According to Roland de Vaux, there is no evidence that the Israelites took this imperative literally. While the first-born may have been dedicated to Yahweh, they were not necessarily sacrificed to him as the animals were. See R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1965, pp. 44344; P. G. Mosca, Child Sacrifice in Canaanite and Israelite Religion, pp. 23738.
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