Topical Encyclopedia
Firstfruits, in biblical terms, refers to the initial yield of a harvest that is offered to God as an act of worship and gratitude. This concept is deeply rooted in the agricultural practices of ancient Israel and holds significant theological and spiritual implications throughout the Scriptures.
Old Testament BackgroundThe principle of firstfruits is established in the Mosaic Law, where the Israelites are commanded to bring the first and best of their harvest to the Lord. This offering is a recognition of God's provision and sovereignty over the land. In
Exodus 23:19 , it is written, "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God." Similarly,
Leviticus 23:10-11 instructs, "Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD so that it may be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath."
The offering of firstfruits was not limited to grain but extended to all produce, including wine, oil, and livestock.
Deuteronomy 26:1-2 further emphasizes this practice: "When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it, you are to take some of the firstfruits of all the produce of the soil that you harvest from the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name."
Spiritual SignificanceThe offering of firstfruits was not merely a ritualistic act but carried profound spiritual significance. It was an expression of faith, acknowledging that all blessings come from God and that He deserves the first and best of what His people receive. This act of giving was a demonstration of trust in God's continued provision and a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and Israel.
New Testament FulfillmentIn the New Testament, the concept of firstfruits takes on a Christological dimension. Jesus Christ is referred to as the "firstfruits" of those who have fallen asleep, signifying His resurrection as the first of many who will be raised to eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15:20 states, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."
Furthermore, believers are described as a kind of firstfruits of God's creation.
James 1:18 declares, "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation." This indicates that Christians, as recipients of the new birth through the Gospel, are set apart for God's purposes, much like the firstfruits offerings of old.
Practical ApplicationThe principle of firstfruits continues to hold relevance for Christians today. It encourages believers to prioritize God in all aspects of life, offering the first and best of their time, talents, and resources to Him. This practice serves as a tangible expression of faith and gratitude, reflecting a heart that acknowledges God's lordship and provision.
In summary, the concept of firstfruits is a rich biblical theme that underscores the importance of giving God the first and best of what we receive, both in the physical and spiritual realms. It is a testament to God's faithfulness and a call to live in a manner that honors Him as the source of all blessings.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Firstfruits- The law ordered in general that the first of all ripe fruits and of liquors, or, as it is twice expressed, the first of first-fruits, should be offered in God's house. (Exodus 22:29;23:19;34:27) It was an act of allegiance to God as the giver of all. No exact quantity was commanded, but it was left to the spiritual and moral sense of each individual.
- On the morrow after the passover sabbath, i.e. on the 16th of Nisan, a sheaf of new corn was to be brought to the priest and waved before the altar, in acknowledgment of the gift of fruitfulness. (Leviticus 2:12;23:5,6,10,12)
- At the expiration of seven weeks from this time, i.e. at the feast of pentecost, an oblation was to be made from the new flour, which were to be waved in like manner with the passover sheaf. (Exodus 34:22;Leviticus 23:15,17;Numbers 28:26)
- The feast of ingathering, i.e. the feast of tabernacles, in the seventh month, was itself an acknowledgment of the fruits of the harvest. (Exodus 23:16;34:22;Leviticus 23:39) These four sorts of offerings were national. Besides them, the two following were of an individual kind.
- A cake of the first dough that was baked was to be offered as a heave-offering. (Numbers 15:19,21)
- The first-fruits of the land were to be brought in a basket to the holy place of God's choice, and there presented to the priest, who was to set the basket down before the altar. (26:2-11) The offerings were the perquisite of the priests. (Numbers 18:11;18:4) Nehemiah, at the return from captivity, took pains to reorganize the offerings of first-fruits of both kinds, and to appoint places to receive them. (Nehemiah 10:35,37;12:44) An offering of first-fruits is mentioned as an acceptable one to the prophet Elisha. (2 Kings 4:42)
ATS Bible Dictionary
FirstfruitsPresents made to God of part of the fruits of the harvest, to express the submission, dependence, and thankfulness of the offerers. The portion given was instead of the whole, in acknowledgement that all was due to God. They were offered in the temple before the crop was gathered on the fifteenth of Nisan, in the evening, and threshed in a court of the temple. After it was well cleaned, about three pints of it were roasted, and pounded in a mortar. Over this was thrown a measure of olive oil and a handful of incense; and the priest, taking the offering, waved it before the Lord towards the four cardinal points, throwing a handful of it into the fire on the altar, and keeping the rest. After this, all were at liberty to get in the harvest. When the wheat harvest was over, on the day of Pentecost they offered as first fruits of another, in the name of the nation, two loaves, of about three pints of flour each, made of leavened dough, Le 23:10,17. In addition to these firstfruits, every private person was obliged to bring his firstfruits to the temple, but Scripture prescribes neither the time nor the quantity.
There was, besides this, another sort of firstfruits paid to God,Numbers 15:19,21Nehemiah 10:37: when the bread in the family was kneaded, a portion of it was set apart, and given to the priest or Levite of the place; if there were no priest or Levite, it was cast into the oven and there consumed.
Those offerings are also often called firstfruits, which were brought by the Israelites from devotion, to the temple, for the feast of thanksgiving, to which they invited their relations and friends, and the Levites of their cities. The firstfruits and tenths were the most considerable revenue of the priests and Levites.
Christians have "the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit,"Romans 8:23; that is, more abundant and more excellent gifts than the Jews; these were also a foretaste of the full harvest. "Christ is risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept,"11 Corinthians 15:20, the forerunner of all those who, because he lives, shall live also,John 14:19.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The first-fruits of the ground were offered unto God just as the first-born of man and animals.
The law required,
(1.) That on the morrow after the Passover Sabbath a sheaf of new corn should be waved by the priest before the altar (Leviticus 23:5, 6, 10, 12;2:12).
(2.) That at the feast of Pentecost two loaves of leavened bread, made from the new flour, were to be waved in like manner (Leviticus 23:15, 17;Numbers 28:26).
(3.) The feast of Tabernacles was an acknowledgement that the fruits of the harvest were from the Lord (Exodus 23:16;34:22).
(4.) Every individual, besides, was required to consecrate to God a portion of the first-fruits of the land (Exodus 22:29;23:19;34:26;Numbers 15:20, 21).
(5.) The law enjoined that no fruit was to be gathered from newly-planted fruit-trees for the first three years, and that the first-fruits of the fourth year were to be consecrated to the Lord (Leviticus 19:23-25). Jeremiah (2:3) alludes to the ordinance of "first-fruits," and hence he must have been acquainted with the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, where the laws regarding it are recorded.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
FIRST-FRUITSfurst'-froots (re'shith, bikkurim; aparche. Septuagint translates re'shith by aparche, but for bikkurim it uses the word protogennemata; compare Philo 22 33):
In acknowledgment of the fact that the land and all its products were the gift of Yahweh to Israel, and in thankfulness for His bounty, all the first-fruits were offered to Him. These were offered in their natural state (e.g. cereals, tree fruits, grapes), or after preparation (e.g. musk, oil, flour, dough), after which the Israelite was at liberty to use the rest (Exodus 23:19Numbers 15:20;Numbers 18:12Deuteronomy 26:2Nehemiah 10:35, 37). No absolute distinction can be made between re'shith and bikkurim, but re'shith seems generally to mean what is prepared by human labor, and bikkurim the direct product of Nature. The phrase "the first of the first-fruits" (Exodus 23:19;Exodus 34:26Ezekiel 44:30), Hebrew re'shith bikkure, Greek aparchai ton protogennematon, is not quite clear. It may mean the first-ripe or the choicest of the first-fruits.
The re'shith offerings were individual, except that a re'shith of dough was to be offered as a heave offering (Numbers 15:17-21). The priest waved a re'shith of corn before the Lord on the morrow after the Sabbath in the week of unleavened bread (Leviticus 23:9-11). These offerings all fell to the priest (Numbers 18:12). Bikkurim refers specially to things sown (Exodus 23:16Leviticus 2:14). At the Feast of Weeks, seven weeks after the offering of the sheaf, bikkurim of corn in the ear, parched with fire and bruised, were brought to the House of the Lord as a meal offering (Exodus 34:22-26Leviticus 2:14-16). The bikkurim also fell to the priest, except a portion which was burned as a memorial (Leviticus 2:8-10, 16).
The beautiful ceremony of the offering of the re'shith in the House of God is described inDeuteronomy 26:1-11, and is enlarged upon in the Talmud (Bikkurim 3 2). According to the Talmud (Terumoth 4 3) a sixtieth part of the first-fruits in a prepared form was the minimum that could be offered; the more generous brought a fortieth part, and even a thirtieth. The fruits of newly planted trees were not to be gathered during the first three years; the fruits of the fourth year were consecrated to Yahweh, and from the fifth year the fruits belonged to the owner of the trees (Leviticus 19:23-25). According to Mishna, `Orlah i.10, even the shells of nuts and pomegranates could not be used during the first three years as coloring matter or for the lighting of fires. It is held by some scholars that the institution of the tithe (see TITHE) is a later development from the first-fruits.
Figurative: In the Old Testament, inJeremiah 2:3, Israel is called "the re'shith of his increase." In the New Testament aparche is applied figuratively to the first convert or converts in a particular place (Romans 16:51 Corinthians 16:15); to the Christians of that age (James 1:182 Thessalonians 2:13, WHm), and to the 144,000 in heaven (Revelation 14:4); to Christ, as the first who rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23); also to the blessings which we receive now through the Spirit, the earnest of greater blessings to come (Romans 8:23).
Paul Levertoff
Greek
536. aparche -- the beginning of a sacrifice, ie the first fruit...firstfruits. From a compound of apo and archomai; a beginning of sacrifice, ie The
(Jewish) first-fruit (figuratively) -- first-fruits. see GREEK apo.
...Strong's Hebrew
7225. reshith -- beginning, chief... first (16), first fruits (7), foremost (2). beginning, chiefest,
firstfruits,
part, time, principal thing. From the same as ro'sh
...Library
How we Ought Also to Offer OurFirstfruits to the Lord.
... The Conferences of John Cassian. Chapter XXVI. How we ought also to offer
ourfirstfruits to the Lord. But what shall I say of the...
Of the Offering of Tithes andFirstfruits.
... The Conferences of John Cassian. Chapter III. Of the offering of tithes
andfirstfruits. For indeed by the Lord's command tithes...
Proof that the Divinity of the Saviour is Impassible.
... 6. The divine Apostle calls our Saviour Christ "thefirstfruits of them that slept,"
[1601] but thefirstfruits are related to the whole whereof they are...
The Firstborn.
... "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become theFirstfruits of them that
slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20). By His glorious resurrection...
The Fifth vision "In Heaven"
... They are comparatively a small body, but these are thefirstfruits to God and the
Lamb; and thefirstfruits are necessarily a small proportion compared with...
The Answer.
... up, which as we read was figuratively foreshadowed also in the Old Testament, where
when seven weeks were fulfilled the bread of thefirstfruits was ordered to...
Third Sunday after Easter Second Sermon.
... 20 But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, thefirstfruits of them that are
asleep.21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of...
Jesus Living at Nazareth and visiting Jerusalem in his Twelfth...
... It took place at the full moon which occurred next after the vernal equinox. At
it thefirstfruits of the harvest were offered (Leviticus 23:10-15)....
Of the Fact that the Precepts of the Gospel are Milder than those...
... But as sin is alive in one who loves marriage, so is it also in one who
is satisfied with merely paying his tithes andfirstfruits....
September 8 Evening
... SEPTEMBER 8 EVENING. Christ thefirstfruits."I:COR.15:23. Except a corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone...
Thesaurus
Firstfruits (37 Occurrences)... Paul Levertoff. Multi-Version Concordance
Firstfruits (37 Occurrences).
... Salute my
well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the
firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. (KJV).
...Vigour (8 Occurrences)
... Genesis 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and thefirstfruits of my
vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength. (DBY)....
Fruits (109 Occurrences)
... Romans 11:16 Now if thefirstfruits of the dough are holy, so also is the whole
mass; and if the root of a tree is holy, so also are the branches....
Kid (42 Occurrences)
... (KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT RSV). Exodus 23:19 The first of thefirstfruits of
thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God....
Ingathering (4 Occurrences)
... Exodus 23:16 And the feast of harvest, thefirstfruits of thy labors, which thou
hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of...
Epaenetus (1 Occurrence)
... Paul describes him as (1) "my beloved," (2) "who is thefirstfruits of Asia unto
Christ." Textus Receptus of the New Testament has "firstfruits of Achaia" but...
Dried (66 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 2:14 And if thou offer a meat offering of thyfirstfruits unto the LORD,
thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thyfirstfruits green ears of corn...
Shearing (6 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 18:4 Thefirstfruits also of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine
oil, and thefirstfruits of the shearing of thy sheep, shalt thou give him...
Seethe (8 Occurrences)
... morning. (KJV JPS). Exodus 23:19 The first of thefirstfruits of thy land
thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou...
Green (72 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 2:14 And if thou offer a meat offering of thyfirstfruits unto the LORD,
thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thyfirstfruits green ears of corn...
Resources
What was the firstfruits offering? Should Christians give a firstfruits offering today? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the Feast of Weeks? | GotQuestions.orgWhat are the different Jewish festivals in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgBible Concordance •
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