Leviticus 23:17

17 You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering, each made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of choice flour, baked with leaven, as first fruits to the Lord.

Leviticus 23:17 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 23:17

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 habitations, but wrongly; and indeed out of no one particular habitation, because it was at the public expense; but they were brought from some part of the country or another, even the quantity of two tenth parts of an ephah, or two omers of wheat flour made into two loaves, which were to be, and were waved before the Lord, and hence so called; and are the same with the new meat offering, or rather bread offering, made of the new corn, in the preceding verse, so Jarchi:

they shall be of fine flour;
of wheat flour, the finest of it, of which all meat or bread offerings were made; and this was particularly on account of the wheat harvest, and therefore it was proper that the finest of the wheat should be used on this occasion; (See Gill on Leviticus 2:1); each loaf or cake, according to Maimonides F23, was seven hands' breadths long, four hands' breadths broad, and four fingers high:

they shall be baked with leaven;
the common meat offering was unleavened, part of which was burnt on the altar, where no leaven might be burnt, ( Leviticus 2:4 Leviticus 2:5 Leviticus 2:11 ) ; and from hence it may be concluded that no part of these loaves was to be burnt, but the whole of them fell to the share of the priests:

[they are] the firstfruits unto the Lord;
which he claimed as his, and gave unto his priests; and it was but right and just he should have them, as an acknowledgment of all coming from his hands, and as expressive of gratitude for them, and for the sanctification of the rest; hence this is called the feast of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, ( Exodus 34:22 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F23 Hilchot Tamidin c. 8. sect. 10.

Leviticus 23:17 In-Context

15 And from the day after the sabbath, from the day on which you bring the sheaf of the elevation offering, you shall count off seven weeks; they shall be complete.
16 You shall count until the day after the seventh sabbath, fifty days; then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord.
17 You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering, each made of two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of choice flour, baked with leaven, as first fruits to the Lord.
18 You shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, one young bull, and two rams; they shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, along with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord.
19 You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of well-being
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, 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.