Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 26:1-11

"And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein, that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there. And thou shalt come unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto Jehovah thy God, that I am come unto the land which Jehovah sware unto our fathers to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thy hand, and set it down before the altar of Jehovah thy God. And thou shalt answer and say before Jehovah thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: and we cried unto Jehovah, the God of our fathers, and Jehovah heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression; and Jehovah brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders; and he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O Jehovah, hast given me. And thou shalt set it down before Jehovah thy God, and worship before Jehovah thy God: and thou shalt rejoice in all the good which Jehovah thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the sojourner that is in the midst of thee." — Deuteronomy 26:1-11 (ASV)

Deuteronomy 26:1–11. PRESENTATION OF THE FIRST FRUITS.

When you are come in.: Rashi says they were not bound to perform this duty until they had conquered and divided the land. But the state of things described in the Book of Joshua (Joshua 21:43–45) would demand it.

From the words of Deuteronomy 26:11, you shall rejoice, the Jews infer that the thanksgiving to be said over the firstfruits must be said sometime between the close of the feast of unleavened bread on the twenty-first day of the first month (the solemn assembly of Deuteronomy 16:8) and the Feast of Tabernacles. If firstfruits were presented between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover, this formula was not used (Rashi).

The priest who shall be in those days.: No mention is made of the Levite here. The priest (though of the tribe of Levi) has an office distinct from the Levite in the Book of Deuteronomy, just as in the rest of the Old Testament.

I profess.: Literally, I declare. “To show that you are not ungrateful for His goodness” (Rashi, from the Talmud).

This day.: The formula was only used once in the year.

The priest shall take the basket.: “To wave it. The priest put his hand under the hand of the owner, and waved it.”

A Syrian ready to perish.: The reference is to Jacob, more especially when pursued by Laban, who would have taken all he had from him, except for the Divine mercy and protection. We may also recall his danger from Esau (Genesis 31:32), from the Shechemites (Genesis 34 and Genesis 35), and from the famine, until he heard of Joseph.

When we cried unto the Lord.: Samuel in his famous speech (1 Samuel 12:8) takes up the language of this passage, When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord ... brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

See Exodus 2:25; Exodus 3:9; Exodus 6:5–6 for the source of this confession.

And you shall set it before the Lord your God: i.e., take it up again after it was first waved by the priest, and hold it in the hand while making this confession, and then wave it once more. After this it would become the priest’s.