– From the Latin primitiae , it was the first part of the spoils offered to a deity. The Jewish Law established the offering to the Lord of the first fruits of the earth:
Ex 23:19 : You shall bring to the house of the Lord your God the first fruits of the first produce of your land.
Ex 34:26 : You shall bring to the house of the Lord your God the firstfruits of the fruits of your soil.
Leviticus 2:12 : You may offer it to the Lord as a firstfruits offering.
Lev 23,9-10.20 : You shall bring a sheaf of ears of corn to the priest as the firstfruits of your harvest.
Deut 26,2-3 : You shall take the firstfruits of all the fruit of the ground, which you gather in the land that the Lord gives you.
Ne 10,36 : We undertake to bring to the temple, each year, the first fruits of our soil and those of our fields.
Tob 1 :6: Faithfully offering the firstfruits and tithes of all his goods.
1Mk 3:49 : They brought the priestly ornaments, the firstfruits and the tithes.
Eclo 7,31 : Fear God with all your soul, have deep respect for his priests.
– Abel brought to the Lord the first animals born of his flock:
Gen 4 :4 : Abel, on his side, offered of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat.
– In the NT, Paul transfers the Law to the spiritual plane, writing that we have the firstfruits of the Spirit through the risen Christ:
Rom 8:23 : Not only she, but also we, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit.
Rom 11:16 : If the firstfruits are holy, so is the dough.
1Cor 15:20 : Christ was raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who died!
Jas 1:18 : By his own will he begat us […] that we might be like the firstfruits of his creatures.
