Numbers 18:30

Therefore say to the Levites, ‘When you have presented the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the produce of the threshing floor or winepress.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — God commands Moses to instruct the Levites to present their portion of the tithes after establishing the requirements for the Israelites' offerings. This directive functions as the administrative conclusion to the Levitical compensation regulations in Numbers 18.

The words — The verb וְ/נֶחְשַׁב (ve./nech.Shav) means "and it will be reckoned," establishing a formal accounting of the Levites' portion. The text uses this term to equate their designated share with standard agricultural yield rather than a distinct category of holy goods.

The thread — The instruction to present the "best part" parallels the command in Genesis 43:11 to gather the finest products of the land for a gift. The same accounting principle appears in Numbers 18:27, where the Levites' offering is explicitly treated as grain from a threshing floor or juice from a winepress.

Why it lands — The text requires the Levites to accept their portion as a standardized harvest allocation rather than a personal entitlement. It demands strict compliance with a distribution system that separates holy offerings from ordinary consumption.

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

וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ve./'a.mar.Taand/ you will say אֲלֵהֶ֑ם'a.le./Hemto/ them בַּהֲרִֽימְכֶ֤םba./ha.rim./Khemwhen/ offer up/ you אֶת־'et-<obj.>חֶלְבּוֹ֙chel.B/obest of/ its מִמֶּ֔נּוּmi.Me./nufrom <the>/ it וְנֶחְשַׁב֙ve./nech.Shavand/ it will be reckoned לַלְוִיִּ֔םla/l.vi.Yimto the/ Levites כִּתְבוּאַ֥תki/t.vu.'Atlike/ [the] produce of גֹּ֖רֶןGo.rena threshing floor וְכִתְבוּאַ֥תve./khi/t.vu.'Atand/ like/ [the] produce of יָֽקֶב׃Ya.keva wine-press

King James Version

Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.

Cross-references

Genesis 43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.
Numbers 18:27 Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.
Deuteronomy 6:5 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;
Malachi 1:8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 10:37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
Philippians 3:8 More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ