Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 23:9
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
9 14. An offering of firstfruits (H)
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
These verses contain a distinct command regarding the religious services immediately connected with the grain harvest, given by anticipation against the time when the people were to possess the promised land.
Lev 23:10
Sheaf – The original word, omer, means either a sheaf Deu 24:19; Rth 2:7, or a measure Exo 16:16. Our version is probably right in this place. The offering which was waved Lev 7:30 was most likely a small sheaf of barley, the grain which is first ripe. The first fruits of the wheat harvest were offered seven weeks later in the loaves of Pentecost. See Lev 23:15-17. The two offerings thus figure the very commencement and the completion of the grain harvest; compare Rth 1:22; Rth 2:23.
Lev 23:11
On the morrow after the sabbath – It is most probable that these words denote the 16th of Abib, the day after the first day of holy convocation (see Lev 23:5-8 note), and that this was called the Sabbath of the Passover, or, the Sabbath of unleavened bread.
Lev 23:13
Two tenth deals – Two omers, or tenth parts of an ephah, about a gallon and three quarters. See Lev 19:36 note. The double quantity (contrast Exo 29:40; Num 15:4; Num 28:19-21), implying greater liberality, was appropriate in a harvest feast.
Drink offering – This and Lev 23:18, Lev 23:37 are the only places in the book of Leviticus in which drink-offerings are mentioned. See the Exo 29:40 note.
Lev 23:14
Bread … parched corn … green ears – These are the three forms in which grain was commonly eaten. The old name, Abib, signified the month of green ears. See Jos 5:11.
Lev 23:15
The morrow after the sabbath – See Lev 23:11 note.
Seven sabbaths – More properly, seven weeks (compare Deu 16:9). The word Sabbath, in the language of the New Testament as well as the Old, is used for week (Lev 25:8; Mat 28:1; Luk 18:12, etc.).
Lev 23:16
The morrow after the seventh week was the 50th day after the conclusion of a week of weeks. The day is called in the Old Testament, the feast of harvest Exo 23:16, the feast of weeks, the feast of the first fruits of wheat harvest Exo 34:22; Deu 16:10, and the day of the first fruits Num 28:26. The word Pentecost used in the heading of this chapter in English Bibles is found only in the Apocrypha and the New Testament, Tobit 2:1; 2 Macc. 12:32; Act 2:1; Act 20:16; 1Co 16:8.
Lev 23:17
Habitations – Not strictly houses, but places of abode in a general sense. It seems here to denote the land in which the Israelites were to dwell so as to express that the flour was to be of home growth. The two loaves were to be merely waved before Yahweh and then to become the property of the priests. No bread containing leaven could be offered on the altar (see the Lev 2:11 note). The object of this offering seems to have been to present to the Lord the best produce of the earth in the actual condition in which it is most useful for the support of human life. It thus represented in the fittest manner the thanksgiving which was proper for the season. The loaves appear to be distinctively called the first fruits for Yahweh, and references to them are found in Rom 11:16; 1Co 15:20, 1Co 15:23; Jam 1:18; Rev 14:4, etc. As these loaves offered before Yahweh sanctified the harvest of the year, so has Christ the firstfruits sanctified the Church, which, in its union with Him as the firstfruits, becomes also the Sanctifier of the world. See the services for Whitsuntide.
Lev 23:18
More properly, seven sheep of a year old (to be distinguished from the lamb in Lev 23:12), and a young bull which might be from one to three years old. Compare Num 28:26-27.
Lev 23:19
Properly, a shaggy he-goat Lev 4:23 and two sheep of a year old.
Lev 23:20
When living creatures were waved Lev 7:30 before Yahweh, it is said that they were led to and fro before the tabernacle according to an established form.
Lev 23:21
The self-same day – The Feast of Weeks was distinguished from the two other great annual feasts by its consisting, according to the Law, of only a single day. But in later times it is said that during the following six days the Israelites used to bring their offerings to the temple, and to give the week something of a festal character in the suspension of mourning for the dead.
Lev 23:22
The repetition of the Law (see the margin reference) is appropriately connected with the thanksgiving for the completed grain harvest.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Lev 23:9-15
When ye be come into the land.
The conditions of the spiritual land-tenure
I. Mans true relation to the land of promise.
1. In his original estate man realised his dependence upon God, and his responsibility before God for the true and righteous use of all Gods gifts. As long as man used Gods glorious gifts in obedience to Gods supreme law of love, his life was blessed with the fulness of weal: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But in the day when the sense of responsibility to God was lost, and the commandment which embraced in itself the significance of all the other commandments was broken, the disorders and the miseries of human society arose. The spirit of individual selfishness is the power which disorganises society, which brings a blight upon the garden of God, and drives human souls out from the glory and wealth into the thorny, desolate wilderness. There is no power that can enable man to dress the garden and to keep it, but the sense of responsibility to the one supreme Lord of Life, whose name is Love. This principle is the Divinely ordained power that suffices to check the deadly evils that arise from exaggerated notions of the rights of human property. In human society gifts are unequally distributed. The gifts of genius and the external gifts of property are alike unequal. In the ownership of the riches of mind we see men endowed with vast territories of knowledge and intellectual power. It is Gods order. Gifts are not equally divided. So the land is not, and never can be, possessed in absolutely equal portions by the citizens of state. There must be the large landowners and the multitude of the poor who have but little. Where is the check that is to restrain the abuses of property? In the perpetual remembrance of the truth that the proudest landowner is but a tenant who holds from God, upon Gods conditions, in order that the land may be dressed and kept so as to promote the greatest possible happiness of the greatest possible number.
2. Another truth closely related to our absolute dependence upon Gods love, and the realisation of which is equally necessary to our spiritual health, is declared in this passage, viz., that the occupiers of the land of promise can only enjoy the fruits which God gives upon Gods conditions. The king upon the throne who has not a kingly heart and soul occupies a land of promise, but does not eat of its fruits. In all the professions of human activity, from the highest to the humblest, the enjoyment of the noblest fruits of the position can only be realised by those who know how to perform the duties which belong to it.. The conditions of enjoyment are imposed upon the occupiers of every land of promise. The blessed land of rest, towards which human souls are travelling through the wilderness of earthly struggles, can only produce its harvest, and pour forth its stores of milk and honey to those who shall have been made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
II. The conditions upon which the fruits of Canaan can be eaten.
1. The elevated use of the gifts of life. The man who uses Gods gifts to pamper his lusts, by feeding the low life of debased animalism, lowers the corn of the field below its original level by devoting it to the table of devils, as the food taken to create blood for the heart in which the basest, foulest feelings have their homes, and for the brain, out of which the thoughts that are set on fire of hell wing their flight. The drunkard, the glutton, and the unclean, degrade the fruits of the land by using them to feed the life of the tenants who dwell in the moral abyss. On the other hand, in the man who strives to live a life of high purpose, pure feeling, and noble thought, the corn is taken into the manhood and shares its elevation. It is that lofty use alone that gives man fulness of enjoyment. There is an unearthly delight in the enjoyment of Gods gifts when they are thus exalted. It is still true that God satisfies His people with the bread of heaven. It is still true that for those who are redeemed to the high life in Christ the Holy Spirit gives them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels food. Do we seek elevation in Christ Jesus? Are we pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus? Are we sanctifying the fields of our life by subjecting all our energies to the influence of noble aspirations and high purposes in Christ Jesus?
2. The second condition which regulates the enjoyment of the fruits of the land of promise is embodied in this command, Ye shall offer an he-lamb without, blemish of the first year for a burnt-offering unto the Lord. What are the moral and spiritual truths embodied in the form of this ordinance? It gives expression to that eternal truth that man cannot enjoy the fruits of Gods promised land without innocency of life, and entire surrender of self to God. The highest joys and richest pleasures of existence cannot be experienced by the man whose heart is full of malice and wickedness. Material prosperity, houses, and lands, and gold he may have. But the joy, peace, and satisfaction which feed the inner life of an enriched, ennobled soul are forbidden to all but those who have found truth and innocency of character. The mode of the offering is also expressive of another condition. The lamb was to be offered as a burnt-offering. This form of sacrifice expresses the principle of unreserved dedication of the life to God. The life of self-sacrifice is the happy life. The heart which has given itself unreservedly to the truth and love of God, is the heart that experiences the joys of the promised land.
3. The third condition imposed upon the Israelite was expressed in the command, The: meat-offering thereof shall be two-tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour; and the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an bin. What eternal principle is embodied in the form of this rite? It teaches us that we cannot enjoy the fruits of the promised land until we have learnt to seek the sustenance and gladness of the soul in communion with God. The flour of the meat-offering represents that spiritual bread of the soul which strengtheneth mans heart. The wine of the drink-offering represents the spiritual flow of joys that maketh glad the heart of man. The oil is the type of the influence of the Divine Spirit by the virtue of which life-giving efficacy comes to the forms of human service.
III. How are we to fulfil the conditions imposed upon souls in this passage? How can we practically qualify ourselves to eat the products of the spiritual harvest that grows in the land that, God has given to us? The three great principles here set before us are acknowledged in the life of the sincere, worthy communicants in the Church of Christ, the meet partakers of those holy mysteries. Whenever you approach the Lords table as the Church commands, you wave the energies of life on high before the Lord, and acknowledge the principle of Divine elevation by answering in obedience to her command, Lift up your hearts,–We lift them up unto the Lord. You acknowledge the eternal obligation of the Divine principle of self-devotion when, after confessing your sins and asking the absolution of Christ, you offer with fervent resolve the service of a life delivered from its blemishes by the redeeming power of the unblemished Lamb, who is the propitiation for our sins, and say, Here we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto Thee. You acknowledge the need of Divine sustenance, the principle of the eternal meat-offering, when you hearken to the voice of the Church saying unto you, Feed on Him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving. If we would be qualified to enjoy all the glorious wealth of Canaan we must live the hidden sacramental life in Christ. (H. T. Edwards, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
And the Lord spake unto Moses,…. At the same time, for what follow are the other feasts and holy convocations before spoken of:
saying; as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verses 9-14:
This text contains further provisions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which were to be observed only after Israel entered the Land of Promise. The “morrow after the sabbath” is the second day of the feast, regardless of what day of the week the observance fell.
In Le XI of his book, “The Temple, Its Ministry and Services” (Eerdman’s), Alfred Edersheim provides details of the rituals and services which accompanied the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread festivals.
The Sabbath day principle applies in every age. God designed man with a need for rest, relaxation, and meditation one day out of seven. The seventh day of the week (Saturday) was enjoined upon Israel in the Law of Moses. Its observance was mandatory. Death by stoning was the penalty for violation. The seventh day Sabbath was not mandatory, nor was its penalty prescribed, for any other people. It was a shadow, cast by the Body, Christ. Jesus blotted out the ordinances of the Law, including those regarding the Sabbath day, in His death on the cross, Col 2:14-17. Thus God’s people today are not under the Sabbath day law.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(9) And the Lord spake unto Moses.As the celebration of the sheaf of first-fruits formed no part of the original institution of the Passover (Exo. 12:1-20), and as the omer ritual could not be observed in the wilderness, where there was no sowing of corn, it is here enacted as a prospective part of the feast of unleavened bread, and hence is introduced by a separate formula.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Firstfruit of the Barley Harvest On The Second Day of Unleavened Bread ( Lev 23:9-14 ).
Lev 23:9
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,’
This continually repeated may suggest that these details had been provided and built up separately and were now being drawn together to form a total picture. But again there is the emphasis that they were all God-given.
Lev 23:10-11
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you are come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.”
Once they were again in Canaan (this was continually stressed so as to maintain their hope for the future) they would revive the celebration of the firstfruits of the barley harvest, and during the feast of Unleavened Bread, on the evening after the Sabbath, would bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest to the priest for him to wave before Yahweh. This would be accepted by Him on their behalf as an acknowledgement of gratitude for the harvest.
Lev 23:12-13
“And in the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a he-lamb without blemish a year old for a whole burnt offering to Yahweh. And its grain offering shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to Yahweh for a pleasing odour; and its drink-offering shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin.”
On the same day a whole burnt offering of a year old lamb would be offered together with a grain offering (seven litres) mingled with oil and a drink offering (1:7 litres) of wine. These would be offerings made by fire to Yahweh, and their offering would give Him pleasure, arising as a pleasing odour. Each of these represented an expression of gratitude to God. for the gift of lambs, the gift of barley harvest and the gift of wine.
Lev 23:14
“And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until you have brought the oblation of your God. It is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
Until this oblation and firstfruit was offered to God they were not to partake of anything to do with the harvest. They must eat neither bread, nor parched grain nor fresh ears. God’s goodness must be acknowledged first.
The firstfruit reminds us of many things. It reminds us that we must never be slow in expressing our gratitude to God for His provision. We have much to be grateful for and we must not be like the healed lepers of whom only one returned to Jesus to give thanks (Luk 17:17). It reminds us that we must continually give thanks for Jesus Christ Who is the firstfruits of the resurrection (1Co 15:20). And it reminds us that we who have been begotten again by Him are the firstfruits of His creation (Jas 1:18)
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
This is the fourth feast noticed in this chapter, the sheaf-offering of the first fruits. And a sweet type it was of the LORD JESUS, as the first fruits of them that slept. And it is worth the Reader’s notice, that the LORD JESUS actually arose from the dead, according to the Jews own calculation, on the very day that those first fruits were appointed to be offered. But beside this view of our subject, as principally referring to the LORD JESUS, this solemnity was a delightful institution of honoring the LORD (as Solomon saith) with all our substance and the first fruits of all our increase. Pro 3:9 . The waving the sheaf before the LORD by the priest, implied that all the people considered GOD as the rightful owner and giver of all their mercies; and as from him they received all, so to him they gave the glory. And that additional precept concerning it was truly significant; that they should eat neither bread nor parched corn, until that they had presented to the LORD this offering; for it taught most expressly, that all our enjoyments, even our most common concerns, ought to begin with GOD. Reader! may you and I gather this sweet lesson from it; to begin everything in JESUS and with JESUS. May every day be opened, and all the day carried on with him. In temporal as well as spiritual occupations may JESUS be uppermost. For depend upon it whatever is thus began in GOD, will end in GOD. That was a sweet resolution of the kind formed by David, in the view of another’s portion contrasted with his own. Psa 17:14-15 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Reciprocal: Exo 23:16 – feast of harvest
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 23:9-14 (H). The Festival of Unleavened Bread or Mazzoth (see pp. 102f.).The wave sheaf is to be cut on the first day of the week, apparently after the Sabbath of the passover week, i.e. on the 16th of the month (but no date is actually given). For the th ephah (about 3 quarts), cf. Lev 2:14. Wine has not hitherto been mentioned in H: in P only in Exo 29:40. No part of the new crop is to be used till the offering to Yahweh has been made.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
3. The Feast of Firstfruits 23:9-14
The Feast of Firstfruits included the presentation of firstfruits of the spring barley harvest in the Promised Land. The Israelites also offered a lamb, flour, and wine, all representative of God’s provisions of spiritual and physical food and drink for His people (Lev 23:9-14). They presented this offering on the day after the Sabbath following Passover. The ancients regarded the firstfruits (Heb. shavuot) as a kind of down payment with more to follow.
Jesus arose from the grave on this day as the firstfruits of those who sleep in death (1Co 15:20).
In modern times it is customary for observant Jews to stay up the entire night of Shavuot studying and discussing the Torah. The tradition that the Israelites had fallen asleep the night before God gave them the Torah and Moses had to awaken them is the basis of this custom.
"In order to acknowledge that the LORD provides the needs of their life, God’s people must present the first of their income to him as a token of their devotion." [Note: Ibid., p. 418.]