| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the Piel imperative kadesh-li {קַדֶּשׁ־לִ֨י | qādeš-lî} ‘consecrate to me,’ marking a direct divine command and emphasizing singular divine authority. The noun phrase kol-bekhor {כָּל־בְּכ֜וֹר | kol-bəḵōr} ‘every firstborn’ asserts universal scope. The appositive peter kol-rechem {פֶּ֤טֶר כָּל־רֶ֙חֶם֙ | peṭer kol-reḥem} ‘opener of every womb’ clarifies the nature of the firstborn. The successive prepositional phrases bivnei yisrael {בִּבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | bivnē yiśrāʾēl}, ba-adam {בָּאָדָ֖ם | bāʾāḏām}, and uva-behema {וּבַבְּהֵמָ֑ה | ūvabhehemā} narrow the scope from the Israelite community to humans and then to animals. The parallel li hu {לִ֖י הֽוּא׃ | lī hūʾ} underscores divine ownership through repetition of the possessive claim. |