From the root bākar (H1069), meaning to be first, to bear early fruit. Bekôr is the firstborn son — the one who held preeminent legal and social status in the ancient Near East. The firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance (Deut. 21:17) and the special blessing of the father. The term extends metaphorically to nations and even to Israel herself as God's corporate firstborn.
The theology of the firstborn runs as a golden thread through all of Scripture. In creation, Adam is the firstborn of humanity. In covenant, Israel is declared God's firstborn son (Ex. 4:22) — chosen not because of size or merit but by sovereign grace. In the Exodus, the death of Egypt's firstborn and the protection of Israel's firstborn through the Passover lamb established the pattern of redemption through substitution. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the prōtotokos — the firstborn over all creation (Col. 1:15), the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18), who brings many sons to glory (Heb. 2:10). The bekôr concept reaches its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, who holds the preeminence in all things and whose sacrifice redeems all who are united to Him.