Leviticus 2:14 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 2:14 mean?

Leviticus 2:14 gives instructions for bringing the first part of a grain harvest as an offering to the LORD. A person who chooses to bring this offering is to prepare the fresh grain by drying it over fire and breaking it out of the heads.

The KJV’s “corn” means grain, not necessarily the crop now called corn in American English. The picture is of ripe heads of grain being prepared for presentation, rather than flour being made into bread.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 2:14

• “firstfruits” — בִּכּוּרִים (bikkurim): This word refers to the first produce of a harvest. It identifies the grain as an early part of the crop.
• “ears” — אָבִיב (aviv): This word refers to fresh, young heads of grain. It helps explain the KJV’s phrase “green ears”: the grain is at a fresh stage of growth.
• “beaten” — גֶּרֶשׂ (geres): This word carries the sense of crushed or broken grain. It points to grain prepared in pieces rather than left whole in the heads.

Why Leviticus 2:14 matters

• The offering is a choice addressed by a specific instruction. The verse begins, “if thou offer,” and then says how that offering is to be prepared.
• The KJV’s “meat offering” is an offering of grain in this verse. The ingredients named are heads of grain, and the following verse adds oil and frankincense, a fragrant plant resin.
• The offering has a further destination beyond preparation. Verse 16 says the priest burns a portion as a “memorial,” a portion presented on the fire before the LORD.