23:10-14 Just as the burned portion of each sacrifice represented the whole offering and the tithe symbolized that all of a person’s money belonged to God, so also the first portions of each harvest, or first crops, symbolized the entire harvest, and even the land itself (25:23), as belonging to the Lord. In the barley harvest, the first portions were offered as part of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (23:6, 10-12). The first portions of the wheat harvest were offered during the Festival of Harvest (23:15-21; Exod 34:22). These gifts to God recognized God’s prior gifts to Israel (see Lev 2:1). The entire offering of first crops became the property and food of God’s representatives, the priests (see 2:14-16).

23:15-21 Israel was to start the count of seven full weeks on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The fiftieth day marked the beginning of the Festival of Harvest (the New Testament name of “Pentecost” is derived from the Greek word for “fifty”). For this festival the people were to offer the first portions of the wheat harvest. Each person was also required to take three quarts of fine flour and bake two loaves of yeast bread. These offerings were then presented to the priest officiating at the sanctuary. See also study note on Exod 23:16.