Leviticus 2:14
in Leviticus 2If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer crushed heads of new grain roasted on the fire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if thou offer a meal-offering of first-fruits unto Jehovah, thou shalt offer for the meal-offering of thy first-fruits grain in the ear parched with fire, bruised grain of the fresh ear.
KJV
And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.
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This verse in Leviticus 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseGreen ears of corn dried by the fire - Green or half-ripe ears of wheat parched with fire is a species of food in use among the poor people of Palestine and Egypt to the present day. As God is represented as keeping a table among his people, (for the tabernacle was his house, where he had the golden table, shewbread, etc)., so he represents himself as partaking with them of all the aliments that were in use, and even sitting down with the poor to a repast on parched corn!
This site's exposition
green ears of corn dried by the fire
on Leviticus 2:14-16
The last form of the offering is the first of a harvest, green ears parched at the fire and corn beaten out of full ears. It is brought before the crop is in and before the year has shown what it will yield. Oil and frankincense return, the priest burns the memorial, and the chapter ends on the same handful it began with.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
There are indeed four types of sacrifices that were commended. Whether they were new of new things, or roasted, or divided, or continuous. The new of new things were in the first time of the year, which were valued for their appearance in the firstfruits: but now it has been revealed that they signify those who are renewed through the sacraments of baptism. For this is truly the primitive sacrifice, when each person offers themselves as a victim, and begins with themselves, so that they may later be able to offer their own gift.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
10 And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the L ORD made by fire. There were some meat-offerings that were only appendices to the burnt-offerings, as that which was offered with the daily sacrifice ( Exod. xxix.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord,....
That is not expected from green ears which one may justly look for from those that have been left to grow fully ripe. If those that are young do God's work as well as they can, they shall be accepted, though they cannot do it so well as those that are aged and experienced.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Green ears of corn - Rather, “fresh ears of corn;” that is, just-ripe grain, freshly gathered. Parched grain, such as is here spoken of, is a common article of food in Syria and Egypt, and was very generally eaten in ancient times. Beaten out - Not rubbed out by the hands, as described in Luk 6:1, but bruised or crushed so as to form groats.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“The word im (if) here has the meaning of ki (when), for the bringing [of this meal-offering of the first-fruits] is not a voluntary matter, since Scripture speaks here of the meal-offering of the new barley, which is obligatory. 230 Further:10.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תַּקְרִ֛יב | takriv | you will present | H7126 → | 280 times |
| מִנְחַ֥ת | minchat | a grain offering of | H4503 → | 211 times |
| בִּכּוּרִ֖ים | bikurim | first-fruits | H1061 → | 17 times |
| לַיהוָ֑ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אָבִ֞יב | ʾaviv | young barley ear[s] | H24 → | |
| קָל֤וּי | kalui | roasted | H7033 → | |
| בָּאֵשׁ֙ | baesh | in the fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| גֶּ֣רֶשׂ | geres | groats of | H1643 → | |
| כַּרְמֶ֔ל | karmel | new corn | H3759 → | |
| תַּקְרִ֕יב | takriv | you will present | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִנְחַ֥ת | minchat | [the] grain offering of | H4503 → | 211 times |
| בִּכּוּרֶֽיךָ׃ | bikureikha | first-fruits your | H1061 → | 17 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
תַּקְרִ֛יבyou will present
takrivH7126 →280 times
מִנְחַ֥תa grain offering of
minchatH4503 →211 times
בִּכּוּרִ֖יםfirst-fruits
bikurimH1061 →17 times
לַיהוָ֑הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אָבִ֞יבyoung barley ear[s]
ʾavivH24 →
קָל֤וּיroasted
kaluiH7033 →
בָּאֵשׁ֙in the fire
baeshH784 →378 times
גֶּ֣רֶשׂgroats of
geresH1643 →
כַּרְמֶ֔לnew corn
karmelH3759 →
תַּקְרִ֕יבyou will present
takrivH7126 →280 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
מִנְחַ֥ת[the] grain offering of
minchatH4503 →211 times
בִּכּוּרֶֽיךָ׃first-fruits your
bikureikhaH1061 →17 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 23:10“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of…
it leads to
- 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.”
- 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
Through
Numbers 28:2“Command the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to Me at its appointed time the food for My offerings by fire, as a pleasing aroma to Me.
it leads to
- Leviticus 3:11
Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
- Leviticus 3:11
Through
Malachi 1:11For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:6
so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
- Isaiah 54:5
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.
- Matthew 28:19
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
- Zechariah 8:7
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west.
- Isaiah 66:19–20
I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who…
- Isaiah 45:6
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On Cain and Abel 2.6.19; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.