Firstborn

See Family. FIRST-FRUITS (oni:;, in Lv 23» c-ip, LXX wpuToffvi'iiijuTa ; n's'xi dirapx^}. — The custom ot oifering first-fruits was shared by the Isr. with many other ancient nations, and it is also found in many savage religions. Frazer (Golden Boii(jh, ii. 68-90) cites many examples to show that the new corn was eaten sacramentally in order that the worshippers might share in the divine life of the corn-spirit, with which it was assumed that the grain was instinct.

The eating of the first- fruits is, then, similar to the earliest form of animal sacrifice, in which the victim was regarded aa divine, and the essence of the sacrifice lies in tlie communal feast and the participation of all the worshippers in the diWne life. The two still remain separated by an important diU'erence. The divine animal probably belonged to the kin of the worshippers, and the sacrificial meal strengthened the bond of kinship by a distribution of tiie com- mon life.

There is no reason for assuming this in the case of the corn-spirit. He gives, further, several instances of the oll'ering of the first-fruits to the deity, in which the sacramental idea is absent {Golden Bough, ii. 373-384). The oll'ering is in these cases of the nature of tribute or thank- oUering. It is considered unsafe to eat of the new crops till the god has recoiveil his share, and the rite thus falls into the same category as numerous others familiar to the student of ritual and custom.

The offering of the first-fruits does not sanctify the rest of the crop, but it makes it lawful food (W. R. Smith, RS;^-2\\). The Heb. first-fruits belong to the latter class ; tiiey are tribute, not the staple of a sacramental meal. The history is not in all points clear, partly owing to the shifting sense of the terminology. It is essential, if confusion is to be avoided, to keep the regulations of the codes distinct, and take them in their chronological order.

(a) In the oldest legislation (JE) the first-fruits of the harvest are required ( Ex 23" 34^^). Twice the curious phrase occurs, ' the first of the first- fruits ' (t:"i!33 nxxi Ex 23" 34-^"', so in Ezk ii^). This is taken by some to mean tlie first-ripe, by others the choicest, of the first-fruits. But prob- ably 'of the first-fruits' is added to explain 'the first,' the first, that is, the first-fruits.

It seems [irobable that in Ex '22-"-' first-fruits are referred to in the words ^i;9l) vpx^? (lit. ' t!iy fulness and thy tear,' paraplirased in RV as ' the abundance of thy fruits and of thy liquors'), on account of the mention of the firstborn in the parallel clause. If so, the first-fruits can hardly be confined to cereals, but will include wine and oil (' thy liquors'). The LXX gives d^apx'^i aXu^os /cai \-qpou ('first-fruits of thy threshing-lloor and wine- press').

A feast was connected with the offering, ' the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of tiiy labour ' (Ex 23"'), 'the feast of weeks, even of the first- fruits of wheat harvest' (Ex 34-='). The amount to he offered is not stated ; it seems to have been left to the discretion of tlie ott'erer. It is inter- esting to observe that a man brought Elislia as a gift ' bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of corn ' (2 K 4^^). (6) In Deuteronomy (D) the Isr.

is ordered to bring of his first-fruits in a basket to the central sanctuary and present it to the priest, with a pro- fession of gratitude to God for deliverance from Egyp. bondage and the possession of the fruitful land of Palestine. A feast then follows, in which the Levite and the stranger are to share the offerer's hospitality (Dt 'iti'""). According to 18* the priest is to receive the first-fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and the first of the fleece.

The two regulations seem to be in conflict, and it has been supposed that 18* is a later addition. Possibly there is no discrepancy. The basket of first-fruits FIRST-FRUITS FISH 11 may be only a portion, and this may be the first- fruits meant in 18^, the rest being kept for tlie feast, or it may be tlie wliole and tlie feast not made of tlie first-fruits at all. (See Driver, Deut. p. 290. He decides for the latter alternative.)

It IS not clear what was the relation of the first- fruits to the Tithe. Several scholars regard them as really identical, but this ia not certain. See Tithe. (c) As Dt 18* claims the first, fruits for the Levitical priests, so Ezekiel, whose legislation forms the transition to the Priestly Code, claims for the priests (i.e. the sons of Zadok) ' the first of all the first-fruits of everything,' and, in addi- tion, the first of tlie dough (44™).

(d) In the small code known as the Law of Holiness (H) it is enjoined that on the day after the Sabbath a sheaf of the first-fruits of the har- veiit should be brought to the priest, who should wave it before the Lord. A burnt-oll'ering and a meal-ofi'ering are to accompany this ceremony, and, till it is accomplished, no bread, parclied corn, or fresh ears must be eaten (Lv 23'"'''*).

Seven weeks later two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour and leavened are to be offered as first-fruits (Lv 23". The additional regulations in 23"''-" are for the most part a later insertion interpolated from Nu 28"'^). (e) In the Priestly Code (P) the reshlth and the bilckurim seem to be distinguished. In Nu 18'* the best of the corn, wine, and oil, that is, the reshith, belongs to the priest.

In the next verse the bi/ckiirim of all that is in their land also belong to tlie priest. Probably, the bikkurim should be iuter]iieted as the first ripe raw fruits, while the reshitli will be the prepared oil and wine and corn. (So WelUiausen, Nowack, and liV.)

Accordingly, we find in Neh 10^ that the bikkurim of the gi'ound and of the fruit trees were brought into the house of the Lord, while the rcsAiYA of dough, heave- ollerings, fruit, wine, and oil were brought into the store-rooms of the temple (10" 12-"). The distinc- tion is observed in LXX and by Philo and Josephus. In Nu 15-"- ■-' it is enacted that the first of the dough also shall be given as a heave-oli'ering.

According to Lv 2''' leaven and honey might be included in the first-fruits, though they could not be part of any offering made by fire. The meal-offering of lirst-fruits consisted of parched corn in the ear with oil and frankincense. Part of the corn and oil with all the frankincense was to be burnt (Lv 2"'i').

An interesting law, which rests on the same principle as tlie law of first-fruits, is that of Lv 19-^-^, which ordains that the fruit of a tree shall not be used for the first three years after it is planted ('three years shall they be as imcircumcised unto you'), and shall be consecrated to God in the fourth year. In the fifth year it may be eaten.

(/) In the later period a distinction was made between the bikkurim and the terimMh (nicnn oblations) ; the fullest treatment of tlie subject ia in the two tracts of the Mishna which bear these names. The bikkurim were taken from wheat, barley, grapes, figs, ijomcgranatcs, olives, and honey. The fruits were offered fresh by those who dwelt near Jems., and dried by those who came from a distance. The companies came in a procession headed by the o.

\ for the sacrifice, and marched to the music of pipes. They were met in .lerus. by the chief priests. The oll'erers then carried their wreathed baskets on their shoulders to the tenqile courts, and were wel- comed by the Levites with the singing of Ps 30. Then the baskets were given to the priests, and the formula (Dt 26'"') was repeated. The tini- m6th were a tax for the support of the priests, and used only by them, and were levied ou every kind of fruit of the ground and of trees.

The choicest of the fruits were to be given ; not more than ^ or less than b"^ of the crop was expected. There was also the Jfallah (nJ'O), which was the first of the dough, ^ of the whole piece in the case of private individuals, and ^ in that of public bakers. LlTERATURB.— Nowack, Beb. Archriol. 11. pp. 255-257; Well- haugen, J'rulajoin. pp. 157, 158; Schurer, IIJP ll. i. 237-242. See also Philo, De/esto cophini and J)e prcetnius sacerdottan, A. S. Peake.