Deuteronomy - 18:4



4 The first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Deuteronomy 18:4.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
The firstfruits also of corn, of wine, and of oil, and a part of the wool from the shearing of their sheep.
The firstfruits also of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstfruits of the shearing of thy sheep, shalt thou give him;
The firstfruits of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
The first-fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thy oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
the first of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy flock, thou dost give to him;
And in addition you are to give him the first of your grain and wine and oil, and the first wool cut from your sheep.
The first-fruits of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
the first-fruits of grain, wine, and oil, and a portion of the wool from the shearing of the sheep.
Primitias frumenti tui, vini tui, et olei tui, et primitias velleris ovium tuarum dabis illi.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

The first-fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, etc. - All these firstfruits and firstlings were the Lord's portion, and these he gave to the priests.

The firstfruit also of thy corn, and of thy wine, and of thy oil,.... This is the "terumah", or heave offering, the offering of the firstfruits; what the measure or quantity was is not declared, but is fixed by the Jews; See Gill on Exodus 22:29,
and the first of the fleece of thy sheep shall thou give him: concerning which in the Misnah (r) it is said, the first of the fleece is used in the land and without the land, of which they give the weight of five shekels in Judea, which are ten shekels in Galilee; and they give white wool, and not defiled, enough to make of it a little garment. He that buys a fleece of the sheep of a Gentile, he is free from the first of the fleece; but if he buys it of his neighbour, if he leaves any of it, the seller is bound, if none the buyer is bound; if there are two sorts, russet and white, and he sells the russet but not the white, the males but not the females, everyone gives for himself. It may be observed in this account, that as much wool was to be given as would make a small garment; enough, says one of the commentators (s), to make a little garment to minister in; and the least garment fit for a priest to minister in is a girdle. Jarchi's paraphrase of it is,"when thou shearest thy flock every year, give the first of it to the priest; it does not determine the quantity, but our Rabbins fix it to the sixtieth part;''with which agrees the observation of another writer (t), that there is no quantity fixed for the first of the fleece from the law, but from the words of the Scribes it must not be less than the sixtieth part. There is no obligation to the first of the fleece until five sheep are shorn, and the fleece of everyone of the five must not be less than twelve shekels' weight; but if there is one fleece of them less than twelve shekels, though the five fleeces are more than sixty shekels, lo, this is free; so that, as Maimonides (u) says, the first of the fleece is not less than the weight of a shekel.
(r) Cholin, c. 11. sect. 1, 2. (s) Bartenora in ib. (t) Ibid. (u) In Misn. ib.

In Deuteronomy 18:4, Moses repeats the law concerning the first-fruits in Numbers 18:12-13 (cf. Exodus 22:28), for the purpose of extending it to the first produce of the sheep-shearing.

*More commentary available at chapter level.


Discussion on Deuteronomy 18:4

User discussion of the verse.






*By clicking Submit, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.