First-fruits

Among the Hebrews, were oblations of part of the fruits of the harvest, offered to God as an acknowledgment of his sovereign dominion. There was another sort of first fruits which was paid to God. When bread was kneaded in a family, a portion of it was set apart, and given to the priest or Levite who dwelt in the place. If there were no priest or Levite there, it was cast into the oven, and consumed by the fire. These offerings made a considerable part of the revenues of the priesthood, Lev 23:1-44: Exo 22:29. Chron 23: 19. Numb. 15: 19, 20. The first fruits of the Spirit, are such communications of his grace on earth, as fully assure us of the full enjoyment of God in heaven, Rom 8:23. Christ is called the first fruits of them that slept; for as the first fruits were earnests to the Jews of the succeeding harvest, so Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection, or the earnest of a future resurrection; that as he rose, so shall believers also rise to happiness and life. 1Co 15:20. First fruits are mentioned in ancient writers as one part of the church revenue. First fruits, in the church of England, are the profits of every spiritual benefice for the first year, according to the valuation thereof in the king’s book.

among the Hebrews, were presents made to God of part of the fruits of the harvest, to express the submission, dependence, and thankfulness of the offerers. They were offered at the temple, before the crop was touched; and when the harvest was over, before any private persons used their corn. The first of these first-fruits, offered in the name of the nation, was a sheaf of barley, 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 portion of oil, and a handful of incense. Then the priest took this offering, waved it before the Lord toward the four parts of the world, threw a handful of it into the fire upon the altar, and kept the rest. After this, every one was at liberty to get in his harvest. Beside these first- fruits, every private person was obliged to bring his first-fruits to the temple. The Scripture prescribes neither the time nor the quantity. The rabbins say, that they were obliged to bring at least the sixtieth part of their fruits and harvest. These first-fruits consisted of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, apricots, olives, and dates. They met in companies of four-and-twenty persons to carry their first-fruits in a ceremonious manner. The company was preceded by an ox appointed for the sacrifice, with a crown of olives on his head, and his horns gilded. There was also another sort of first-fruits paid to God, Num 15:19-20, when the bread in every family was kneaded, a portion of it was set apart, and given to the priest or Levite of the place. If there was no priest or Levite, it was cast into the oven, and consumed by the fire. This is one of the three precepts peculiar to the women; because they generally made the bread. The first-fruits and tenths were the most substantial revenue of the priests and Levites. St. Paul says, Christians have the first-fruits of the Spirit, Rom 8:23, that is, a greater abundance of God’s Spirit, more perfect and more excellent gifts than the Jews. Christ is called the first-fruits of them that slept; for as the first-fruits were earnests to the Jews of the succeeding harvest, so Christ is the first-fruits or the earnest of the general resurrection.

There are various regulations in the law of Moses respecting first-fruits which would be of much interest to us, could we in every case discern the precise object in view. No doubt the leading object, as far as regards the offering of the first-fruits to God, was, that all the after-fruits and after-gatherings might be consecrated in and through them; and it was not less the dictate of a natural impulse that the first-fruits should be offered to God in testimony of thankfulness for His bounties. Hence we find some analogous custom among most nations in which material offerings were used. There are, however, some particulars in the Mosaical regulations which these considerations do not adequately explain.

First-Fruits of Fruit-Trees

It was directed that the first-fruits of every tree whose fruit was used for food, should, for the first three years of bearing, be counted ’uncircumcised,’ and regarded as unclean (Lev 19:23-24). It was unlawful to sell them, to eat them, or to make any benefit of them. It was only in the fourth year of bearing that they were accounted ’holy,’ and the fruit of that year was made an offering of first-fruits, and was either given to the priests (Num 18:12-13), or, as the Jews themselves understand, was eaten by the owners of it before the Lord, at Jerusalem,’ as was the case with second tithe. After the fourth year all fruits of trees were available for use by the owner. As the general principle of the law was, that only that which was perfect should be used in offerings, it is an obvious inference that the fruits of trees were considered imperfect until the fourth year; and if so, the law may have had the ulterior object of excluding from use crude, immature, and therefore unwholesome fruits. Michaelis (iii. 267-8), indeed, finds a benefit to the trees themselves in this regulation.

First-Fruits of the Yearly Increase

Of these there were two kinds—1. The first-fruits in the sheaf (Lev 23:10). 2. The first-fruits in the two wave-loaves (Lev 23:17). These two bounded the harvest, that in the sheaf being offered at the beginning of the harvest, upon the 15th of the month Nisan; the other at the end of the harvest, on the Feast of Pentecost. 3. The first of the dough, being the twenty-fourth part thereof, which was given to the priests (Num 15:20): and this kind of offering was not neglected even after the return from Babylon (Neh 10:37). 4. The first-fruits of the threshing-floor.

The oblation of the first-fruits of the threshing-floor was distinguished by the Jewish writers into two sorts. The first of these was the first-fruits of seven things only, namely, wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. The second sort consisted of corn, wine, oil, and whatever other produce was fit for the support of human life. Under this class of first-fruits was included the first of the fleece, by which the priests were provided with clothes, as by the other offerings with food. The hair of goats, which are shorn in the East, was included under this denomination.

First-fruits.

1. 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. Exo 22:29; Exo 23:19; Exo 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.

2. On the morrow , after the Passover Sabbath, that is, 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. Lev 2:12; Lev 23:5-6; Lev 23:10; Lev 23:12.

3. At the expiration of seven weeks from this time, that is, 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. Exo 34:22; Lev 23:15; Lev 23:17; Num 28:26.

4. The Feast of Ingathering, that is, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the seventh month, was itself an acknowledgment of the fruits of the harvest. Exo 23:16; Exo 34:22; Lev 23:39.

These [preceding] four sorts of offerings were national. Besides them, the two following offerings were of an individual kind.

5. A cake of the first dough that was baked was to be offered as a heave-offering. Num 15:19; Num 15:21.

6. 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. Deu 26:2-11. The offerings were the perquisite of the priests. Num 18:11; Deu 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. Neh 10:35; Neh 10:37; Neh 12:44. An offering of first-fruits is mentioned as an acceptable one to the prophet Elisha. 2Ki 4:42.

1. True Christians are called ’a kind of first-fruits of God’s creatures (Jas 1:18), as being specially consecrated to him.’

2. The communications of God’s grace on earth, as. an earnest of future glory, are also so called (Rom 8:23), and for the same. reason, the resurrection of Christ, as the pledge of the resurrection of the just’ (1Co 4:20).

3. In an ecclesiastical sense, this term is applied to the first year’s produce of benefices, which the pope demanded of foreigners to whom he gave benefices of the Church of England. Henry VIII rescued this payment from the pope, but annexed it to the crown. Queen Anne, however, gave them back to the Church for the augmentation of small livings" (Eden). SEE ANNATES. The valor beneficiorum, commonly called the value in the King’s Books, was made at the same time as the statute 26 Henry VIII, c. 3, by which these payments were transferred to the crown. A former valuation had been made, 20 Edward I, which still exists in the exchequer. By this statute and one subsequent, 1 Elizabeth IV, every spiritual person admitted to a benefice must pay his first-fruits within three months after induction, in proper proportion: if he does not live half a year, or be ousted before the expiration of the first year, only one quarter is required; if he lives’ the year, or be ousted before eighteen months, one half; if a year and a half, three quarters; if two years, the whole. Archbishops and bishops have four years allowed them, and shall pay one quarter every year, if they live so long on the see. Other dignitaries pay as rectors and vicars. By several statutes of Anne, all livings under £50 per annum are discharged of the payment of first-fruits and tenths. The following notice of the valuation in the King’s Books, and the former payments to the pope as primitiae, is taken from Godwin’s work, De Prcesulibus Angl. The florin was 4s. 6d., the ducat 8s. English:

First-fruits. As the first-born of men and firstlings of beasts, so the first-fruits of the increase of the land were regarded as holy to the Lord. Rom 8:23; Rom 11:16; 1Co 15:20; 1Co 15:23; 1Co 16:15; Jas 1:18; Rev 14:4. One remarkable provision of the law was that the Hebrews must not for three years touch the produce of any fruit-tree they planted. The fourth year of bearing it was consecrated as the first-fruits to the Lord, Lev 19:23-25; in the fifth year it was free for the owner’s use. This rule is not supposed to have applied to the trees the people found on entering Palestine. There were general commands as to the offering of the first fruits, Exo 22:29; Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26, and also specified times when such offerings were to be publicly made. The first-fruits of the harvest in the sheaf were to be presented at the feast of the passover, on the morrow after the sabbath. Lev 23:9-14. Till this was done, no harvest-work was to be proceeded with. At the feast of pentecost the first-fruits of the completed Harvest in the shape of two loaves made of the new flour were to be presented. Exo 34:22; Lev 23:15-17; Num 28:26. Besides these public and national oblations, there were others of a more private and individual kind. Such were the first-fruits of the dough, Num 16:20-21; and of the threshing-floor, which Jewish writers distinguish into two kinds, the first including wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and figs; the second oil, wine, and other produce which supported human life, also the first of the fleece and the hair of goats. No rule was laid down in scripture as to the proportion the offered first-fruits ought to bear to the whole produce; but one-sixtieth is said to be the least; sometimes one-fortieth or one-thirtieth part was presented. The address which the offerer was to make to God is prescribed in Deu 26:1-11. Doubtless in times of national declension less regard would be paid to the law of the first-fruits; but we find that during the various reforms they flowed in abundantly. 2Ch 31:5; Neh 10:35; Neh 10:37; comp. Eze 20:40 to Eze 48:14. The first-fruits generally became the portion of the priests and Levites, to be eaten by them and their famines. Num 18:12; Deu 18:4; Eze 44:30. In Israel after the schism they were sometimes offered to the prophets. 2Ki 4:42.

1. As God had claimed the first-born of man and beast, so also he claimed the first of the first-fruits, that they might be presented as an acknowledgement that God was the giver of them, and thanks be rendered for His gifts. All the males were to present themselves three times in the year before God, and these occasions were arranged at the times of ingathering of the barley (at the Feast of Unleavened Bread); of wheat (at the Feast of Weeks); and of the vintage (at the Feast of Tabernacles). Exo 23:16; Exo 23:19; Exo 34:22; Exo 34:26; Deu 18:4; Deu 26:10; Eze 48:14.

2. Christians are said to have the first-fruits of the Spirit: they have the earnest or pledge of still future and larger blessing. Rom 8:23; 2Co 5:5; Eph 1:14.

3. Those first gathered to God in any economy are called the first-fruits. Rom 11:16; Rom 16:5; 1Co 16:15; Jas 1:18; Rev 14:4.

4. Christ, being raised from among the dead, is the first-fruits of them that sleep. 1Co 15:20; 1Co 15:23. ’First-fruits’ necessarily imply that there are more like them to follow.

FIRST-FRUITS.—On the offering of first-fruits as a Jewish institution see Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , vol. ii. p. 10 f.

The word rendered first-fruits (ἀπαρχή) occurs 8 times in the NT, and only in 1Co 15:20; 1Co 15:23 is it applied directly to our Lord: ‘Now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of them that are asleep’; ‘Christ the first-fruits; then they that are Christ’s.’ It is possible, as some have suggested, that there is a reference in v. 20 to the specific offering of the sheaf of the first ripe corn on the second day of the Passover feast (Lev 23:10-11). The coincidence of our Lord’s resurrection on the 16th Nisan—the day on which the sheaf was offered before the Lord—would no doubt suggest the idea of the first-fruits to the Apostle’s mind. But, even apart from this specific reference, the figure of the risen Christ as the first-fruits from the dead is perfectly natural. And there is more here than might be at first supposed. Christ’s resurrection is the pledge of His people’s resurrection, just as the first-fruits were the pledge of the harvest to come. Christ is the first to be raised from the dead, and so stands in the front rank alone, as the first-fruits were plucked before the rest of the produce was ripe; but, just as certainly as the harvest in due time followed the first-fruits, so shall those who sleep in Christ be raised up in due time, and stand in the second rank after Him. But, further, it is clearly implied here, and explicitly taught in other passages, that as is Christ the first-fruits, so shall be the rest of the harvest. There is implied here a community of nature and character between Christ, the first-fruits, and His people. It is only the time of their manifestation that is different. The portion gathered as first-fruits is of the same nature as the rest, and the rest is of the same nature and character and standing as the first-fruits. This is indicated specially in Lev 23:21, where it is said that, as death came by man, so it is only by man that the resurrection can come, i.e. resurrection and triumph over death can be man’s possession only when given him by one who is man like himself. Man, therefore, must be of the same nature and character and standing as Christ, the first-fruits. What is suggested here is plainly taught elsewhere (Col 3:4, Rom 8:29, 1Jn 3:2). Christ, according to these passages, is the first-fruits, the firstborn among many brethren, not only as the pledge that, as He rose, so His people shall rise from the dead, but also that as He is, in nature and character, so shall His people be. That is, perhaps, the most glorious promise of the resurrection first-fruits.

In Rom 8:23 the first-fruits of the Spirit received by Christ’s people are referred to. That they have received the Spirit in some measure and have been sanctified inwardly, is the pledge that they shall receive it in yet greater abundance, that there shall be a final outpouring of the Spirit by which the body of man shall be redeemed even as the spirit has been sanctified—the psychical body being changed into a spiritual. In Rom 11:16; Rom 16:5, 1Co 16:15, Jas 1:18, Rev 14:4 the reference is to the future redemption of mankind, of which those already gathered in are the first-fruits and pledge. Those already redeemed and presented to God as holy are the first-fruits, the pledge of the coming harvest of a holy redeemed humanity.

Literature.—Schürer, HJ^{P [Note: JP History of the Jewish People.]} ii. i. 237; Edersheim, The Temple: its Ministry, etc., xix.; Stapfer, Palestine in Time of Christ, bk. ii. ch. 13; Josephs, Judaism as Creed and Life, bk. ii. ch. 5; art. ‘First-Fruits’ in Jew. Encyc. vol. v.

J. Soutar.

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Wilhelm Nowack, Solomon Schechter

—Biblical Data:

As the firstling among the cattle, so the first-fruits of the field ("reshit," "ḥeleb" [LXX. ἀπαρχή], "bikkurim" [LXX. πρωτογεννήματα]), of corn, of wine, and of oil belonged to Yhwh. According to Ex. xxii. 28 (A. V. 29), the Israelite was not to delay to offer "of his abundance," a phrase that is explained in Ex. xxiii. 19 and xxxiv. 26 as meaning the choicest products, the first-fruits of the land. These first-fruits, as in the case of the first-born, were used for a feast-offering, even at the time of the compilation of the Deuteronomic code, according to which the offering had to take place at Jerusalem. If the distance was too great, the gifts might be sold at home, and a feast might be procured at Jerusalem with the proceeds (Deut. xiv. 22 et seq.). This ordinance agrees only in part with another given in Deut. xxvi. 2 et seq., according to which the feast-offering was prescribed for only two years. The first-fruits of the third year were to be brought to Jerusalem and given to the Levites, widows, orphans, and the poor. This is probably an innovation due to the emphasis laid on charity toward the poor and the Levites, a feature characteristic of the Deuteronomic code.

In view of these ordinances it is remarkable that, according to Deut. xviii. 4 (probably written at a later date), the priest might claim the reshit of corn, wine, oil, and wool. This is hardly intended to supersede previous ordinances, the reshit being evidently taken from the first-fruits set apart for the feast-offering (comp. xxvi. 12 et seq.). The same is probably to be inferred from Ezek. xliv. 30, where a reshit of all the first-fruits of all things ("terumat kol") and of the first of the dough is demanded for the priest. These ordinances, at all events, form the transition to P, where both the first-fruits and the first-born lose their original signification, and assume the character of a tax paid to the priest. According to Num. xviii. 12, the priest's reshit (called also "terumah, "ib. xviii. 27) was to consist of the best of the corn, wine, and oil. In verse 13, "whatsoever is first ripe in the land" ("bikkurim") is added. It is not clear what "bikkurim" means here, although it may refer to the fruit which ripens first.

The distinction made between "reshit" and "bikkurim" in post-exilic times is clearly evident from Neh. x. 36 (A. V. 35), 38, where the congregation agrees to deliver the reshit to the chambers of the Temple, but to take the bikkurim to the house of Yhwh in a solemn procession, and with the ceremonies laid down in Deut. xxvi. 2 et seq. (comp. Neh. xii. 44, xiii. 5; II Chron. xxxi. 5, 12). Besides this double offering, the reshit of the dough is demanded as terumah for Yhwh (Num. xv. 1 et seq.). Just as the Israelites offered up grains from the thrashing-floor, so they were to make an offering—a cake ("ḥallah")—from the dough.

Finally, Lev. xix. 23 decrees that the fruit of young trees shall not be eaten during the first three years, and that in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be given to Yhwh as a praise-offering ("ḳodesh ḥillulim"). The reshit and bikkurim developed into the later institution of the tithe ("ma'aser"), which was originally identical with these, as may be learned from Deuteronomy. While, according to Deut. xiv. 22, the annual offering of the tithe in the sanctuary is made the occasion for a feast, in xxvi. 2 et seq. the word "reshit" appears to designate the offering which is made obligatory for two successive years at the central sanctuary; the tithe ("ma'aser") in the third year being given at home to the indigent. The expression "ma'aser" evidently arose in the endeavor to determine the amount of the reshit, which depended on personal option, and was not fixed by law. "Ma'aser," however, in earlier times may have signified merely an approximate estimate. The expression perhaps reflects the customs prevailing at the sanctuaries of northern Israel (comp. Amos iv. 4 et seq.; Gen. xxviii. 22). Thus the absence of any mention of the tithe in the old laws is probably due to its identity with the reshit. Ma'aser is first mentioned as a separate tax in connection with reshit and bikkurim in P (comp. Num. xxviii. 21 et seq.). See Tithe.

E. G. H. W. N.—In Rabbinical Literature:

The first-fruits ("bikkurim") are known under three designations: (1) "reshit ḳeẓirkem" (Lev. xxiii. 10), "the first-fruits of your harvest"; (2) "leḥem ha-bikkurim" (Lev. xxiii. 17-20), "the bread of the first-fruits"; (3) "reshit bikkure admateka" (Ex. xxiii. 19)," the first of the first-fruits of thy land," or "reshit kol peri ha-adamah" (Deut. xxvi. 2), "the first of all the fruit of the earth."

Sale of New Flour.

(1) The "first-fruits of the harvest" were offered on the 16th day of Nisan, from that fruit which ripened first in Palestine—barley (but see Men. 84a)—and with considerable ceremony, in order to emphasize dissent from the Sadducean interpretation of the Scripture text, "the morrow after the Sabbath" (Lev. xxiii. 11), which is, according to the Sadducees, always Sunday (Men. 65b). The ceremony occurred toward the evening of the first day of Pesaḥ, in a field in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, sheaves of choice barley having been bound there before-hand by men deputed to this work by the authorities. In the presence of a vast throng, from the neighboring towns as well as from Jerusalem, the sheaves to the amount of three seah were cut by three men with three sickles and placed in three baskets. As soon as it grew dark the "harvester" addressed to the assembly the following questions, repeating each one three times, and receiving to each an affirmative reply: "Has the sun set?" "Is this the sickle?" "Is this the basket?" and on Sabbath, "Is this the Sabbath day?" He next inquired thrice: "Shall I harvest?" to which they answered:" Do harvest." All this was to confound the Sadducean heresy. The barley was then gathered into the baskets and carried to the hall of the Temple, where it was beaten out, not, as usually, with sticks, but with soft reeds; or, according to a divergent opinion, it was first roasted in a perforated vessel over a fire, so that the heat might touch all parts evenly. Then it wasspread out on the floor of the hall and winnowed in the draft. Ground in a coarse hand-mill, an 'omer of the finely sieved flour mixed with oil and incense was "swung and offered up," and a handful was burned as incense by the priest. The rest was distributed among the priests (Men. x. 1-4; Maimonides, "Yad," Temidin, vii.). The completion of this ceremony was the signal for opening the bazaars for the sale of new flour and "ḳali" (see Bread), somewhat to the displeasure of the Rabbis (Men. x. 5). Israelites in distant districts, in fact, were permitted to eat from the new crop from midday on, a privilege withdrawn by Johanan ben Zakkai after the destruction of the Temple (Men. x. 5). The ceremony of the "reshit ḳeẓirkem" was considered as an act of gratitude to God for His providential care of the fields (Lev. R. xxviii.).

(2) The "bread of the first-fruits" consisted of two loaves baked of new wheat, though, according to Akiba and Nathan, they were not unusable even if baked of old wheat (Men. 83b). No meal-offering ("minḥah") could be brought before these two loaves had been offered up on Shabu'ot (Sifra to Lev. xxiii. 16; Sifre, Pineḥas). They had to be exactly alike (Sifra, l.c.), the leaven rising from the dough itself, though, according to another opinion, the yeast was added to the dough (Men. v.; Sifra, l.c.); these loaves were offered by the whole community (at public expense).

(3) The third class of bikkurim embraced the first-fruits of all the land. Laying stress on the words "thy land" (Ex. xxiii. 19), the Rabbis provide that the law is not applicable to fruit not literally grown on land (Bik. i. 1), or to that grown on land not one's own propeity. Renters, in whole or in part, robbers, and despoilers ("sicarii"), therefore, are exempt (so also Mek. to Ex. xxiii. 19). For the reason that they could not consistently recite the benediction (Deut. xxvi. 5), slaves and women and persons of uncertain sex, as well as proselytes unless their mothers were Israelites, were permitted to offer up the first-fruits without pronouncing the eulogy (Bik. i. 4; Mek., l.c.). The proselyte praying by himself or with the congregation pronounced a modified benediction ("the fathers of Israel"; "the God of your fathers"). The bikkurim were offered only from the "seven" plants (comp. Deut. viii. 8); not from dates, grown in the mountains nor from fruits grown in the valleys; not from olives unless they were of the best quality (Bik. i. 3); and never before the Feast of Weeks. But if one offered, between that festival and the Feast of Tabernacles, fruit of the "seven" plants, or fruit from the mountains, or dates grown in the valleys, or olives from beyond the Jordan, the offering was accepted and the benediction was allowed (ib. i. 10). Olives and grapes were accepted as fruits, but not in their liquid state ("mashkim") as oil and wine ("Yad," Bikkurim, ii. 4; Ter. 59a; 'Ar. 11a; Yer. Ter. xi. 3; Ḥul. 120a; Mek., l.c.). Fruit from beyond the border of Palestine, "the land flowing with milk and honey," was exempt; but Syria and the cities of Sihon and Og were included; not so Moab and Ammon. Jose the Galilean therefore took exception to including in the Holy Land the district beyond the Jordan (Gilead; Bik. i. 10). The law of the first-fruit is held in abeyance, now that the Temple is not extant and Israel is not in possession of Palestine ("Yad," Bikkurim, ii. 1).

Procedure.

The following was the method of selecting fruits for the offering: Upon visiting his field and seeing a fig, or a grape, or a pomegranate that was ripe, the owner would tie a fiber around the fruit, saying, "This shall be among the bikkurim." According to Simeon, he had to repeat the express designation after the fruit had been plucked from the tree in the orchard (Bik. iii. 1). The fruits were carried in great state to Jerusalem. Deputations ("ma'amadot"), representing the people of all the cities in the district, assembled in the chief town of the district, and stayed there overnight in the open squares, without going into the houses. At dawn the officer in charge (the "memunneh") called out: "Arise, let us ascend to Zion, the house of Yhwh our God." Those from the neighborhood brought fresh figs and grapes, those from a distance dried figs and raisins. The bull destined for the sacrifice, his horns gilded and his head wreathed with olive-leaves, led the procession, which was accompanied with flute-playing. Arrived near the Holy City, the pilgrims sent messengers ahead while they decorated the first-fruits. The Temple officers came out to meet them, and all artisans along the streets rose before them, giving them the salutation of peace, and hailing them as brothers from this or that town. The flute kept sounding until they reached the Temple mount. Here even King Agrippa, following the custom, took his basket on his shoulder, and marched in the ranks, until they came to the outer court and hall. There they were welcomed by the Levites, singing Ps. xxx. 2. The doves which bad been carried along in the baskets were offered for burnt offerings, and what the men had in their hands they gave to the priests. But before this, while still carrying his basket, each man recited Deut. xxvi. 3 et seq.; at the words "a wayfaring Aramæan was my father" the basket was deposed from the shoulder, but while the owner was still holding its handles or rims, a priest put his hand under it and "swung it" (lifted it up), and repeated the words "a wayfaring Aramæan," etc., to the close of the Deuteronomic section. Then placing the basket by the side of the altar, the pilgrim bowed down and left the hall.

The custom of having the section of the Torah read by the priest and not by the pilgrim arose out of the desire to spare the feelings of those that did not know how to read. The rich brought their fruits in gold and silver baskets, the poor in such as were made of peeled reeds; these baskets were left with the priests. The fruit was decorated with other fruits and plants, so that the offering really consisted of the first-fruit, an addition to the first-fruit, and the decorations. These additions had to be eaten in purity like the first-fruit. Like other property of the priest, the bikkurim could be utilized by him to purchase slaves, fields, or cattle; and he could settle his debts or pay his wife's dower ("ketubbah") with them. Judah holds that the first-fruits were considered as the provincial offerings, which the donor could give to anybody he liked. Itwas advisable he should give them to a "ḥaber" in exchange for thanks; while the majority of the rabbis considered them as sacrifices of the altar, which could be divided only among the men of the watch—that is, the division of priests who happened to be on duty—and who should divide them like other sacrifices (Bik. iii.).

The quantity of the first-fruits to be brought into the Temple was in the Scriptures (Deut. xvi. 10) left to the pleasure of the owner, but the Rabbis afterward decided that it should amount to one-sixtieth of the whole crop ("Yad," Bikkurim, ii. 17). After the destruction of the Temple bikkurim could not be offered, but the Rabbis regarded acts of philanthropy as a proper substitute (Yer. Peah 19a; Lev. R. xxiv.), especially in the form of assistance extended to men of learning (Ket. 104).

FIRST-FRUITS.—See Sacrifice and Offering.

The biblical word includes the best as well as the earliest fruits or crops, both natural and prepared, drawn from such sources as the threshing-floor, the wine-vat, and the oil-press (Deuteronomy 18). They are mentioned in the Law as offerings to Jehovah (Deuteronomy 26), under the titles of gifts, tithes, sacrifices, etc., and on prescribed occasions, especially the feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.

The practice of consecrating first-fruits to the Deity is not a distinctly Jewish one (cf. Iliad, IX, 529; Aristophanes, "Ran.", 1272; Ovid, "Metam.", VIII, 273; X, 431; Pliny, "Hist. Nat.", IV, 26; etc.). It seems to have sprung up naturally among agricultural peoples from the belief that the first &#151 hence the best &#151 yield of the earth is due to God as an acknowledgment of His gifts. "God served first", then the whole crop becomes lawful food. The offering of the first-fruits was, in Israel, regulated by laws enshrined in different parts of the Mosaic books. These laws were, in the course of ages, supplemented by customs preserved later on in the Talmud. Three entire treatises of the latter, "Bíkkûrîm", "Terû-môth", and "Hállah", besides numerous other passages of both the Mishna and Gemarah, are devoted to the explanation of these customs.First-fruit offerings are designated in the Law by a threefold name: Bíkkûrîm, Reshîth, and Terûmôth. There remains much uncertainty about the exact import of these words, as they seem to have been taken indiscriminately at different epochs. If, however, one considers the texts attentively, he may gather from them a fairly adequate idea of the subject. There was a first-fruit offering connected with the beginning of the harvest. Leviticus, xxiii, 10-14, enacted that a sheaf of ears should be brought to the priest, who, the next day after the Sabbath, was to lift it up before the Lord. A holocaust, a meal-offering, and a libation accompanied the ceremony; and until it was performed no "bread, or parched corn, or frumenty of the harvest" should be eaten. Seven weeks later two loaves, made from the new harvest, were to be brought to the sanctuary for a new offering. The Bíkkûrîm consisted, it seems, of the first ripened raw fruits; they were taken from wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomogranates, olives, and honey. The fruits offered were supposed to be the choicest, and were to be fresh, except in the case of grapes and figs, which might be offered dried by Israelites living far from Jerusalem. No indication is given in Scripture as to how much should be thus brought to the sanctuary. But the custom was gradually introduced of consecrating no less than one-sixtieth and no more than one-fortieth of the crop (Bíkk., ii, 2, 3, 4). Occasionally, of course, there were extraordinary offerings, like that of the fruit of a tree the fourth year after it bad been planted (Leviticus 19:23-25); one might also, for instance, set apart as a free offering the harvest of a whole field.No time was, at first, specially set apart for the offering; in later ages, however, the feast of Dedication (25 Casleu) was assigned as the limit (Bíkk., i, 6; Hállah, iv, 10). In the Book of Deuteronomy, xxvi, 1-11, directions are laid down as to the manner in which these offerings should be made. The first-fruits were brought in a basket to the sanctuary and presented to the priest, with an expression of thanksgiving for the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and the possession of the fertile land of Palestine. A feast, shared by the Levite and the stranger, followed. Whether the fruits offered were consumed in that meal is not certain; Numbers, xviii, 13, seems to intimate that they henceforth belonged to the priest, and Philo and Josephus suppose the same.Other offerings were made of the prepared fruits, especially oil, wine, and dough (Deuteronomy 18:4; Numbers 15:20-21; Leviticus 2:12, 14-15; cf. Exodus 22:29, in the Greek), and "the first of the fleece". As in the case of the raw fruits, no quantity was determined; Ezechiel affirms that it was one-sixtieth of the harvest for wheat and barley and one-one hundredth for oil. They were presented to the sanctuary with ceremonies analogous to those alluded to above, although, unlike the Bíkkûrîm, they were not offered at the altar, but brought into the store-rooms of the temple. They may he looked upon, therefore, not so much as sacrificial matter as a tax for the support of the priests. (See ANNATES.)-----------------------------------SMITH, The Religion of the Semites (2d ed., London, 1907): WELLHAUSEN, Prolegomena to the History of Israel, tr. BLACK AND MENZIEB (Edinburgh, 1885), 157-58; PHILO, De festo cophini; ID., De proemiis sacerdotum; JOSEPHUS, Ant. Jud., IV, viii, 22; RELAND, Antiquitates sacrœ; SCHÜRER, Geschichte des jüd. Volkes im Zeit. J. C. (Leipzig, 1898), II, 237-50.CHARLES L. SOUVAY. Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VICopyright © 1909 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, CensorImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

fûrst´froots (ראשׁית, rē’shı̄th, בּכּוּרים, bikkūrı̄m; ἀπαρχή, aparchḗ̌. Septuagint translates rē’shı̄th by aparchē, but for bikkūrı̄m it uses the word prōtogennē̇mata 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 (Exo 23:19; Num 15:20; Num 18:12; Deu 26:2; Neh 10:35, Neh 10:37). No absolute distinction can be made between rē’shı̄th and bikkūrı̄m, but rē’shı̄th seems generally to mean what is prepared by human labor, and bikkūrı̄m the direct product of Nature. The phrase “the first of the first-fruits” (Exo 23:19; Exo 34:26; Eze 44:30), Hebrew rē’shı̄th bikkūrē, Greek aparchaı́ tō̇n prōtogennēmátōn, is not quite clear. It may mean the first-ripe or the choicest of the first-fruits. The rē’shı̄th offerings were individual, except that a rē’shı̄th of dough was to be offered as a heave offering (Num 15:17-21). The priest waved a rē’shı̄th of corn before the Lord on the morrow after the Sabbath in the week of unleavened bread (Lev 23:9-11). These offerings all fell to the priest (Num 18:12). Bikkūrı̄m refers specially to things sown (Exo 23:16; Lev 2:14). At the Feast of Weeks, seven weeks after the offering of the sheaf, bikkūrı̄m of corn in the ear, parched with fire and bruised, were brought to the House of the Lord as a meal offering (Exo 34:22-26; Lev 2:14-16). The bikkūrı̄m also fell to the priest, except a portion which was burned as a memorial (Lev 2:8-10, Lev 2:16). The beautiful ceremony of the offering of the rē’shı̄th in the House of God is described in Deu 26:1-11, and is enlarged upon in the Talmud (Bikkūrı̄m 3 2). According to the Talmud (T^erūmōth 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 (Lev 19:23-25). According to Mishna, ‛Orlāh 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, in Jer 2:3, Israel is called “the rē’shı̄th of his increase.” In the New Testament aparchē is applied figuratively to the first convert or converts in a particular place (Rom 16:5; 1Co 16:15); to the Christians of that age (Jas 1:18; 2Th 2:13, WHm), and to the 144,000 in heaven (Rev 14:4); to Christ, as the first who rose from the dead (1Co 15:20, 1Co 15:23); also to the blessings which we receive now through the Spirit, the earnest of greater blessings to come (Rom 8:23).