Comparing the Firstborn of Man and Beast in the Law

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 214:2

Another interpretation: He compared the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beast, and the firstborn of beast to the firstborn of man. Just as with the firstborn of a beast, stillbirths exempt it from the law of the firstborn [a prior non-viable birth means the next is not counted as firstborn], so too with the firstborn of man, stillbirths exempt from the firstborn status. Just as a firstborn of man you are permitted to give to the priest in any place you wish, so too a firstborn of beast you are permitted to give to the priest in any place you wish.

Themes