A Second Period of Being for the Priest

How a repetitive phrase in the priestly gifts expands the consumption window of the firstborn sacrifice and includes blemished animals.

וּבְשָׂרָ֖ם יִהְיֶה־לָּ֑ךְ כַּחֲזֵ֧ה הַתְּנוּפָ֛ה וּכְשׁ֥וֹק הַיָּמִ֖ין לְךָ֥ יִהְיֶֽה׃

But their meat shall be yours: it shall be yours like the breast of elevation offering and like the right thigh. (Numbers 18:18)

The Verse in Context

In Parashat Korach, the Torah enumerates the gifts designated exclusively for the priests. Among these gifts is the flesh of the male firstborn kosher animal, the בכור (firstborn offering).

The plain meaning of the verse establishes that the meat belongs entirely to the priest. To illustrate this gift, the Torah compares it to portions from other offerings: the breast and right thigh.

וּבְשָׂרָ֖ם יִהְיֶה־לָּ֑ךְ כַּחֲזֵ֧ה הַתְּנוּפָ֛ה וּכְשׁ֥וֹק הַיָּמִ֖ין לְךָ֥ יִהְיֶֽה׃

And their meat shall be yours: it shall be yours like the breast of elevation offering and like the right thigh. (Numbers 18:18)

The Ambiguity of the Comparison

The Gemara investigates the window of time in which the priest may consume the firstborn animal. Sacrificial meat is subject to strict expiration times, after which it becomes נותר (remnant) and forbidden.

The Torah draws a comparison to the breast and thigh, but which sacrifice does it mean? Both a תודה (thanksgiving offering) and שלמים (peace offerings) grant those specific cuts to the priest.

A thanksgiving offering may only be eaten for a single day and night. By contrast, a peace offering may be consumed for two days and one night.

וְאִידַּךְ, אִי מֵהָתָם אִיכָּא לְמֵימַר חָזֶה וָשׁוֹק שֶׁל תּוֹדָה.

And the other ones say: If derived from there, one could say it refers to the breast and thigh of a thanksgiving offering. (Bekhorot 28a:1)

Reading the Superfluous Phrasing

Rav observes that the verse repeats the term of possession: it begins with 'shall be yours' and concludes again with 'it shall be yours'. This repetition is entirely superfluous according to the rules of standard syntax.

Through this surplus, the Torah adds another period of being to the eating of the animal. This extra allowance definitively links the firstborn to the peace offering rather than the more restrictive thanksgiving offering.

וְאִידַּךְ, אָמַר קְרָא: ״לְךָ יִהְיֶה״ — הוֹסִיף לְךָ הַכָּתוּב הֲוָיָה אַחֶרֶת בִּבְכוֹר.

The verse states: 'It shall be yours'—Scripture added for you another period of being regarding a firstborn. (Bekhorot 28a:2)

A Source for Blemished Offerings

The Sages of the school of Rav interpret the doubled phrasing differently. They suggest that the words 'it shall be yours' reveal that even a בעל מום (blemished firstborn) must be given to the priest.

Such an explicit source is vital because no other blemished sacrificial gift in the entire Torah is awarded to a priest in this manner.

Rav answers this challenge by pointing to the plural word 'and their flesh'. In his view, the plural itself encompasses both an unblemished animal and a blemished animal, leaving the repetition free to teach the eating period.

הַאי ״יִהְיֶה לָּךְ״ — לִימֵּד עַל בְּכוֹר בַּעַל מוּם שֶׁנּוֹתְנוֹ לְכֹהֵן, שֶׁלֹּא מָצִינוּ לוֹ בְּכׇל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ.

This phrase 'it shall be yours' teaches regarding a blemished firstborn that one gives it to a priest, which we do not find in the entire Torah. (Bekhorot 28a:3)

The Resulting Halacha

The Gemara establishes two foundational rules from these precise phrases in the verse.

First, a valid firstborn sacrifice is categorized with peace offerings, permitting the priest and his family to eat its meat over two days and an intervening night.

Second, a firstborn animal that possesses a permanent blemish remains the rightful possession of the priest, who may slaughter and consume it without altar service.

By duplicating 'it shall be yours,' the Torah expands the firstborn's consumption time to two full days and guarantees the priest's right to blemished animals.

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