Terumah

A heave offering, or terumah (Hebrew: תְּרוּמָה‎‎), plural terumot, is a kind of offering. The word is generally used in the positive sense of an offering to God, although sometimes it is also used in a negative sense, such as the ish teramot, a "[dishonest] judge who loves gifts".

In Chazalic literature it is listed as one of the twenty-four priestly gifts. The consumption of terumah is restricted by numerous Torah-based rules and could be eaten by priests, their families, and their servants. The terumah may be consumed only in a state of ritual purity.

This is also called the "great offering" (Hebrew terumah gedolah תרומה גדולה) which is, usually, a food item given to the Jewish priest, as a gift. The thirteenth-century French rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoah explains the adjective "great" (Hebrew gedolah) to be because this terumah is the first of all tithes given on produce and thus is given from the "greatest quantity of produce" before any other gift is given.

The feminine noun terumah, ("lifting up") comes from the verb stem, rum (רוּם), "high" or "to lift up." The formation of terumah is parallel to the formation of the feminine noun "wave offering" ('tenufah' תְּנוּפָה) from the verb stem nuf, "to wave," and both nouns, and both verbs, are found together in the third occurrence in the Hebrew Bible. Consequently, versions such as the King James Version have in a few verses translated "heave offering," by analogy with "wave offering":

Exodus 29:27

Numbers 15:18-19

The term occurs seventy-six times in the masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible; in the Septuagint it was rendered afairema (ἀφαίρεμα), in JPS Tanakh (1917) it is generally translated "offering"; while in the King James Version (1611) it is also generally translated "offering" but also sometimes "oblation" and four times "heave offering".

The word is used in various contexts throughout the Hebrew Bible, including one use in Proverbs denoting haughtiness or graft (Proverbs 29:4). In most contexts it refers to designating something for a higher purpose, or lifting apart of a quantity from a larger quantity), as in the gifts offered by the Children of Israel for the inauguration of the Mishkan (as described in the Book of Exodus). In the Bible, there are numerous different varieties of gifts for which the term terumah was applied. In Jewish law, the word terumah by itself was associated with "great offering" (terumah gedolah), the first portion of produce that was required to be separated and kept pure for consumption by a kohen (priest). There was no direct connection with the Jerusalem Temple or the Temple service.

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