רֵאשִׁית
re.shit
first: beginning
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word "רֵאשִׁית" (re.shit) is a term that signifies the concept of "first" or "beginning." It is used 41 times in the Bible, indicating its importance in various contexts. At its core, "re.shit" refers to the initial point or starting point of something, whether it be a time period, a sequence of events, or a creation. The word "re.shit" is not limited to temporal references, but also encompasses the idea of priority or precedence. It can be used to describe the firstborn, the first fruits, or the first in a series of events. This broad range of usage highlights the significance of "re.shit" as a fundamental concept in the Hebrew language, allowing speakers to convey a sense of initiation, priority, or sequence. The frequency of "re.shit" in the Bible underscores its importance in the narrative and the theological themes that emerge. By examining the various contexts in which "re.shit" is used, we can gain a deeper understanding of the biblical authors' perspectives on time, creation, and the significance of beginnings.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
41 total occurrences across the text
As soon as the commandment went out, the children of Israel gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the increase of the field; and they brought in the tithe of all things abundantly.
Nehemiah 10:37and that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, our wave offerings, the fruit of all kinds of trees, and the new wine and the oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.
Nehemiah 12:44On that day, men were appointed over the rooms for the treasures, for the wave offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, according to the fields of the cities, the portions appointed by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who waited.
Job 8:7Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would greatly increase.
Job 40:19He is the chief of the ways of God. He who made him gives him his sword.
Job 42:12So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
Psalms 78:51and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham.
Psalms 105:36He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood.
Psalms 111:10The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. All those who do his work have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Proverbs 1:7The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 3:9Honor Yahweh with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase:
Proverbs 4:7Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your possessions, get understanding.
Proverbs 8:22“Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.
Proverbs 17:14The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.
Ecclesiastes 7:8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning. The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Isaiah 46:10I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. I say: My counsel will stand, and I will do all that I please.
Jeremiah 2:3Israel was holiness to Yahweh, the first fruits of his increase. All who devour him will be held guilty. Evil will come on them,” ’ says Yahweh.”
Jeremiah 26:1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh:
Jeremiah 27:1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
Jeremiah 28:1That same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in Yahweh’s house, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,
Jeremiah 49:34Yahweh’s word that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
Ezekiel 44:30The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.
Ezekiel 44:30The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest. You shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.
Hosea 9:10I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at its first season; but they came to Baal Peor, and consecrated themselves to the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they loved.
Amos 6:1Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, and to those who are secure on the mountain of Samaria, the notable men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come!
Micah 1:13Harness the chariot to the swift steed, inhabitant of Lachish. She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion; For the transgressions of Israel were found in you.
Genesis 1:1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 10:10The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
Genesis 49:3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; excelling in dignity, and excelling in power.
Leviticus 2:12As an offering of first fruits you shall offer them to Yahweh, but they shall not rise up as a pleasant aroma on the altar.
Leviticus 23:10“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
Numbers 15:20Of the first of your dough you shall offer up a cake for a wave offering. As the wave offering of the threshing floor, so you shall heave it.
Numbers 15:21Of the first of your dough, you shall give to Yahweh a wave offering throughout your generations.
Numbers 18:12“I have given to you all the best of the oil, all the best of the vintage, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they give to Yahweh.
Numbers 24:20He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, “Amalek was the first of the nations, But his latter end shall come to destruction.”
Deuteronomy 26:10Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, Yahweh, have given me.” You shall set it down before Yahweh your God, and worship before Yahweh your God.
Deuteronomy 11:12a land which Yahweh your God cares for. Yahweh your God’s eyes are always on it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year.
Deuteronomy 18:4You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep.
Deuteronomy 18:4You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep.
Deuteronomy 21:17but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the beginning of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
Deuteronomy 26:2that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.