Exodus 22:29

“Thou shall not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, etc.] Which, according to Maimonides f709, were of seven kinds only; for he says, “they do not bring the firstfruits, but of the seven kinds, said in the praise of the land, (the land of Canaan), (<050808>Deuteronomy 8:8) and they are wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates;” and how much of these were to be offered is not fixed by the law, but were left to the generosity of the people: the above mentioned writer asks f710, “what measure do the wise men set? a good eye (or a bountiful man) brings one of forty (or the fortieth part of his fruits); a middling one (one that is neither liberal nor niggardly) brings…”

“The offering of firstfruits appears to have been a custom of primitive antiquity and was connected with the earliest acts of sacrifice. See Genesis 4:3-4. The references to it here and in Exodus 23:19 had probably been handed down from patriarchal times. The specific law relating to the firstborn of living creatures was brought out in a strong light in connection with the deliverance from Egypt Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:12-13; compare Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 22:27; Deuteronomy 26:2-11; Nehemiah 10:35. The first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors - See the margin. The rendering of our King James Bible is a paraphrase. return to 'Top of Page'”

“The first - born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me - And much more reason have we to give ourselves and all we have to God, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. The first ripe of their corn they must not delay to offer; there is danger if we delay our duty, lest we wholly omit it; and by slipping the first opportunity in expectation of another, we suffer Satan to cheat us of all our time. Exodus 22:31”

“shalt not delay: Exo 23:16, Exo 23:19; Deu 26:2-10; Kg2 4:42; Ch2 31:5; Pro 3:9, Pro 3:10; Eze 20:40; Mic 7:1; Mat 6:33; Rom 8:23; Jam 1:18 the first of thy ripe fruits: Heb. thy fulness liquors: Heb. tear. the firstborn: Exo 13:2, Exo 13:12, Exo 34:19 Exodus 22:30”

“"Thy fulness and thy flowing thou shalt not delay (to Me)." מלאה fulness, signifies the produce of corn ( Deu 22:9); and דּמע (lit., tear, flowing, liquor stillans), which only occurs here, is a poetical epithet for the produce of the press, both wine and oil (cf. δάκρυον τῶν δένδρων, lxx; arborum lacrimae, Plin. 11:6). The meaning is correctly given by the lxx: ἀπαρχὰς ἅλωνος καὶ ληνοῦ σοῦ. That the command not to delay and not to withhold the fulness, etc., relates to the offering of the first-fruits of the field and vineyard, as is more fully defined in Exo 23:19 and Deu 26:2-11, is evident from what follows, in which the law given at the exodus from Egypt, with reference to the…”