The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

DEUTERONOMY 18:4KJV
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Deuteronomy 18:4 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 18:4 mean?

Deuteronomy 18:4 tells the Israelites to give a priest a portion of their produce and wool. The gifts come from the beginnings of their harvest and sheep shearing, showing that the priest’s share was to be set aside from the goods the people produced.

Moses is addressing Israel. The singular “him” refers to a priest among the Levites, the people set apart for service at Israel’s place of worship. After the priest’s share of slaughtered animals in verse 3, verse 4 adds crops and fleece.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 18:4

  • “firstfruit” — רֵאשִׁית (reʾshit): This word can mean the beginning or the first part. Here it points to produce set aside from the beginning of the harvest.
  • “corn” — דָּגָן (dagan): This word means grain. In the KJV, “corn” is an older English word for grain, not necessarily the maize often called corn today.
  • “wine” — תִּירוֹשׁ (tirosh): This word often refers to new wine or grape juice. It presents the gift as something produced from the grape harvest.

Why Deuteronomy 18:4 matters

  • The priest’s share included more than food from slaughtered animals. The “fleece” in verse 4 added a material used to make clothing.
  • The wider passage connects these gifts with the Levites’ place among Israel. Verse 2 says they would have no land share among the other tribes, and verse 5 describes their service in the Lord’s name.

Where else these words appear

“fleece” Hebrew H1488 · used in 4 verses

  • Job 31:20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
  • Psalms 72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
  • Amos 7:1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

“oil” Hebrew H3323 · used in 23 verses

  • Numbers 18:12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.
  • 2 Chronicles 31:5 And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
  • Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

“wine” Hebrew H8492 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • 2 Chronicles 32:28 Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.
  • Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

“corn” Hebrew H1715 · used in 40 verses

  • Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • Nehemiah 5:2 For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live.
  • Lamentations 2:12 They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom.