Numbers 18:12

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

All the best of the oil, and all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh, to you have I given them.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

1 first appearance in the Hebrew Bible

Full analysis ↓

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יִצְהָ֔ר

yitshâr

H3323

“shining oil”

Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute

Appears 23× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears here

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H6671

TWOT: 1883c

fresh oil, shining (pure) oil

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

13: words
9: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is יִצְהָ֔ר shining oil H3323 — appearing just 23 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

First appearance in Scripture

This word makes its first canonical appearance in the Hebrew Bible here:

יִצְהָ֔ר shining oil H3323

Shared distinctive vocabulary

יִצְהָ֔ר shining oil H3323 occurs in 23 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

2 verbs
9 nouns
1 preposition
1 particle

Verb forms

יִתְּנ֥וּ Qal · Imperfect
נְתַתִּֽים Qal · Perfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

כֹּ֚ל all H3605 ×2
חֵ֣לֶב fat H2459 ×2
יִתְּנ֥וּ to give H5414 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 33 words from the Hebrew and 27 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 13 Hebrew tokens and 19 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Numbers 18:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 23:19 The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Yahweh your God. "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
Deuteronomy 18:4 The first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him.
Exodus 34:26 You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."
Exodus 22:29 "You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. "You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me.
Leviticus 2:14 "'If you offer a meal offering of first fruits to Yahweh, you shall offer for the meal offering of your first fruits grain in the ear parched with fire, bruised grain of the fresh ear.
Leviticus 23:17 You shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth parts of an ephah: they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with yeast, for first fruits to Yahweh.
Leviticus 23:20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest.
Numbers 15:19–21 then it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer up a heave-offering to Yahweh.

Deuteronomy 26:2 that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you; and you shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
Nehemiah 10:35–37 and to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first fruits of all fruit of all manner of trees, year by year, to the house of Yahweh;

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Numbers 18:12 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

כֹּ֚ל חֵ֣לֶב יִצְהָ֔ר וְכָל חֵ֖לֶב תִּיר֣וֹשׁ וְדָגָ֑ן רֵאשִׁיתָ֛ם אֲשֶׁר יִתְּנ֥וּ לַֽיהוָ֖ה לְךָ֥ נְתַתִּֽים

All the best of the oil, and all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh, to you have I given them.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 18:12 Septuagint · lemma form

πᾶς ἀπαρχή ἔλαιον καί πᾶς ἀπαρχή οἶνος καί σῖτος ἀπαρχή αὐτός ὅσος ἄν δίδωμι ὁ κύριος σύ δίδωμι αὐτός

Every first-offering of oil, and every first-offering of wine, their first fruits of corn, whatever they may give to the Lord, to you have I given them.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

כָּל טוּב מְשַׁח וְכָל טוּב חֲמַר וְעִבּוּר רֵאשִׁיתְהוֹן דִי יִתְּנוּן קֳדָם יְיָ לָךְ יְהַבְתִּינוּן

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

כָּל טוּב מְשַׁח זֵיתָא וְכָל טוּב חֲמַר עִינְבָא וְעִיבּוּר שֵׁירוּיֵיהוֹן דְיִתְּנוּן קֳדָם יְיָ לָךְ יְהַבְתִּינוּן

All the best of the olive oil, of the grape wine, and of the wheat of their firstfruits which they present before the Lord, I have given unto thee.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Numbers 18:12 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Num 18:12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.

Ver. 12. All the best of the oil.] Heb., The fat. God can afford the ministers the best of the best, though the most now-a-days think the worst too good for them.

Which they shall offer.] Not appointing them how much, but leaving that to the people’s liberality. And what that was, let Philo {a} the Jew speak, who well knew the customs of his own nation, and tells us, that all things due to the priests were paid very freely, and most cheerfully. At haec gens debitam pecuniam lubens gaudensque depromit, saith he; This people willingly, and with rejoicing, draw out their money for the priests, not as if they gave, but received rather, adding happy forebodings and gratulations.

{a} Philo, De Sacerdot. Honor.

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.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

That is, the chiefest, or the best.

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(12) All the best . . . —Hebrew, all the fat, as in Gen_45:18.

The firstfruits of them . . . —The quantity is not defined. St. Jerome, in his Commentary on Ezekiel 45, mentions the fortieth part as a liberal contribution, and the sixtieth as a scanty one, according to Jewish tradition.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

12. the best] lit. ‘the fat’ (as marg.). Cf. Deu_32:14, Psa_81:16. This vague expression is explained by the more technical term the firstfruits, or the first (Heb. rêshîth); cf. Deu_18:4. The amount which the priest is to receive is not stated; but in later times fixed proportions were laid down by the chiefs of the Rabbinic schools.

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.

John Gill's Exposition

All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat,.... Or the "fat" (i) of them; the fat of anything being the best, see Deu 32:14,

the firstfruits of them: the oil, and wine, and wheat:

which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee; this Jarchi calls the great heave offering, the firstfruits of their harvest and vintage, which being offered to the Lord, was given to the priests: the quantity is not fixed, but left to the generosity of the people, and was a free gift; liberal men would give a fortieth part, those of a meaner spirit a fiftieth, and niggardly ones a sixtieth, and less than that was not given See Gill on Exo 22:29; compare with this Eze 45:13.

(i) "pinguedinem", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.

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

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

The best, (medullam.) Literally, "the marrow." (Haydock) --- The fattest and most delicious. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

The best, Heb. the fat for the best: the fat of wheat is the best of it, Deu 32:14; Psa 81:16; 147:14.

The first-fruits of them; as well those which were offered in the name and behalf of the body of the people at the solemn feasts, Lev 23:10,17, as those which were required of particular persons, Exo 22:29; 23:19; whereof the precise quantity is not determined, but left free to the giver, as an exercise for his piety and charity, only they are enjoined to give the first and the best of them.

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

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

12. Firstfruits — See Gen_4:3; Lev_2:12; Lev_23:10, notes.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

All the best. Literally, "all the fat". (cf. Gen_45:18)

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

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

Connecting Statement:

God continues speaking to Aaron.

the firstfruits

This refers to the first of the best oil, wine, and grain that they harvest.

Everyone who is clean in your family

Being acceptable to God is spoken of as if they were clean. AT: "Everyone in your family who is acceptable to me" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

oil

wine

grain

firstfruits

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

ראשיתם THE FIRST FRUITS OF THEM [WHICH THEY SHALL GIVE UNTO THE LORD; THEM I HAVE GIVEN THEE] — This refers to the “T’rumah Gedolah” (the priest’s portion of the produce which is the first portion to be set aside from the produce; cf. Deuteronomy 18:4).

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.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Numbers, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 13 words (9 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is yitshâr (“shining oil”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word yitshâr carries the sense “shining oil.” How does it shape the verse?
The word “shining oil” first appears here in Scripture. What is being introduced at this debut?
Deuteronomy 7:13 shares the word «shining oil» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“all” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
The verb «יִתְּנ֥וּ» is Qal Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

1 word makes its first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
This verse counts 13 Hebrew ↔ 19 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 16 words in this verse.
“all” occurs 2× in this single verse.
9 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 13 words in this verse.