, viz., that man, abandoning his own will, devote himself entirely to the service of God; whence it follows, that we must seek not our own things, but the things of God, sec. 1, 2. II. A description of this renovation or Christian life taken from the Epistle to Titus, and accurately explained under certain special heads, sec. 3 to end. 1. ALTHOUGH the Law of God contains …
Archpriest John Iliytch Sergieff—On the Christian Life

Jesus' Last Public Discourse. Denunciation of Scribes and Pharisees.
(in the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXIII. 1-39; ^B Mark XII. 38-40; ^C Luke XX. 45-47. ^a 1 Then spake Jesus ^b 38 And in his teaching ^c in the hearing of all the people he said unto ^a the multitudes, and to his disciples [he spoke in the most public manner], 2 saying, ^c 46 Beware of the scribes, ^a The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat: 3 all things whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Circumcision, Temple Service, and Naming of Jesus.
(the Temple at Jerusalem, b.c. 4) ^C Luke II. 21-39. ^c 21 And when eight days [Gen. xvii. 12] were fulfilled for circumcising him [The rite was doubtless performed by Joseph. By this rite Jesus was "made like unto his brethren" (Heb. ii. 16, 17); that is, he became a member of the covenant nation, and became a debtor to the law--Gal. v. 3] , his name was called JESUS [see Luke i. 59], which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. [Luke i. 31.] 22 And when the days of their …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.' Exod 20: 15. AS the holiness of God sets him against uncleanness, in the command Thou shalt not commit adultery;' so the justice of God sets him against rapine and robbery, in the command, Thou shalt not steal.' The thing forbidden in this commandment, is meddling with another man's property. The civil lawyers define furtum, stealth or theft to be the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's;' the invading another's right. I. The causes of theft. [1] The internal causes …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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