Leviticus 23:17
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The surprising detail here is that these loaves of first-fruits are specifically baked with leaven, which was forbidden in most other grain offerings. This highlights that these loaves weren't burned on the altar but were given entirely to the priests, symbolizing a joyful giving back to God of the harvest already blessed and in its common, everyday form.
You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This passage is part of the instructions for the Feast of Weeks (also known as Pentecost), which celebrated the wheat harvest. It follows the instructions for counting seven weeks from the waving of the barley harvest's first sheaf and offering a single new grain offering. The verse immediately before details the offerings for this new grain celebration, setting the stage for the specific instruction about the two leavened loaves and their accompanying sacrifices.
Most grain offerings presented to God were unleavened. So why were these two loaves, representing the start of the wheat harvest, specifically baked with leaven?
This offering, described in Leviticus 23:17, stands out because it's one of the few times leaven was intentionally used in a sacrifice presented to the Lord. While most offerings meant for the altar had to be unleavened (since leaven couldn't be burned there), these two loaves were different.
A Symbol of Daily Life
The scholars suggest the leaven here symbolized the common, everyday bread used by the Israelites. Unlike the unleavened bread of Passover, which commemorated the hasty escape from Egypt, these loaves celebrated the abundance of the harvest and God's provision for their daily sustenance. The leaven represents this ordinary, yet vital, aspect of life that God blessed.
For the Priests, Not the Altar
Crucially, these loaves were not entirely burned on the altar. They were 'waved' before the Lord and then given to the priests as food. This distinction allowed for the inclusion of leaven, as it was meant for human consumption rather than direct consecration to God on the altar itself. It was a way to acknowledge that even the ordinary bread of their homes was a gift from God.
These weren't just any loaves; they were the 'firstfruits.' What does offering the very first of the harvest teach us about God and ourselves?
The concept of 'firstfruits' is foundational in the Bible, appearing repeatedly to shape Israel's understanding of God's provision and their response.
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Acknowledging the Source
Bringing the first loaves to the Lord wasn't just a ritual; it was a deep act of gratitude and acknowledgment. It declared that all the harvest belonged to God. Even though only two loaves were presented, they sanctified and represented the entire harvest that was yet to be gathered. This practice powerfully reminded the Israelites that their prosperity and sustenance came directly from God's hand, not from their own efforts alone.
Trusting in God's Provision
This offering also required faith and trust. Before they could even eat of the new harvest, they had to give the best part away. This demonstrated their reliance on God not just for the harvest itself, but for the ability to enjoy it. They trusted that by giving Him the first, they would have plenty for the rest of the year, and that the rest of their harvest would be blessed.
Understand the original words
bikkurim · Hebrew Noun
The initial portion of a harvest, set apart and offered to God to acknowledge Him as the source of all fruitfulness.
chamets · Hebrew Noun
A substance added to dough to cause fermentation; in the Bible, it often represents the presence of corruption or sin, though in this context, it signifies the ordinary daily provision being offered to God.
This passage uses the imagery of 'firstfruits' to describe Christ's resurrection, directly connecting to the theme of firstfruits offered in Leviticus, showing a spiritual fulfillment.
Romans 11:16Paul alludes to the concept of firstfruits making the whole lump holy, mirroring how these loaves sanctified the harvest, illustrating a theological principle of consecration.
James 1:18James speaks of God choosing to 'give us birth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created,' linking the idea of firstfruits to a new spiritual creation.
Exodus 34:22This passage describes the 'Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labor,' which directly parallels the offering described in Leviticus, highlighting the continuity of the celebration of the harvest's beginning.
Revelation 14:4The imagery of 'firstfruits to God and the Lamb' describes a redeemed people, extending the concept of firstfruits from agricultural produce to a spiritual harvest of believers.
gillLeviticus 23:17: "Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD."
And ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals,.... Out of their habitations in the land of Canaan; and not out of those without the land, as Jarchi observes; and not out of all of them, as Ben Gersom remarks; though the Vulgate Latin version has it, out of "all" of our h…
calvinLeviticus 23:1-44: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
Alloquere filios Israel, et dic eis, Quum ingressi fueritis terrain quam ego do vobis, et messueritis messem ejus, tunc offeretis omnes primitias messis vestrae ad sacerdotem.
And he shall wave the shea…
The surprising detail here is that these loaves of first-fruits are specifically baked with leaven, which was forbidden in most other grain offerings. This highlights that these loaves weren't burned on the altar but were given entirely to the priests, symbolizing a joyful giving back to God of the harvest already blessed and in its common, everyday form.
This passage is part of the instructions for the Feast of Weeks (also known as Pentecost), which celebrated the wheat harvest. It follows the instructions for counting seven weeks from the waving of the barley harvest's first sheaf and offering a single new grain offering. The verse immediately before details the offerings for this new grain celebration, setting the stage for the specific instruction about the two leavened loaves and their accompanying sacrifices.
This passage is part of the instructions for the Feast of Weeks (also known as Pentecost), which celebrated the wheat harvest. It follows the instructions for counting seven weeks from the waving of the barley harvest's first sheaf and offering a single new grain offering. The verse immediately before details the offerings for this new grain celebration, setting the stage for the specific instruction about the two leavened loaves and their accompanying sacrifices.
"You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD." — The surprising detail here is that these loaves of first-fruits are specifically baked with leaven, which was forbidden in most other grain offerings. This highlights that these loaves weren't burn…
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Last reviewed October 2026
