Firstfruits (Heb. bikkûrîm), “first fruit”; re’shîd, “beginning”, “select”; once bikkûrah, “first ripe fruit”; gr. aparje, “the beginning of a sacrifice”, “first fruits”). Offerings presented to God as a sign of loyalty on the part of the worshiper. They normally became the property of the priest (Num 18:12; Deu 18:4), although it is recorded at least once that they presented themselves to a prophet (2Ki 4:42). The nature of the firstfruits offering is emphasized by 2 Hebrew words: 1. It consisted of the part of the harvest that ripened earliest (bikkûrîm). 2. She was the most chosen (rê’hîth). Special offerings of firstfruits were made at each of Israel’s 3 great annual festivals: Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. On Nisan 16, the day after the annual Passover Sabbath, a sheaf of newly ripe barley was waved before the altar (Lev 2:12; 23:10, 11). On the day of Pentecost, 2 loaves of barley, baked with yeast and wheat flour from the new harvest, were presented to Jehovah (Lev 23:17; cf Exo 34:22). The Feast of the Harvest or of the Tabernacles, in the 7th month, was in itself an act of gratitude to God for all the harvests harvested, and apparently the first fruits or the choicest were offered in relation to them (cf Exo 23 :16, 19; Lev 23:39). In addition to these national presentations of firstfruits, individuals could also give their personal freewill offerings (Num 15:20, 21; Deu 26:2, 10). In Rom 16:5, Epeneto is called “the firstfruit…for Christ”, meaning that he was the first convert or one of the first. In 1Co 15:20 it is stated that Christ is “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”. He is the guarantee of the great harvest that will follow when the righteous dead rise at his second coming (v 23). The 144,000 are also called “firstfruits” (Rev 14:4), either as a guarantee of the great harvest of the redeemed, or as a special gift or offering to God. Firstfruits, Feast of the. See Pentecost, Feast of.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
first fruit of anything. The offering of p. God, who has been known since the earliest biblical times, Gn 4, 3-4, is the acknowledgment of his absolute lordship; he was recognized as the owner and giver of the fruits, since everything is due to his blessing, and therefore the p. they belong to him and are consecrated to him, Ex 22, 28; 23, 19; 34, 16; Level 2, 12 and 14; 10, 10-17; Dt 18, 4. Those of the land and those of cattle were offered, as well as p. from the mill, the bread, when the people were already established in the land of Canaan, Nm 15, 17-21. They were a contribution for the support of the cult, in Nm 18, 12-13, they correspond to the priest.
There were two festivals associated with the offering of p. the harvest festival, which marked the end of the harvest, called Weeks, Ex 34, 22, which lasted seven weeks, celebrated fifty days after Easter, Lv 23, 16, for which he also received the name of Pentecost, from the Greek pentêkostê, fiftieth, Tb 2, 1. And the harvest festival, in autumn, at the end of it, also called the Tents or Tabernacles festival, Dt 16, 13; Lev 23, 34; because they made tents like the ones they made in the field for the harvest season and they were also a memory of the camps of the Israelites on the pilgrimage through the desert, Lv 23, 43.
Figuratively Israel is called, among other peoples, p. of Yahweh, Jr 2, 3, consecrated to him; as is also called the new people of God made up, not by Israel alone, but by all believers in Jesus, without any distinction, who have the p. of the spirit., Rm 8, 26; for Jesus overcame death, “first fruits of those who died”; since if death came into the world through a man, resurrection came through Jesus, 1 Cor 15, 20-21. The Father, says James, created us to be the p. of his creatures, Jas 16, 18. St. Paul calls Epaenetus † œp. from Asia for Christ† , Rm 16, 5, perhaps the first Christian from this region of the world.
The same is said of the Estefas family †œp. of Achaia† , 1 Cor 16, 15. Firstborn, who was born first, man or animal, which according to the Law should be consecrated to God, Ex 13, 1 and 11-13; 22, 28; Ex 34, 19-20; Dt 15, 19. Aaron and his descendants, the priests, were given the ministry of everything that belongs to Yahweh, all the firstborn will be for the priest, and he had to rescue Fr. of man and impure animal, Nm 18, 15-17. The descendants of Levi were chosen by Yahweh for him, consecrated as a ransom for the firstborn of Israel, to be at his service, Nm 3, 12-13, for this reason they were not given an inheritance, when the division of the land of Canaan, for his inheritance was Yahweh.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
The first fruits of the harvest, the most beloved, which must be given to God, in his Temple, to the priests: (Exo 23:19, Lv.23.
17, Deut.26.
1-11. See “Tithes”.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Like the †¢firstborn of man or animal, the first fruits of each harvest were to be consecrated to the Lord (“The p. of the first fruits of your land shall you bring to the house of the Lord your God† ). Deu 26:1-11 gives the precise instructions for how this should be done, including a prayer confessing that these fruits were the product of a whole work of God. In Num 18:13 God said to Aaron: “The p. of all the things of their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours† (Num 18:12-13). They were used for the sustenance of the priests and Levites. The presentation of these offerings gave rise to the feast of the p. (†¢Holidays). The teaching is ratified in Pro 3:9 (“Honor the Lord with your wealth, and with the p. of all your produce† ).
In the NT, it is translated from the Greek term I parked. It is said that believers have “the p. of the Spirit† (Rom 8:23). So the Holy Spirit is presented as the first fruit that the believer reaps in his new relationship with God, being in itself the promise and guarantee of the future glories that he will enjoy. Speaking of the resurrection, Paul also says that the Lord Jesus is “p. of those who have fallen asleep† , implying that the fact of the return to life of the Lord was the beginning of a process in which he is the first, “then they that are of Christ, at his coming” (1Co 15 :20-23).
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, CALE LEYE
vet, (a) Just as God claimed His ownership of the firstborn of man and animals, He likewise demanded the first fruits of labor in the field (Ex. 23:16, 19), as recognition of God as their giver and in gratitude for His gifts. All men had to present themselves three times a year before God, and they were at the time: of the barley harvest (on the Feast of Unleavened Bread); of the wheat (at the Feast of Weeks) and at the vintage (the Feast of Booths) (Ex. 23:16, 19; 34:22, 26; Deut. 18:4; 26:10; Ez. 58: 14). (b) Christians are said to have the firstfruits of the Spirit: they have the pledge of an even greater future blessing (Rom. 8:23; 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:14). (c) Those gathered to God in any dispensation are called firstfruits (Rom. 11:16; 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:15; Jas. 1:18; Rev. 14:4). (d) Christ, having risen from the dead, is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20, 23). “First fruits” necessarily implies that there must be more like them to follow.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
The first thing that is obtained in the fruits of the earth or in the gifts that are received. The first always has a singular meaning of surprise, joy and affectionate satisfaction.
In Scripture there is talk of “Tithes and first fruits” reserved for Yahweh (Ex. 23. 19 and 34. 26; Ez. 44.30; Deut. 26. 1-4 and 26. 5-10; Num. 15. 17-21 ). The idea was very clear for the Israelite people: “When you have entered the land that the Lord your God will give you as an inheritance… you will take the first fruits of all the fruits of the land, put them in a basket and take them to the chosen place and you shall offer them to the priest.” (Deut. 26.1) And in the New Testament there will be frequent reference to this attitude, but curiously alluding more to tithes, according to the custom born of Abraham, who gave them to Melquisedech (Gen. 14.20), than to the firstfruits , which are not cited in a cultural sense. It is only spoken in a translatic sense, applying the idea to Christ (1 Cor. 15.20-23), to the spirit (Rom. 8.23) or to Christians (1 Cor. 16.15; Sant. 1.18 and Rev. 14.4). However, the idea of a cultic tithe is repeatedly recalled: as a condemnation of the Pharisees: Mt. 23.23 and Lc. 11.42; Lc. 18.12; or as a memory of Abraham: Hebr. 7.2-9
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
According to a sacred vision, typical of many Eastern religions, the firstborn of animals (cf. Nm 3,13.40-49), as well as the first fruits (cf. Ex 23,19; 34,22), they belong to God. It is in this context that the law of a famous historical creed is situated: “When you come to the land that Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance… you shall take the first fruits of all the produce of the soil that you harvest on the land… you shall put them in a basket, and You will take them to the place chosen by Yahweh your God for the dwelling of his Name. You will present yourself to the priest and say to him: Today I declare to Yahweh my God that I have come to the land that Yahweh swore to our fathers that he would give us. The priest will take the basket from your hand and place it before the altar of Yahweh your God. You will pronounce these words before Yahweh your God: My father was a wandering Aramean… You will deposit the first fruits before Yahweh your God and you will prostrate yourself before Yahweh your God. Then you will rejoice for all the blessings that Yahweh your God has given you and your household, and the Levite and the foreigner who live among you will also rejoice” (Dt 26:1-11). This rule applies to the various agricultural festivals of bread (Pentecost), wine (Tabernacles), and oil, etc. She collects, in Deuteronomic perspective, perhaps a little late (7th century BC), ancient customs and rites of Israel. The first fruits of bread, wine and oil express the sedentary life, the grateful cultivation of the land. Therefore, the offering of the firstfruits is linked to the confession of faith. Everything allows us to suppose that the offering is made through a swaying gesture: the offerer (or priest) presents before God the fruits of the field (on top of the sacrificed meat, cf. Lv 7,30), while gratefully confessing: “ We were slaves and God has freed us.” His faith and his believing confession are embodied in food from the land. Logically, after the confession, the offerer and relatives eat what they have offered. They have…