Lexicon :: Strong's H7225 - rē'šîṯ

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[fn]

His kingdom started with Babylon, Erech,[fn] Accad,[fn] and Calneh,[fn] in the land of Shinar.[fn]

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,

my strength and the firstfruits of my virility,

excelling in prominence, excelling in power.

“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your land to the house of the LORD your God.

“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

“Bring the best firstfruits of your land to the house of the LORD your God.

“You must not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

“You may present them to the LORD as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest,[fn] you are to bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest.

“You are to offer a loaf from your first batch of dough as a contribution; offer it just like a contribution from the threshing floor.

“I am giving you all the best of the fresh oil, new wine, and grain, which the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.

Then Balaam saw Amalek and proclaimed his poem:

Amalek was first among the nations,

but his future is destruction.

“It is a land the LORD your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year.

“You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the first sheared wool of your flock.

“He must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the neglected wife, by giving him two shares[fn][fn] of his estate, for he is the firstfruits of his virility; he has the rights of the firstborn.

“take some of the first of all the land’s produce that you harvest from the land the LORD your God is giving you and put it in a basket. Then go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to have his name dwell.

“I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that you, LORD, have given me.

You will then place the container before the LORD your God and bow down to him.

He chose the best part for himself,

because a ruler’s portion was assigned there for him.

He came with the leaders of the people;

he carried out the LORD’s justice

and his ordinances for Israel.

“Why, then, do all of you despise my sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship? You have honored your sons more than me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of my people Israel.’

“The troops took sheep, goats, and cattle from the plunder ​— ​the best of what was set apart for destruction ​— ​to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.”

When the word spread, the Israelites gave liberally of the best of the grain, new wine, fresh oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in an abundance, a tenth of everything.

We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and fresh oil. A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.

On that same day men were placed in charge of the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tenths. The legally required portions for the priests and Levites were gathered from the village fields, because Judah was grateful to the priests and Levites who were serving.

Then, even if your beginnings were modest,

your final days will be full of prosperity.

He is the foremost of God’s works;

only his Maker can draw the sword against him.

So the LORD blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the first. He owned fourteen thousand sheep and goats, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.

He struck all the firstborn in Egypt,

the first progeny of the tents of Ham.

He struck all the firstborn in their land,

all their first progeny.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all who follow his instructions[fn] have good insight.

His praise endures forever.

The fear of the LORD

is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Honor the LORD with your possessions

and with the first produce of your entire harvest;

“Wisdom is supreme ​— ​so get wisdom.

And whatever else you get, get understanding.

“The LORD acquired[fn] me

at the beginning of his creation,[fn]

before his works of long ago.

To start a conflict is to release a flood;

stop the dispute before it breaks out.

The end of a matter is better than its beginning;

a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit.

“I declare the end from the beginning,

and from long ago what is not yet done,

saying: my plan will take place,

and I will do all my will.

“Israel was holy to the LORD,

the firstfruits of his harvest.

All who ate of it found themselves guilty;

disaster came on them.”

This is the LORD’s declaration.

At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD:

At the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah[fn] son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:[fn]

In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon said to me in the temple of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people,

This is the word of the LORD that came to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam[fn] at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.

“For on my holy mountain, Israel’s high mountain ​— ​the declaration of the Lord GOD ​— ​there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your contributions and choicest gifts, all your holy offerings.

“The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes.

“They must not sell or exchange any of it, and they must not transfer this choice part of the land, for it is holy to the LORD.

“He will also invade the beautiful land, and many will fall. But these will escape from his power: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people[fn] of the Ammonites.

I discovered Israel

like grapes in the wilderness.

I saw your ancestors

like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season.

But they went to Baal-peor,

consecrated themselves to Shame,[fn]

and became abhorrent,

like the thing they loved.

Woe to those who are at ease in Zion

and to those who feel secure on the hill of Samaria —

the notable people in this first of the nations,

those the house of Israel comes to.

They drink wine by the bowlful

and anoint themselves with the finest oils

but do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Harness the horses to the chariot,

you residents of Lachish.

This was the beginning of sin for Daughter Zion

because Israel’s acts of rebellion can be traced to you.