# Firstfruits and tithes Deuteronomy · Draft · BSB Content revision: a67320b08370c3fa · No editorial review date recorded [Citation / readable page](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/studies/deuteronomy/firstfruits/) [Open interactive map](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/?study=deuteronomy§ion=firstfruits) [Markdown](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/studies/deuteronomy/firstfruits/index.md) [JSON](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/studies/deuteronomy/firstfruits/index.json) Date: c. 1406 BC · Year 40, month 11 (Deuteronomy 1:3). Dated from 1 Kings 6:1 (the Exodus c. 1446 BC). Many scholars instead date the Exodus to about 1260 BC, placing these speeches about 1220 BC. In the land each worshiper is to bring the first fruits to the place the LORD chooses and confess: my father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt, where we were afflicted, until the LORD brought us out with a mighty hand and gave us this land. Every third year the tithe goes to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Israel and the LORD affirm their covenant to each other. Deuteronomy records Moses’ last speeches to the new generation of Israel on the plains of Moab, in the fortieth year after the Exodus (1:3). It looks back over the journey from Egypt and Horeb and forward to life in the land, calling Israel to love the LORD and remember what he has done. Each section below lists what Moses recalls, with links to those events on the timeline, and where the rest of Scripture takes up the passage. The Ten Commandments, the great commandment, and the statutes for life in the land, ending with blessings and curses (4:44–28:68). ## Primary Scripture [Deuteronomy 26:1–19 (BSB)](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2026%3A1%E2%80%9319&version=BSB) 26:1 When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it, 26:2 you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name, 26:3 to the priest who is serving at that time, and say to him, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.” 26:4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hands and place it before the altar of the LORD your God, 26:5 and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous. 26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor. 26:7 So we called out to the LORD, the God of our fathers; and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression. 26:8 Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders. 26:9 And He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 26:10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land that You, O LORD, have given me.” Then you are to place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before Him. 26:11 So you shall rejoice—you, the Levite, and the foreigner dwelling among you—in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household. 26:12 When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates. 26:13 Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD your God, “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments. 26:14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything You commanded me. 26:15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.” 26:16 The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and with all your soul. 26:17 Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice. 26:18 And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments, 26:19 that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised. ## Moses looks back [Deuteronomy 26:5](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2026%3A5&version=BSB) A wandering Aramean went down to Egypt. [Jacob goes down to Egypt](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/jacob-goes-to-egypt/) [Deuteronomy 26:6–7](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2026%3A6%E2%80%937&version=BSB) Affliction in Egypt. [Oppression in Egypt; Moses is born](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/israel-oppressed/) [Deuteronomy 26:8](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2026%3A8&version=BSB) A mighty hand and an outstretched arm. [The plagues on Egypt](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/events/the-plagues/) ## Where Scripture takes it up [1 Corinthians 15:20](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015%3A20&version=BSB) Christ, the firstfruits of those raised from the dead. ## Location evidence Plains of Moab: Approximate region. Coordinates \[longitude, latitude\]: \[35.64, 31.85\]. Classification source: editorial. Illustrative regional extent: \[\[35.56,31.77\],\[35.7,31.91\]\]; not a measured confidence interval. [Numbers 33:48–49 · extent of the camp](https://ebible.org/eng-web/NUM33.htm) ## For the class Write your own short confession like Deuteronomy 26:5–10. What would you include? ## Interpretation and reuse Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review. Record source: editorial Study guide: original editorial writing for Scripture Atlas. Place coordinates: OpenBible.info, CC BY 4.0. Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm [Use this atlas with AI / data documentation](https://wilderness-scripture-atlas.pages.dev/reference/ai/)