Bava Batra 123 - The Double Portion of the Firstborn
The answer comes from the phrase "...and it shall be on the day that he bequeaths to his sons..." This phrase is superfluous since the law it states - that the firstborn gets a double portion - is expressed in different words in the very next verse. Therefore, the superfluous phrase teaches that the other brothers - if there are more than one - get at least as much as the firstborn, that is, at least 1/2, which is more than 1/3. Now that the 2/3 possibility is out, the only remaining logical alternative is that the firstborn gets double the portion of each brother.
Art: The Courtenay Brothers by Thomas Hudson
