Tobit Brings Firstfruits to Jerusalem
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Among the obligatory gifts brought to the Temple were the bikkurim, or firstfruits (Exodus 23:19; 34:26). In this passage from the book of Tobit, Tobit asserts that after the secession of the northern tribes at the beginning of the First Temple period, he, alone among his tribesmen, would journey to Jerusalem with his firstfruits and other gifts for the priests.
For discussions of the firstfruits on other ancient Jewish sources, see Philo on Offering Firstfruits, The Mishnah on Offering Firstfruits, and The Temple Scroll. (In the Temple Scroll, from Qumran, the obligation to offer firstfruits to the Lord applies not only to grain but also to wine and oil. The Temple Scroll prescribes three different harvest celebrations for each of these staple agricultural products with fifty days between each, in accord with the ancient harvest calendar.)
6But I alone went often to Jerusalem for the festivals, as it is prescribed for all Israel by an everlasting decree. I would hurry off to Jerusalem with the first fruits of the crops and the firstlings of the flock, the tithes of the cattle, and the first shearings of the sheep. 7I would give these to the priests, the sons of Aaron, at the altar; likewise the tenth of the grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and the rest of the fruits to the sons of Levi who ministered at Jerusalem. Also for six years I would save up a second tenth in money and go and distribute it in Jerusalem.
Translation from the New Revised Standard Version.
Credits
New Revised Standard Version Bible copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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Among the obligatory gifts brought to the Temple were the bikkurim, or firstfruits (Exodus 23:19; 34:26). In this passage from the book of Tobit, Tobit asserts that after the secession of the northern tribes at the beginning of the First Temple period, he, alone among his tribesmen, would journey to Jerusalem with his firstfruits and other gifts for the priests.
For discussions of the firstfruits on other ancient Jewish sources, see Philo on Offering Firstfruits, The Mishnah on Offering Firstfruits, and The Temple Scroll. (In the Temple Scroll, from Qumran, the obligation to offer firstfruits to the Lord applies not only to grain but also to wine and oil. The Temple Scroll prescribes three different harvest celebrations for each of these staple agricultural products with fifty days between each, in accord with the ancient harvest calendar.)
Related Guide
Visiting the Second Temple in Jerusalem
You may also like
Philo on Offering Firstfruits
On the Special Laws 2.215–222
The Mishnah on Offering Firstfruits
m. Bikkurim 3:1-8
A Pilgrimage for a Rite of Purification
Acts 21:17–26
Philo on the Barley Offering
On the Special Laws 2.162–164, 170–175
The Mishnah on the Barley Offering
m. Menaḥot 10:2, 4–5