The firstborn held a position of supreme honor and authority in the ancient Near East — the birthright, the double portion of inheritance, and the priestly blessing all belonged to him. God claimed every firstborn in Israel as his own after the Exodus, demanding either redemption or consecration (Exodus 13:2). The Passover lamb died as a substitute for the firstborn in Egypt. The Levites were consecrated as a ransom for all Israel's firstborn (Numbers 3:12–13). But the ultimate climax is Christ himself, called "the firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15) — not created, but preeminent over all — and "the firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), the first to rise in resurrection glory, making his brothers heirs with him.
FIRST'BORN, a. First brought forth; eldest: as the firstborn son. In Scripture, the firstborn was particularly consecrated to God and held precedence over all other children in rights and privileges. The "firstborn of the dead" is applied to Christ, as the first who rose from the dead, thereby obtaining the preeminence and authority over all who shall rise after him.
Modern readers miss the staggering weight of calling Christ the "firstborn" because we've lost the cultural context. In the ancient world, calling someone firstborn was calling him heir of everything, highest in rank, first in honor. Jehovah's Witnesses exploit "firstborn of all creation" to argue Christ was the first created being — but this misreads the term. Paul is not saying Christ was born first; he is saying Christ holds the firstborn's prerogatives — supreme honor and inheritance over all creation (Colossians 1:16–17). The firstborn typology runs the full length of Scripture from Cain and Abel, through Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, to Christ — the true and ultimate Firstborn to whom all others pointed.
Exodus 13:2 — "Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine."
Colossians 1:15 — "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."
Colossians 1:18 — "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent."
Psalm 89:27 — "And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth."
Hebrews 12:23 — "...to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all."
H1060 — בְּכוֹר (bekhor): "firstborn, firstling" — holder of birthright, inheritance, and honor
G4416 — πρωτότοκος (prōtotokos): "firstborn" — used of Christ's supremacy over creation and resurrection
H1062 — בְּכוֹרָה (bekorah): "birthright" — the inheritance and privileges of the firstborn that could be forfeited (Esau) or transferred (Jacob)
"Every firstborn in Egypt who survived the Passover night was saved by a substitute — pointing to the day when God's own Firstborn would take our place."
"When Paul calls Christ the 'firstborn from the dead,' he's not speaking of order but of supremacy — the risen Christ holds every heir's inheritance."
"The story of Jacob and Esau, Ephraim and Manasseh, is God's persistent reversal of human expectations: the firstborn right is not ours to claim by birth but his to give by grace."