(30) Thine oxen.—Rather, thy beeves. The word used is applied to horned cattle of either sex.

Seven days it shall be with his dam.—Compare Leviticus 22:27. The main object of forbidding sacrifice before the eighth day would appear to have beer-regard for the health and comfort of the mother, which needed the relief obtained by suckling its offspring. There may also have underlain the prohibition some reference to birth as an impure process. Compare the circumcision of the male child on the eighth day.

22; 1 - 31 Judicial laws. - The people of God should ever be ready to show mildness and mercy, according to the spirit of these laws. We must answer to God, not only for what we do maliciously, but for what we do heedlessly. Therefore, when we have done harm to our neighbour, we should make restitution, though not compelled by law. Let these scriptures lead our souls to remember, that if the grace of God has indeed appeared to us, then it has taught us, and enabled us so to conduct ourselves by its holy power, that denying ungodliness and wordly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, Titus 2:12. And the grace of God teaches us, that as the Lord is our portion, there is enough in him to satisfy all the desires of our souls.The offering of firstfruits appears to have been a custom of primitive antiquity and was connected with the earliest acts of sacrifice. See Genesis 4:3-4. The references to it here and in Exodus 23:19 had probably been handed down from patriarchal times. The specific law relating to the firstborn of living creatures was brought out in a strong light in connection with the deliverance from Egypt Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:12-13; compare Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 22:27; Deuteronomy 26:2-11; Nehemiah 10:35.

The first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors - See the margin. The rendering of our King James Bible is a paraphrase.

28. gods—a word which is several times in this chapter rendered "judges" or magistrates.

the ruler of thy people—and the chief magistrate who was also the high priest, at least in the time of Paul (Ac 23:1-5).

Likewise, i.e. ye shall offer their first-born.

On the eighth day; not sooner, because it was till then tender and imperfect, and therefore not fit to be offered to God; but it was not tied to that day, for it might be offered afterwards, appears from Leviticus 22:27, even till it was a year old.

Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep,.... That is, with the firstborn, which were to be set apart to the Lord; and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"the firstborn of thine oxen, and of thy sheep;''for having spoken of the firstborn of men, the Scripture proceeds to speak of the firstborn of cattle, great and small, the separation of which was enjoined in one and the same precept, Exodus 13:2,

seven days it shall be with his dam; whether it be a calf or a lamb; before it was seven days old it was not to be taken from it, and given to the Lord:

on the eighth day thou shall give it me; that is, they might do it then, but not before; yet they were not obliged to bring it exactly on that day, but they might do it any time within the month, and at a month's end they were obliged to redeem it, that is, give the priest the sum of five shekels for it, Numbers 18:16. The Jewish canon runs thus (n);"how long are Israelites bound for the bringing of the firstborn, i.e. before they offer it to the priest? in small cattle thirty days, in large cattle fifty days.''

(n) Misn. Becorot, c. 4. sect. 1.

Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.