What does פֶּטֶר (peṭer) mean in the Bible?
פֶּטֶר (peṭer): Firstborn animal that breaks open the womb, marking sacred separation and covenant obligation to God.
Hebrew · H6363
פֶּטֶר
A fissure , i.e. (concretely) firstling (as opening the matrix)
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פֶּטֶר H6363
Pronunciation peṭer
What does פֶּטֶר (peṭer) mean in the Bible?
פֶּטֶר (peṭer): Firstborn animal that breaks open the womb, marking sacred separation and covenant obligation to God.
Full entry for פֶּטֶר (H6363) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6363?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include The firstborn (6), firstborn (2), firstborn {in the fire} (1), The first offspring (1), the firstborn male (1).
Where does פֶּטֶר (peṭer) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 13:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Exodus (8), Numbers (3), Ezekiel (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It The firstborn 6× Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:12, Exodus 13:15, Exodus 34:19
firstborn 2× Exodus 13:13, Numbers 3:12
firstborn {in the fire} 1× Ezekiel 20:26
The first offspring 1× Exodus 34:19
the firstborn male 1× Exodus 13:12
who come first 1× Numbers 8:16
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 13:2 פֶּ֤טֶר to The firstborn Noun - masculine singular construct Exodus 13:12 פֶּֽטֶר־ to the firstborn male Noun - masculine singular construct Exodus 13:12 פֶּ֣טֶר׀ to the firstborn Noun - masculine singular construct Exodus 13:13 פֶּ֤טֶר to firstborn Noun - masculine singular construct Exodus 13:15 פֶּ֤טֶר to the firstborn Noun - masculine singular construct Exodus 34:19 פֶּ֥טֶר to The first offspring Noun - masculine singular construct Exodus 34:19 פֶּ֖טֶר to the firstborn Noun - masculine singular construct Exodus 34:20 וּפֶ֤טֶר to the firstborn Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct Numbers 3:12 פֶּ֥טֶר to firstborn Noun - masculine singular construct Numbers 8:16 פִּטְרַ֨ת to who come first Noun - feminine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Exodus 13:2
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 3
Exodus 8 Numbers 3 Ezekiel 1
Source forms
פֶּ֤טֶר 3x pe·ṭer Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:13, Exodus 13:15
פֶּ֥טֶר 2x pe·ṭer Exodus 34:19, Numbers 3:12
פֶּ֣טֶר 2x pe·ṭer Numbers 18:15, Ezekiel 20:26
וּפֶ֤טֶר 1x ū·p̄e·ṭer Exodus 34:20
פֶּ֖טֶר 1x pe·ṭer Exodus 34:19
פֶּֽטֶר־ 1x pe·ṭer- Exodus 13:12
פֶּ֣טֶר׀ 1x pe·ṭer Exodus 13:12
פִּטְרַ֨ת 1x piṭ·raṯ Numbers 8:16
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular construct 10x Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:12, Exodus 13:13, Exodus 13:15
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct 1x Exodus 34:20
Noun - feminine singular construct 1x Numbers 8:16
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Firstborn animal that breaks open the womb, marking sacred separation and covenant obligation to God.
Source Gloss
a fissure , i.e. (concretely) firstling (as opening the matrix)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Firstborn animal that breaks open the womb, marking sacred separation and covenant obligation to God.
a fissure, i.e. (concretely) firstling (as opening the matrix) BDB: that which separates Usage: firstling, openeth, such as open.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
פֶּטֶר is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain