Numbers 18:11

And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) The heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings . . . —See Leviticus 7:34.

Every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.—See Leviticus 22:10-13.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:8-19 All believers are spiritual priests, and God has promised to take care of them. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is. And from the provision here made for the priests, the apostle shows that it is the duty of christian churches to maintain their ministers. Scandalous maintenance makes scandalous ministers. The priests were to be wholly devoted to their ministry, not diverted from it, or disturbed in it, by worldly care or business. Also, that they might be examples of living by faith, not only in God's providence, but in his ordinances. The best should be offered for the first-fruits unto the Lord. Those who think to save, by putting God off with the refuse, deceive themselves, for God is not mocked.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

In the most holy place - Rather, "among the most holy things;" as in Numbers 4:4 : i. e. "As the most holy of things shalt thou eat it." Accordingly, only the males of the priestly families could eat of the things here specified.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Nu 18:8-20. The Priests' Portion.

8-13. the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my heave offerings—A recapitulation is made in this passage of certain perquisites specially appropriated to the maintenance of the priests. They were parts of the votive and freewill offerings, including both meat and bread, wine and oil, and the first-fruits, which formed a large and valuable item.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The heave-offering, i.e. the right shoulder, which was the priest’s.

Of their gift, to wit, of their peace-offerings, as may appear, because here is an enumeration of all that belonged to the priest in the several oblations, and therefore it is not likely that he would omit the peace-offerings, wherein the priest had a share, and the very share here spoken of and called a heave-offering, which was the right shoulder, Leviticus 7:32, which also might be eaten by the daughters, Leviticus 7:34 10:14, as is here said. See Numbers 6:17, &c. The wave-offerings, to wit, the breasts of the peace-offerings, which were waved Leviticus 7:30,31,34.

With thee, i.e. who are with thee in thy house; for if they were married to strangers, they might not eat of them, Leviticus 22:12,13.

In thy house, to wit, as fixed members of thy house, though they be bond-slaves; for strangers and hired servants were excepted, Leviticus 22:10,11.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And this is thine,.... What follow, which appertained to the priests, are the less or lighter holy things:

the heave offering of their gift: the right shoulder, given to the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of peace offerings, Leviticus 7:32; according to Jarchi, it was what was lifted up or heaved from the thank offering, the peace offerings, and the ram of the Nazarites, see Leviticus 7:14,

with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; which were waved to and fro before the Lord, as the breast of the peace offerings, called therefore the wave breast, Leviticus 7:30,

I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever; for these were to be eaten in their own houses, and by their families, wives, children, and servants bought with their money, or born in their houses; but not hired servants, nor sojourners, nor strangers; nor their daughters married to strangers though, if widows, or divorced, and without children, and returned to their father's house, they might eat of them, Leviticus 22:10; thus a provision was made for the maintenance of the priests of the Lord and their families, until the Messiah should come; who has also appointed that they that preach the Gospel should live of it, 1 Corinthians 9:13,

everyone that is clean in thy house shall eat of it: that was clean in a ceremonial sense; had not touched a dead body, &c. Jarchi says, this is said to comprehend his wife; but that might be concluded from what is said before, for if his children, much more might his wife eat of it.

Geneva Study Bible

And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy {g} daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

(g) Read Le 10:14.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

11. the contribution from their gift] The portions of the peace-offering which were contributed to the priest, i.e. the breast and the right thigh.

and all the wave-offerings] i.e. including that part of the contribution—the breast—which was waved. For the ceremony of waving see on Numbers 18:25.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - And this is thine. Here begins a second list of holy gifts which might be eaten at home by all members of the priestly families who were clean; they included

(1) all wave offerings, especially the wave breast and heave shoulder of the peace offerings;

(2) all first-fruits of every kind;

(3) all that was devoted;

(4) all the first-born, or their substitutes. The first and third must have been very variable in amount, but the second and fourth, if honestly rendered, must have brought in a vast amount both of produce and of revenue. With all the wave offerings. Rather, "in all the wave offerings," as in verse 8. Numbers 18:11

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The Revenues of the Priests. - These are summed up in Numbers 18:8 in these words, "I give thee the keeping of My heave-offerings in all holy gifts for a portion, as an eternal statute." The notion of משׁמרת, keeping, as in Exodus 12:6; Exodus 16:23, Exodus 16:32, is defined in the second parallel clause as משׁחה, a portion (see at Leviticus 7:35). The priests were to keep all the heave-offerings, as the portion which belonged to them, out of the sacrificial gifts that the children of Israel offered to the Lord. תּרוּמת, heave-offerings (see at Exodus 25:2, and Leviticus 2:9), is used here in the broadest sense, as including all the holy gifts (kodashim, see Leviticus 21:22) which the Israelites lifted off from their possessions and presented to the Lord (as in Numbers 5:9). Among these, for example, were, first of all, the most holy gifts in the meat-offerings, sin-offerings, and trespass-offerings (Numbers 18:9, Numbers 18:10; see at Leviticus 2:3). The burnt-offerings are not mentioned, because the whole of the flesh of these was burned upon the altar, and the skin alone fell to the portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:8). "From the fire," sc., of the altar. אשׁ, fire, is equivalent to אשּׁה ot , firing (see Leviticus 1:9). These gifts they were to eat, as most holy, in a most holy place, i.e., in the court of the tabernacle (see Leviticus 6:9, Leviticus 6:19; Leviticus 7:6), which is called "most holy" here, to lay a stronger emphasis upon the precept. In the second place, these gifts included also "the holy gifts;" viz., (a) (Numbers 18:11) the heave-offering of their gifts in all wave-offerings (tenuphoth), i.e., the wave-breast and heave-leg of the peace-offerings, and whatever else was waved in connection with the sacrifices (see at Leviticus 7:33): these might be eaten by both the male and female members of the priestly families, provided they were legally clean (Leviticus 22:3.); (b) (Numbers 18:12) the gifts of first-fruits: "all the fat (i.e., the best, as in Genesis 45:18) of oil, new wine, and corn," viz., ראשׁיתם, "the first of them," the בּכּוּרים, "the first-grown fruits" of the land, and that of all the fruit of the ground (Deuteronomy 26:2, Deuteronomy 26:10; Proverbs 3:9; Ezekiel 44:30), corn, wine, oil, honey, and tree-fruit (Deuteronomy 8:8, compared with Leviticus 19:23-24), which were offered, according to 2 Chronicles 31:5; Nehemiah 10:36, Nehemiah 10:38, Tob. 1:6, as first-fruits every year (see Mishnah, Bikkur, i. 3, 10, where the first-fruits are specified according to the productions mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8; the law prescribed nothing in relation to the quantity of the different first-fruits, but left this entirely to the offerer himself); (c) (Numbers 18:14) everything placed under a ban (see at Leviticus 27:28); and (d) (Numbers 18:15-18) the first-born of man and beast. The first-born of men and of unclean beasts were redeemed according to Numbers 3:47; Exodus 13:12-13, and Leviticus 27:6, Leviticus 27:27; but such as were fit for sacrifice were actually offered, the blood being swung against the altar, and the fat portions burned upon it, whilst the whole of the flesh fell to the portion of the priests. So far as the redemption of human beings was concerned (Numbers 18:16), they were "to redeem from the monthly child," i.e., the first-born child as soon as it was a month old.