Numbers 15:17

15:17-21 These gifts, signs of gratitude to God for agricultural bounty, were expected to begin after the Hebrews reached the Promised Land and had begun planting crops.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

17–21. The offering of ‘the first of ‘arîsôth.’ The law deals with some species of meal-offering. But the meaning of ‘arîsôth (R.V. ‘dough,’ marg. ‘coarse meal’) is obscure. It occurs elsewhere only in Eze_44:30, Neh_10:37. A similar word ‘arsân in Talmudic writings denotes ‘a porridge or paste made from the meal of barley or wheat,’ which was said to be good for invalids and infants.

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.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... Who only were bound to observe the following law concerning the cake of the first dough, Num 15:20, and not Gentiles; so the Jews say (k), the dough of a Gentile is free from the cake, though an Israelite kneads it:

when ye come into the land whither I bring you; the land of Canaan: this is another assurance of their possession of the land of Canaan, notwithstanding what had been threatened; in Num 15:2; it is only said, "which I give unto you", but here, "whither I bring you"; assuring them, that as he had given it unto them, he would certainly introduce them into it. The Jews from hence gather, that they are not bound to observe this precept concerning the cake by the law, but in the land of Israel only, and when all Israel are there; wherefore at this time, and even in the days of Ezra, it is separated only by the words of the Scribes; and the reason of it is, that this law might not be forgotten by the Israelites (l): there were three countries that were bound to bring the cake, according to the Misnah (m).

(k) Schulchan Aruch, par. 2. c. 330. sect. 1. (l) Schulchan Aruch, par. 2. c. 322. sect. 2, 3. (m) Misn. Challah, c. 4. sect. 8. 10.

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

And the Lord spake unto Moses. Whether on the same or on some other occasion we cannot tell. The two enactments have the same supplemental and (humanly speaking) trivial character.

Vers. 17-21. An offering from the dough: domestic religion.

I A DALLY OFFERING, or if not daily, be practically daily. God has spoken so far of free-will offerings, but here is one connected with such a frequent and necessary act as the eating of bread. There are occasions for free-will offerings when evident mercies and peculiar gains prompt to something special in the way of acknowledgment; but men are only too prone to forget the common and daily mercies which in reality are greatest of all. Where we abound in forgetting, God most abounds in reminding. The time of eating bread was an appointed opportunity for acknowledging his daily goodness. The manna was so evidently miraculous, that very little was needed to remind Israel how entirely it was produced without their intervention. It was not the sort of food they would have cultivated. They took it, not that they liked it, but it was the only thing to be got. But bread is a thing on which man spends much care. It goes through so many processes before it reaches his mouth that he easily exaggerates his share in the production of it. Sowing and reaping, grinding and baking, help to hide the good hand of God behind them. Hence the giving of the first from every piece of dough was a deliberate and frequent recognition of dependence on God for the bread in Canaan, as much as for the manna in the wilderness.

II A DOMESTIC OFFERING. Thus religion was brought into the house to sanctify a common homely duty. There was something to excite the curiosity of children. It was an opportunity of explaining to them, from whose loving-kindness came their daily bread; teaching them lessons of dependence and gratitude in the seed-time and the harvest, by the mill and the oven. Contrast with this the melancholy picture by Jeremiah of the children gathering the wood, the fathers kindling the fire, and the women kneading dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven. Y. (Deu_28:5 Neh_10:37 Psa_104:14, 15 Jer_7:18 Eze_44:30 Hag_1:9)

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

the food produced in the land

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the food that the land produces" or "the food that you produce in the land" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

Moses

sacrifice

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.