Bible Strands
Nehemiah 10:35
We will also bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the house of the LORD year by year.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The covenant signers declare a commitment to deliver the land's initial harvest to the temple. They make this vow immediately after organizing the annual wood offering and before pledging to bring firstborn sons and livestock.
The words — בִּכּוּרֵי (bi.ku.rei) means "first-fruits" and appears twice to specify both the crops of the ground (אַדְמָתֵנוּ) and the produce of every fruit tree. The verb לְהָבִיא (le.ha.vi') carries the action of transporting these yields to the sanctuary.
The thread — The mandate to deliver the initial harvest to the house of the LORD repeats the instructions found in Deuteronomy 26:2 and Exodus 23:19 and 34:26. Nehemiah 10:36 immediately follows with a parallel pledge regarding firstborn sons and animals.
Why it lands — The text requires a fixed, annual transfer of the soil's first yield to the temple, establishing a measurable rhythm of provision for sacred service. It asks the reader to recognize that regular, structured giving precedes other forms of dedication.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord:
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 26:2 you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,
- Exodus 23:19 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exodus 34:26 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
- Numbers 18:12 I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.
- Leviticus 19:23 When you enter the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you shall regard the fruit as forbidden. For three years it will be forbidden to you and must not be eaten.
- 2 Chronicles 31:3 The king contributed from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts, as written in the Law of the LORD.
- Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;
- Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- Numbers 18:2 But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the Tent of the Testimony.