The offering made at the feast of Pentecost was a thanksgiving for the conclusion of wheat harvest. It consisted of two loaves (according to Josephus one loaf) of new flour baked witli leaven, which were waved l)j' the priest as at the Passover. The size of the loaves is fixed bj' the Mishna at seven palms long and four wide, Mith horns of four fingers length. No pri- vate offerings of first-fruits were allowed liefore tins public oblation of the two loaves (Lev. xxiii, 15, 20; Jlishna, Terum. x, G; xi, 4; Josephus, Ant. iii, 10, 6; Reland, Antiq. iv, 4, 5).
The quantity of private first-fruits to be consecrated to the Lord has neither been fixed by the law nor hy tradition; it was left entirely to the generosity of the people. "Yet," says Maimonides, "it is implied that a sixtieth part is to be consecrated, and lie wlio wishes to devote all the first-fruits of his field may do so" (Hilckoth Bikurim, ii, 17). The way in which a pro- prietor fixed which first-fruit he should offer was tliis, as the Mishna tells us, "when he went into his field and saw a fig ripening, or a bunch of grapes, or a pome- granate, he tied a rusli aljoiit it, and said, ' Lo, this is first-fruit' " (Bikurim, iii). All the first-fruits tints de- voted to the Lord had to be delivered at Jerusalem be- tween the feasts of Pentecost and Dedication (Exod. xxiii, IG; Lev. xxiii, 16, 17; Bikurim, i,3G); any of- fering brought after this time was not received.
3. jlfamier in which these Offerings irere takeii to Jeru- salem.— The first-fruits of the land were to be brought in a basket to the holy place of God's choice, and there presented to the priest, who was to set the basket down liefore the altar. The offerer was then, in words of which the outline, if not the whole form was prescribed, to recite the story of Jacob's descent into Egypt, and the deliverance therefrom of his posterity, and to ac- knowledge the blessings with Avhich God had visited him (Deut. xxvi, 2-11). The law that every one should take up the first-fruits to Jerusalem was soon found impracticable, since even the most pious Israel-
FIRST-FRUIT
573,
FIRST-FRUIT
ite ibund it very difficult, in addition to his appearing at the three great festivals, to have to go to the Tem- ple with every newly-ripened fruit. Nor was it found convenient for every one to go up with his first-fruits separately'. Hence the custom arose, that when the first-fruits were ripe, all the inhabitants of one district who were ready to deliver them assembled together in the principal town of that locality where their repre- sentative lived, with a basket containing the ripe fruits of the seven several kinds, arranged in the following manner: "The barley was put lowermost, the wheat over it, the olives above that, the dates over them, the pomegranates over the dates, and the figs were put uppermost in the basket, leaves being put between ev- ery kind to separate it from the other, and clusters of grapes were laid upon the figs to form the outside of the basket"' (Maimonides, Hilclwth Bikurim, iii, 7; To- sifta Bikurim, ii). With this basket all the pilgrims (or at least a company of twent3'-four parsons) staid up all night in the open market-place, because they were afraid to go into houses to sleep lest anj' inmate of thsm should die, and thus cause pollution. Earh' in the morning the representative of the district, who was the official (T3i'^) and ex officio the leader of the imposing procession, summoned them with the words of the prophet Jeremiah, "Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the house of Jehovah our God" (xxxi, 6). The whole companj^ were then readj' to start. We cannot do better than give literal!}' the description which tlie Mishna an<l the Talmud give of this im- posing procession : An ox [destined for a paace-offer- ing] went before them with gilded horns and an olive crown upon its head, and a piper who played before them, whilst the air rang witli the song of the people, "I was glad when ihay said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psa. cxxii, 1). On approach- ing Jerusalem a messenger was sent forward to an- nounce their arrival, and the first-fruits were tastefully arranged. The officiating priest, the Levites, and the treasurers went out to meet them, tlie number of offi- cials who went out being in accordance with the large- ness of the party that arrived, and conducted tliem into the holy city, singing, as they entered, " Our feet stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem" (Psa. cxxii, 2), whilst all the workmen [who plied their craft] in tlie streets of Jerusalem stood up before them and welcomed them, saying, " Brethren of such and such a place, peace be with you." The piper continued to play befor; them till the procession came to the mount of the Temple. Here every one, even the king, took his own basket upon his shoulders, and went forward till they all came to the court of the Temple, singing, "Praise ye tlio Lord, praise God in his sanctuarj'," etc. [through the whole of Psalm cl] ; whereupon the Levites sang, "I will extol thee, 0 Lord ! because thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made mj' foes to rejoice over me" (Psa. xxx). Tlien the pigeons which were hung about the baskets were taken for burnt-ofrerin.j;s, and the pil- grims gave to the priests what they brought in their hands. With the baskets still upon their shoulders every one repeated, "I profess tliis day unto the Lord thy God," etc., till he came to tlie words, "A wander- ing Syrian was my father" (i. e. from Dent, xxvi, 3-5), when he took the basket oflf his shoulders and laid hold of it by its brim ; the priest then put his hands under it and waved it, whilst the offerer continued to recite from tlie words " A wandering Syrian," whore he hatl left oft", to the end of the section (i. e. to Dent, xxvi, 10), then put the basket by the side of the altar, threw himself down on his face, and afterwards departed (Mishna, Bikurim, iii, 2-6 ; Jerusalem Bikurim, 65 ; Mainionides, Ililchnth Bikurim, iv, 16, 17). These first- fruits then became the property of the ju-iests who offi- ciated during that week. The baskets of the rich were of gold or silver, those of the poor of peeled willow. The baskets of the latter kind were presented to the priests, who waved the oflTerings at the S. W. corner of