But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.

LEVITICUS 19:24KJV
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Leviticus 19:24 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 19:24 mean?

Leviticus 19:24 says that in the fourth year after planting a fruit tree, all of its fruit must be set apart as holy and used to praise the LORD, rather than eaten or used for ordinary purposes. This command sets a special time when the fruit is dedicated entirely to God before it becomes available for regular use.

In this verse, God is speaking to the Israelites through Moses, giving instructions about how to treat the fruit from new trees. The context is a set of laws about holiness and daily life. The idea is that the first years’ fruit is not to be eaten, and in the fourth year, the entire harvest is offered in a special way to honor God, showing respect and gratitude before enjoying the tree’s produce in later years.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 19:24

  • קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, H6944): This word means "holy" or "set apart." Here, it shows that the fourth-year fruit is not just ordinary food but is reserved for a sacred purpose.
  • הִלּוּלִים (hillulim, H1974): This word is often understood as "praise" or "a praise offering." It emphasizes that the fruit is to be used in a way that celebrates and honors the LORD, not for personal enjoyment.
  • יְהוָה (YHWH, H3068): This is the personal name of God, often rendered as "the LORD." The verse stresses that the dedication is directed specifically to Him.

Why Leviticus 19:24 matters

  • Leviticus 19:24 clarifies that the fruit of a new tree is not for immediate consumption but is subject to a period of waiting and dedication, highlighting patience and reverence.
  • The verse connects the act of eating with worship, showing that even ordinary activities like harvesting fruit can be acts of honoring God.
  • This instruction fits into a larger pattern in Leviticus of setting apart the first and best for God, reinforcing the theme of holiness in everyday life.

Where else these words appear

“praise” Hebrew H1974 · used in 2 verses

  • Judges 9:27 And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trode the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and did eat and drink, and cursed Abimelech.

“fourth” Hebrew H7243 · used in 54 verses

  • Genesis 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
  • 1 Kings 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
  • 1 Chronicles 27:7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

“fruit” Hebrew H6529 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 10:37 And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
  • Isaiah 37:31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: