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fuÌ‚rst´froots (ר×ש×ית, reÌ„'shı̄th, בּכּוּרי×, bikkuÌ„rı̄m; ἀπαÏχηÌ, aparcheÌ„ÌÌŒ. Septuagint translates reÌ„'shı̄th by aparcheÌ„, but for bikkuÌ„rı̄m it uses the word proÌ„togennē̇mata compare Philo 22 33): In acknowledgment of the fact that the land and all its products were the gift of Yahweh to Israel, and in thankfulness for His bounty, all the first-fruits were offered to Him. These were offered in their natural state (e.g. cereals, tree fruits, grapes), or after preparation (e.g. musk, oil, flour, dough), after which the Israelite was at liberty to use the rest (; ; ; ; , ). No absolute distinction can be made between reÌ„'shı̄th and bikkuÌ„rı̄m, but reÌ„'shı̄th seems generally to mean what is prepared by human labor, and bikkuÌ„rı̄m the direct product of Nature. The phrase “the first of the first-fruits†(; ; ), Hebrew reÌ„'shı̄th bikkuÌ„reÌ„, Greek aparchaÄ±Ì tō̇n proÌ„togenneÌ„maÌtoÌ„n, is not quite clear. It may mean the first-ripe or the choicest of the first-fruits. The reÌ„'shı̄th offerings were individual, except that a reÌ„'shı̄th of dough was to be offered as a heave offering (-21). The priest waved a reÌ„'shı̄th of corn before the Lord on the morrow after the Sabbath in the week of unleavened bread (-11). These offerings all fell to the priest (). BikkuÌ„rı̄m refers specially to things sown (; ). At the Feast of Weeks, seven weeks after the offering of the sheaf, bikkuÌ„rı̄m of corn in the ear, parched with fire and bruised, were brought to the House of the Lord as a meal offering (-26; -16). The bikkuÌ„rı̄m also fell to the priest, except a portion which was burned as a memorial (-10, ). The beautiful ceremony of the offering of the reÌ„'shı̄th in the House of God is described in -11, and is enlarged upon in the Talmud (BikkuÌ„rı̄m 3 2). According to the Talmud (TeruÌ„moÌ„th 4 3) a sixtieth part of the first-fruits in a prepared form was the minimum that could be offered; the more generous brought a fortieth part, and even a thirtieth. The fruits of newly planted trees were not to be gathered during the first three years; the fruits of the fourth year were consecrated to Yahweh, and from the fifth year the fruits belonged to the owner of the trees (-25). According to Mishna, ‛OrlaÌ„h i.10, even the shells of nuts and pomegranates could not be used during the first three years as coloring matter or for the lighting of fires. It is held by some scholars that the institution of the tithe (see TITHE) is a later development from the first-fruits.
Figurative: In the Old Testament, in , Israel is called “the rē'shı̄th of his increase.†In the New Testament aparchē is applied figuratively to the first convert or converts in a particular place (; ); to the Christians of that age (; , WHm), and to the 144,000 in heaven (); to Christ, as the first who rose from the dead (, ); also to the blessings which we receive now through the Spirit, the earnest of greater blessings to come ().