Leviticus 23:17 kjv
Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
Leviticus 23:17 nkjv
You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the LORD.
Leviticus 23:17 niv
From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the LORD.
Leviticus 23:17 esv
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.
Leviticus 23:17 nlt
From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the LORD as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the LORD from the first of your crops.
Leviticus 23 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 23:15-16 | "You shall count for yourselves from the day...seven full weeks...then you shall offer..." | Setting the timeline for the Feast of Weeks. |
| Num 28:26 | "On the Day of the Firstfruits...you shall have a holy convocation..." | Another command for the Feast of Weeks sacrifices. |
| Deut 16:9-10 | "You shall count seven weeks...Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks..." | Reinforces the observance of the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot). |
| Acts 2:1-4 | "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place...Holy Spirit..." | Fulfillment of Feast of Weeks, birth of the Church, outpouring of Holy Spirit. |
| Exod 29:24 | "You shall put all these on the hands of Aaron...and wave them..." | Principle of wave offering, dedicating items to the Lord. |
| Lev 7:30 | "His own hands shall bring the Lord's food offerings. The fat together with the breast he shall bring, that the breast may be waved..." | Describes the nature of wave offerings to the LORD. |
| Exod 12:8, 15 | "...eat the meat roasted with fire, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs...seven days unleavened bread." | Passover injunction against leaven, contrast with Lv 23:17. |
| Lev 2:11 | "No grain offering that you bring to the LORD shall be made with leaven..." | General prohibition of leaven in most grain offerings, highlighting the uniqueness here. |
| Matt 16:6, 12 | "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees...understand that he did not tell you to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching..." | Leaven as symbolic of corrupting influence or false doctrine. |
| 1 Cor 5:6-8 | "A little leaven leavens the whole lump...purge out the old leaven." | Leaven symbolizing sin needing removal, often moral impurity. |
| Gal 5:9 | "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." | Warning about the subtle yet pervasive nature of corrupting influence. |
| Exod 23:16 | "The Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors..." | Mandate for presenting firstfruits from the harvest. |
| Deut 26:1-4 | "...bring the first of all the fruit of the ground..." | Instruction for bringing firstfruits, an act of remembrance and gratitude. |
| Rom 8:23 | "...we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit..." | Believers possessing the Holy Spirit as God's initial down payment. |
| 1 Cor 15:20 | "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." | Jesus as the first of the resurrected, guaranteeing future resurrection for believers. |
| Jas 1:18 | "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits..." | Believers as God's initial harvest in a spiritual sense. |
| Rev 14:4 | "These are the ones who were not defiled with women...bought from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb." | The 144,000 as firstfruits, redeemed and set apart for God. |
| Lev 2:1 | "When anyone offers a grain offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour." | Fine flour for offerings, common practice in grain offerings. |
| Rom 5:8 | "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." | God accepting imperfect humanity through Christ's sacrifice. |
| 2 Cor 5:21 | "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." | God making imperfect people righteous through Christ, linking to accepted leavened loaves. |
| Eph 2:14-16 | "For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the middle wall..." | The "two loaves" potentially symbolizing Jews and Gentiles reconciled in one body. |
| Num 18:8-19 | "...I have given you charge of My offerings...This shall be yours..." | Priests receiving portions of the wave offerings as their share. |
| John 12:24 | "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." | Concept of death bringing forth much fruit, paralleling firstfruits. |
| 2 Thess 2:13 | "...chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth..." | God's choosing of His people, reminiscent of selecting firstfruits. |
Leviticus 23 verses
Leviticus 23 17 Meaning
Leviticus 23:17 prescribes the unique offering for the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). It mandates the presentation of two loaves of leavened bread made from fine flour, each measuring two-tenths of an ephah, as a wave offering before the LORD. These loaves are distinct because they are presented as "firstfruits" (bikurim), signifying God's blessing on the harvest, yet include leaven, which usually symbolized sin or impurity in other offerings, hinting at divine grace for an imperfect people.
Leviticus 23 17 Context
Leviticus Chapter 23 outlines the LORD's appointed feasts, holy convocations, and sacred times, forming Israel's annual worship calendar. Verse 17 specifically details the commanded offering for the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, which is observed fifty days after the presentation of the first sheaf (omer) of barley at Passover. Historically and culturally, this festival was primarily an agricultural celebration of the wheat harvest, giving thanks to God for His provision. Unlike other grain offerings and the Passover bread, which strictly prohibited leaven, this particular offering requires leaven, a deliberate inclusion that is key to its profound theological meaning. This distinct feature points towards a future reality where God would accept an imperfect humanity into His holy presence.
Leviticus 23 17 Word analysis
- You shall bring out of your dwellings: This implies a communal and personal responsibility. "Dwellings" (moshaboteikem) emphasizes that the offering comes from the people's homes, from their everyday lives and produce, signifying the dedication of their substance and effort.
- two wave loaves:
- two (shnetayim): Signifies a duality, which many commentators link to the unification of two groups—traditionally interpreted as the two kingdoms of Israel (Judah and Ephraim/Israel), or prophetically as Jew and Gentile brought together into one body (the Church). It also reflects the communal aspect of the offering.
- wave loaves (lechem tenufah): "Loaves of waving." The Hebrew tenufah denotes a wave offering, where an item is presented by moving it back and forth or up and down before the LORD, typically symbolizing consecration and acknowledgement that all blessings come from God. Often, this dedicated portion was then given to the priests, signifying that God’s portion becomes sustenance for those serving Him.
- of two-tenths of an ephah: 'issaronayim. This specifies the exact quantity of flour, indicating divine precision. An ephah was a significant dry measure (approximately 22 liters), and "one-tenth of an ephah" was called an omer. Thus, each of the two loaves was made from one omer of flour, demonstrating a substantial offering from their harvest.
- They shall be of fine flour: soleth. This term refers to the choicest, best quality flour, indicative of presenting God with the very best of their produce. This requirement highlights the expectation of excellence and reverence in offerings to the Holy God.
- they shall be baked with leaven: chametz ye'aphen. This is the most striking and distinctive feature of this offering. Leaven (chametz) elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Exod 12; Lev 2:11) consistently symbolizes impurity, corruption, or sin. Its commanded inclusion here, contrary to nearly all other meal offerings, is profoundly significant. It acknowledges the inherent imperfection and sinfulness present even within the best human efforts and the redeemed community. It implies that these loaves are accepted not on their own merit, but by God's grace despite the "leaven." This powerfully points to a covenant of grace, foreshadowing God’s acceptance of a sinful people made righteous through the shed blood of Christ.
- for they are firstfruits to the LORD: bikurim laYHWH. This defines the purpose of the offering. "Firstfruits" represent the initial and best part of the harvest dedicated to God, recognizing His sovereignty over all creation and His provision. By offering the firstfruits, Israel acknowledged that the entire harvest was a gift from Him. Prophetically, it links to Jesus as the firstfruits from the dead (1 Cor 15:20) and believers as the firstfruits of God's new creation (Jas 1:18).
Leviticus 23 17 Bonus section
The "two" loaves in this offering are seen by many as highly prophetic, especially when connected to the Feast of Weeks' New Testament fulfillment at Pentecost. At Pentecost, both Jews and Gentiles were added to the Church by the Holy Spirit. This aligns perfectly with the concept of the two loaves symbolizing the eventual reconciliation and unification of these two distinct peoples (Jew and Gentile) into one "new man" in Christ (Eph 2:14-16), both being acceptable and presented as firstfruits to God through grace. The "fine flour" symbolizes the purity and perfection found in Christ, while the "leaven" within it highlights that the Church, made up of fallen humanity, still carries imperfection, yet is consecrated and acceptable due to its union with Him.
Leviticus 23 17 Commentary
Leviticus 23:17 stands as a uniquely paradoxical instruction within the Levitical system, specifically within the celebration of the Feast of Weeks, known as Shavuot. While nearly all grain offerings forbidden leaven as a symbol of impurity, these two wave loaves explicitly require it. This points to a profound theological truth: while the harvest itself is a perfect gift from God, the people bringing it, even as His redeemed community (represented by the "firstfruits"), are inherently imperfect and stained by "leaven" (sin). Yet, God commands that this leavened offering be brought to Him and accepts it as holy. This foreshadows the New Testament reality of the Church: Jew and Gentile (symbolized by the two loaves) united and accepted by God not based on their own righteousness or sinless perfection, but through His unmerited grace, through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. The Feast of Weeks prophetically culminates in Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit unites believers (imperfect but cleansed by Christ's sacrifice) into the living Body of Christ, serving as "firstfruits" to God. This teaching underscores that God's grace covers our imperfections when we come to Him through faith, bringing our worship and lives, acknowledging His divine provision.