I have recently started reading the Bible and have come across this part that I am very curious of and have no idea what it means. Here it is:

Exodus 13:12 -
(In Keeping The Passover) "That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; he males shall be the LORD'S."

Exodus 13:15 -
(When Speaking Of Passover To Your Children) "And it came to pass, when Pharoah would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem."

My question is what do those bold phrases mean, what matrix means in the context, and possibly why use the word matrix? I am totally stumped at this point, I can't seem to find any relevant definitions.

[edit on 25-8-2004 by Jamuhn]

[edit on 10/2/2004 by esther]

It means that when you find the girl that opens me up and makes me single no more, the lord will be greatfull and be happy enough if you offer to him the firstborn of your cattle, instead of your own firstborn children

The lord works in Mysterious ways and wishes me to be single no more.

Its been a hard and lonely 5000 years, but seems this adam is gona get some punani from the eve thou shal provide :p

nice one thematrix you said that it is only in the King James Version? Perhaps Vatican City is trying to say something but hey Ill try to look up some research too? Oh yeah does it say anything in like the lower subtitles about it? Like sometimes in the New James they explain words and such? Does it mention it? Holla back

[edit on 10/2/2004 by esther]

FYI - Get a Strongs Concordance for all KJV words. Dr. Strong is considered the worlds foremost linguist when it comes to the KJV Bible. He took every word back to the original Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew for you. The words are numbered. Matrix is used 5 times in th bible always in Hebrew and it is Strongs #7358 which translates to....

rechem - The Womb

Hey Jamuhn:

The Hebrew word "Rakham" means "womb", although the King James Version in 1611 translated it "matrix" (related to the IndoEuropean roots for Mother e.g. Latin-Greek "mater").

Exodus 13:2 (Shemot 13) has nothing to do with science fiction. It merely states that "all males who break-open the womb belong ye shall sacrifice unto me" i.e. all first born males are to be sacrificed to YHWH.

Obviously, child sacrifice was eventually given up by the Israelitish tribes, and they eventually worked out a "redemption" program where doves or lambs could be used instead of humans.

But Abraham's story ("the binding of Yitzaak") and the sacrifice of Jephtha's very human daughter in Judges shows that human sacrifice was widely practiced among the Israelites and the Cannanites in antiquity.

But leave science fictin out of it ... there is nothing more than clan god ritual going on here involving blood sacrifice of sacred animals and tribal individuals to placate the clan god Yahweh, who, like all the other local clan gods in Canaan and Mesopotamia (as well as Egypt) whose priests seem to think that their gods like the taste of burning flesh for some reason...

I didn't mean for it to come off as science fiction/nonfiction, but I thought it strange that this word was chosen and I could not figure what the context was. Now that I see its womb, it is kind of like one of the definitions oh situation in which something originates.

Anyway, thanks for everyone's help, I might u2u some of you if I have any more questions, that is if that's OK.

Originally posted by Jamuhn
I have recently started reading the Bible and have come across this part that I am very curious of and have no idea what it means. Here it is:

Exodus 13:12 -
(In Keeping The Passover) "That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; he males shall be the LORD'S."

Exodus 13:15 -
(When Speaking Of Passover To Your Children) "And it came to pass, when Pharoah would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem."

My question is what do those bold phrases mean, what matrix means in the context, and possibly why use the word matrix? I am totally stumped at this point, I can't seem to find any relevant definitions.

[edit on 25-8-2004 by Jamuhn]

You sure it wasnt a prouduct placement by the makers of the Matrixs flims.