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Masechet so far · Bekhorot 39 · בכורות ל״ט
The masechet so far, chapter by chapter
Masechet Bekhorot details the sanctification, redemption, and consumption of firstborn donkeys, kosher animals, and human firstborns. Up through daf 39, the tractate progresses from ownership exemptions and tending timelines to defining the exact physical blemishes that allow a consecrated animal to be slaughtered outside the Temple.
Chapter 1 – הלוקח עובר חמורו: Firstborn donkeys and their redemption
This chapter outlines the obligation to redeem a firstborn donkey with a sheep or goat. Non-Jewish partnership or ownership exempts the donkey fetus from sanctity. If the owner refuses to redeem the firstborn donkey, he must break its neck.
- A donkey fetus owned partially by a gentile is completely exempt from firstborn status.
- A firstborn donkey is redeemed with a male or female lamb or kid from sheep or goats.
- If the owner does not redeem the donkey, he breaks its neck from behind and buries it.
Chapter 2 – הלוקח עובר פרתו: Firstborn kosher animals and mixed ownership
This chapter addresses the bodily sanctity of firstborn kosher livestock such as calves, lambs, and kids. Partial ownership by a gentile exempts the offspring, whereas kohanim (priests) and Levites remain fully obligated. The chapter also establishes rules for doubtful births, twin deliveries, and caesarean extractions.
- Gentile partnership in a cow exempts its offspring from the sanctity of a firstborn.
- Priests and Levites are obligated in the firstborn sanctity of kosher animals.
- Offspring born via caesarean section are not sanctified because they did not open the womb.
Chapter 3 – הלוקח בהמה: Presumptions of birth and shearing restrictions
This chapter examines physical evidence that proves an animal already gave birth, resolving doubtful firstborn status. Discharges such as murky uterine fluid or proof of nursing establish prior motherhood. The chapter also details the strict prohibitions against shearing or benefiting from the wool of a firstborn.
- A murky uterine discharge indicates a prior fetus, exempting subsequent births from firstborn sanctity.
- A nursing animal bought from a gentile is presumed to have calved previously.
- One may clear neck wool with a cleaver to prepare a firstborn for slaughter.
Chapter 4 – עד כמה: Rearing timelines, expert inspectors, and credibility
An owner must rear a small firstborn animal for thirty days and cattle for fifty days before delivery to a kohen (priest). The animal must be consumed within its first year, or within thirty days if a blemish develops later. Examining blemishes requires qualified experts who cannot accept biased wages.
- Owners must tend a firstborn sheep for thirty days and cattle for fifty days before giving it away.
- Court-authorized expert judges are exempt from paying restitution for mistaken rulings that cause monetary loss.
- Inspectors may accept a fixed fee for judging blemishes only regardless of whether the ruling permits slaughter.
Chapter 5 – כל פסולי המוקדשין: Commercial restrictions and intentionally caused blemishes
Disqualified sacrificial animals are sold in public markets, but blemished firstborn offerings may only be sold at home. Blemishes caused intentionally permanently forbid the animal from being slaughtered upon that defect. The chapter also defines who is trusted to testify that an injury occurred naturally.
- Unlike other sacrifices, blemished firstborn animals are sold only at home and not weighed in the public market.
- Beit Hillel allow an Israelite and even a gentile to partake of a blemished firstborn.
- A firstborn blemished intentionally cannot be slaughtered until an entirely separate, natural blemish develops.
Chapter 6 – על אלו מומין: Physical blemishes that permit outside slaughter
This chapter catalogs the specific permanent defects that disqualify a firstborn from the altar and allow secular slaughter. These include permanent cartilage splits and perforations in the ears, nose, and lips. The text also details ocular flaws like cataracts and weeping eyes, as well as genital and tail deformities.
- Slaughter outside the Temple requires exposed, permanent blemishes in cartilage rather than reversible skin tears.
- An ear blemish requires a split, a missing piece of cartilage, or a vetch-sized hole.
- A tevallul, a white thread crossing the iris into the black pupil, is a permanent blemish.
- Piercings and gum injuries only disqualify a firstborn if exposed on the outer surface, excluding concealed molars.