Single lesson
Dedicating the Firstborn
Exodus 13:1–16
Exodus 13:1–16 gives instructions for remembering the exodus. It links unleavened bread with dedicating the firstborn so Israel will keep recalling Yahweh’s deliverance and explaining it to children.
Before you teach
Yahweh speaks to Moses, and Moses speaks to the people. The passage looks back to the day Israel came out of Egypt and ahead to the land Yahweh swore to give. Its focus is remembrance, worship and teaching the next generation.
Explain the central teaching of Dedicating the Firstborn, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that Israel’s repeated worship practices were to keep Yahweh’s deliverance from Egypt in living memory.
Welcome: Dedicating the Firstborn
5 minIntroduce “Dedicating the Firstborn” and locate Exodus 13:1–16. This passage teaches that Israel’s repeated worship practices were to keep Yahweh’s deliverance from Egypt in living memory. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Exodus 13:1, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:16
Read and explain the passage
12 minYahweh first tells Moses to sanctify every firstborn that opens the womb. To sanctify means to set apart to him. The command includes both people and animals, and the reason is brief and direct: “It is mine.” The passage begins with belonging before it explains the later practice in detail.
The people are not only to keep the service but to explain it. A son is to be told that it is because of what Yahweh did when Israel came out of Egypt. The language of a sign on the hand and between the eyes shows this remembrance is meant to stay before them and shape their words.
When Yahweh brings Israel into the land, the firstborn males are to be set apart to him. A firstborn donkey is redeemed with a lamb, and firstborn sons are redeemed. When a son asks why, the answer points to Yahweh’s strong deliverance from Egypt and his judgement on Egypt’s firstborn.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “Dedicating the Firstborn”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Exodus 13:1, Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:10, Exodus 13:11, Exodus 13:12, Exodus 13:13, Exodus 13:14, Exodus 13:15, Exodus 13:16
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What two practices in this passage are meant to help Israel remember the exodus?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage teaches that Israel’s repeated worship practices were to keep Yahweh’s deliverance from Egypt in living memory. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Exodus 13:6, Exodus 13:12, Exodus 13:13, Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:14, Exodus 13:3, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:16
Make and respond: Instruction and context chart
12 minWork on “Dedicating the Firstborn: Instruction and context chart”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “Dedicating the Firstborn” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Exodus 13:1, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:16
Closing: return to Dedicating the Firstborn
3 minRevisit Exodus 13:1–16. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about Dedicating the Firstborn and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Exodus 13:1, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:16
Questions to explore
What two practices in this passage are meant to help Israel remember the exodus?
Look for the commands about unleavened bread and about setting apart or redeeming the firstborn, both tied to coming out of Egypt.
Exodus 13:6, Exodus 13:12, Exodus 13:13
How does the passage say children should be taught about these commands?
Notice the two places where a son is addressed and how each explanation begins with what Yahweh did.
Exodus 13:8, Exodus 13:14
What does the repeated phrase “strength of hand” emphasise?
Trace the repeated phrase and see that the commands rest on Yahweh’s powerful act of bringing Israel out of Egypt.
Exodus 13:3, Exodus 13:9, Exodus 13:14, Exodus 13:16
Make, think or respond
Dedicating the Firstborn: Instruction and context chart
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “Who is addressed?”, “What is required?”, “What reason or purpose is given?”.
- Read Exodus 13:1–16. Use “Dedicating the Firstborn” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Under the chart, distinguish instructions in their original setting from an application you could discuss today.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Dedicating the Firstborn connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “Dedicating the Firstborn” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Exodus 13:1–16. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Exodus 13:1–16. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Exodus 13
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It is mine.”
3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
4 Today you go out in the month Abib.
5 It shall be, when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month.
6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to Yahweh.
7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you. No yeast shall be seen with you, within all your borders.
8 You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
9 It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that Yahweh’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt.
10 You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.
11 “It shall be, when Yahweh brings you into the land of the Canaanite, as he swore to you and to your fathers, and will give it to you,
12 that you shall set apart to Yahweh all that opens the womb, and every firstborn that comes from an animal which you have. The males shall be Yahweh’s.
13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and you shall redeem all the firstborn of man among your sons.
14 It shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall tell him, ‘By strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage.
15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Yahweh killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of livestock. Therefore I sacrifice to Yahweh all that opens the womb, being males; but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
16 It shall be for a sign on your hand, and for symbols between your eyes; for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.