Deuteronomy 26:2

Deu 26:2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put [it] in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.

Ver. 2. Thou shalt take of the first, &c.] In token of homage, or as a chief rent due to God the true proprietary, of whom they held all.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To be called upon, served and worshipped spiritually, Deut. 12:5.

By this ceremony they acknowledged that they received the land of Canaan as a free gift of God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 2. Thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit, &c.] This was intended to keep them in continual remembrance of the kindness of God, in preserving them through so many difficulties and literally fulfilling the promises he had made to them. God being the author of all their blessings, the first-fruits of the land were consecrated to him, as the author of every good and perfect gift.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. of the first] Heb. of the reshîth. See introd. note; and observe that the Heb. particle for of implies that only some of the reshîth is signified.

all the fruit] Sam., LXX omit all; Deu_18:4 : of corn, wine, oil and fleece.

thou shalt bring in] Heb. tabi’; cp. tebu’ah, income, Deu_14:22; Deu_14:28, Deu_16:15, Deu_22:9.

that the Lord thy God is to give thee] Redundant after Deu_26:1. The two vv. are obviously expanded.

basket] Heb. ṭene’, only here, Deu_26:4, and Deu_28:5; Deu_28:17 (cp. Phoen. tana, ‘to erect,’ perhaps ‘present,’ hardly from nathan, ‘to give’). Baldensperger (PEFQ, 1904, 136) compares the modern ṭabaḳ, a round tray or basket.

unto the place, etc.] See on Deu_12:5.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth,.... This oblation of firstfruits was different front the sheaf of the firstfruits brought at barley harvest in the time of the passover, and from the two wave loaves of wheaten flour, at wheat harvest, at Pentecost; and from the cake of the first of their dough; see Lev 23:10. They were of one sort only, these of various kinds; though, as Jarchi observes, not all firstfruits, or the first of all sorts of fruits, were to be brought; for all were not bound to firstfruits, but the seven kinds only, called here the fruit of the earth, and are particularly mentioned in Deu 8:8; and their manner of observing, selecting, and gathering their firstfruits, as the same writer notes, was this;

"a man goes into his field, and sees a mature fig, he binds a rush about it for a sign, and says, lo, this is firstfruits: and so, if he sees a bunch of grapes, or a pomegranate, more mature than the rest, he does the same,''as is observed in the Misnah (z):

which thou shalt bring of thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee; and the land being given them, and such a fruitful one as it was, they needed not to grudge bringing the firstfruits of it to the Lord. The quantity they were to bring is not fixed; this was left to their generosity; but, according to tradition, they were to bring the sixtieth part; so says Maimonides (a),"the firstfruits have no measure (no fixed measure) from the law; but from the words of the wise men, a man ought to separate one out of sixty:"

and shalt put it in a basket; for the more convenient carriage of them and for the more decent oblation and waving of them together, The rich brought their firstfruits in baskets of silver and of gold, the poor in wicker baskets of willows barked (b). The firstfruits of the seven several kinds were all put together in one basket, not into separate ones, or into as many as there were kinds; but then, as the last mentioned writer observes (c),"they did not bring them mixed, but the barley (was put) beneath, or lowermost, and the wheat over that; and the olives above that, and the dates over them, and the pomegranates over them, and the figs uppermost in the vessel; and there was some one thing which separated between every kind, as leaves, and the like; and they put about the figs clusters of grapes without:"

and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there; which, as the event showed, was the city of Jerusalem; hither from all parts of the country were the firstfruits to be brought. All which may teach us, that we are to honour God with the firstfruits of our increase; that we are to be thankful in every thing, and for everything we have; and that our mercies should be acknowledged publicly in the place of public worship; and that all our sacrifices of praise should be offered in faith, which may be signified by the basket in which the firstfruits were brought, without which we cannot please God; and this being bore on the shoulder all the while, may denote reverence of God, and a sense of former state and condition, as this might put the Israelites in mind of their carrying loads in Egypt.

(z) Misn. Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 1. (a) Maimon. Hilchot Biccurim, c. 2. sect. 17. (b) Misn. Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 8. (c) Hilchot Biccurim, c. 3. sect. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

On the subject of firstfruits see the notes at Lev 23:9 ff. The firstfruits here in question are to be distinguished alike from those offered in acknowledgment of the blessings of harvest (compare Exo 22:29) at the Feasts of Passover and Pentecost, and also from the offerings prescribed in Num 18:8 ff. The latter consisted of preparations from the produce of the earth, such as oil, flour, wine, etc.; while those here meant are the raw produce: the former were national and public offerings, those of this chapter were private and personal. The whole of the firstfruits belonged to the officiating priest.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This seems to be required of each particular master of a family, either upon his first settlement, or once every year at one of their three feasts, when they were obliged to go up to Jerusalem, as here they are.

Of all the fruit of the earth; either of their corn, or of the fruit of trees.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. First of all the fruit — The presentation of firstfruits was virtually an acknowledgment that all earthly possessions belonged to God. Comp. on this verse Lev_23:10-14.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The first of all the fruit of the earth. (On the law of the firstfruits, see Num_18:12; Deu_18:4) A basket; anf, a basket of wickerwork.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt take - This seems to be required of each master of a family, either upon his first settlement, or once every year at one of their three feasts, when they were obliged to go up to Jerusalem.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

מראשית [THEN THOU SHALT TAKE] OF THE FIRST [OF ALL THE FRUIT OF THE GROUND] — of the first fruits, but not all the first fruits, for not all fruits are subject to the duty of bringing to the Temple their first-fruits, only the seven chief kinds of products of Israel alone, for there is mentioned here ארץ, “the land” (אשר תביא מארצך) and it states there (Deuteronomy 8:8) “a land (ארץ) of wheat, and barley, etc.”, (thus suggesting an analogy — that the fruits of the land referred to here are those enumerated there). What is it that Scripture is speaking of there? Of the seven products through which the land of Israel is distinguished! So, too, here it speaks only of the distinguished products of the land of Israel which are seven species only (Sifrei Devarim 297:4; Menachot 84b).

זית שמן mentioned as one of these distinguished products is the Agari olive, in which the oil is gathered in one place.

ודבש HONEY is honey of dates (not of bees).

מראשית OF ITS FIRST FRUITS — but not all the first fruits (not even of the seven species mentioned above) but when a man goes into his field and sees for the first time that year a fig that has ripened he binds a piece of straw round it as an indication and says “Lo, this is בכורים" (and it suffices) (Sifrei Devarim 297:7; Mishnah Bikkurim 3:1).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

THEN THOU SHALT TAKE OF THE FIRST OF ALL THE FRUIT OF THE GROUND, WHICH THOU SHALT BRING IN FROM THY LAND. [The meaning thereof is] that you shall take of the first of all the fruit which you will bring into the house from your Land, which the Eternal your G-d gives you. He commands that one should set aside that fruit in the field and designate it as first-fruit and then bring it into his house and put it in a vessel fit to be taken to the Sanctuary [in Jerusalem]. Now, Scripture did not prescribe an amount for the first-fruits, instead, even one grain [or berry] of that species exempts the entire field, similar to the law of terumah (the heave-offering) where one grain exempts the whole pile of grain.

AND THOU SHALT GO UNTO THE PLACE WHICH THE ETERNAL THY G-D SHALL CHOOSE. In line with the plain meaning of Scripture he admonishes against bringing first-fruit in [any] one of the cities [except for Jerusalem] after the Sanctuary was chosen [i.e., after Jerusalem was designated by the prophets and the ark of G-d was brought there], for just as He warned against slaughtering offerings outside [of the Sanctuary Court], so he warned with reference to the first-fruits. But the obligation of bringing first-fruits became binding immediately after they conquered and divided the Land, (above 12:9), because the structure of the House of G-d was not of stone as it had been at Shiloh; instead, it was made of the boards and curtains from the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Therefore during the fifty-seven years when the ark of G-d was first in Nob and later in Gibeon, it was permissible to bring offerings to G-d on the bamoth, “high places,” or private altars. See also further, Note 6. in accordance with the words of Rashi. And in the Sifre it is stated: 298. “And thou shalt go unto the place which the Eternal thy G-d shall choose to cause His Name to dwell there — this refers to Shiloh and ‘the Eternal House’ were permitted after its destruction. [in Jerusalem].” Perhaps the Rabbis [in the Sifre] meant to say that the bamoth (“high places”) were forbidden during both periods [i.e., Shiloh and Jerusalem]. However, during [the periods of] Nob and Gibeon [when high places were permitted] first-fruits could also be brought [only there in Nob and Gibeon], but they could not be offered at a private bamah, for Scripture refers [here in the chapter on first-fruits] to the altar [and he shall set it down before ‘the altar’ of the Eternal thy G-d indicating that only the public altar is suitable for first-fruits].. See further Vol. III, p. 123, Note 122 and Vol. IV, p. 180, Note 138. But since it is written, The choisest first-fruit of thy Land thou shalt bring into the House of the Eternal thy G-d, they perhaps did not bring first-fruits when it [the House of G-d] was in a tent and in a tabernacle but only in Shiloh where there was a stone building and in the Eternal House, were permitted after its destruction. [thus excluding the period of Nob and Gibeon].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.