Reference: Tithes
Fausets
(See DEUTERONOMY.) Tenths of produce, property, or spoils, dedicated to sacred use. So Abram (and Levi, as in Abram's loins) to Melchizedek the king priest who blessed him (Ge 14:20; Heb 7:1-10). Jacob after his Bethel vision vowed a tenth of all that God gave him, should God be with and keep him, and give him bread and raiment, and bring him again to his father's house in peace (Ge 28:20-22). The usage of consecrated tithes existed among the Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, and Arabians. See 1Ma 11:35; Herodotus i. 89; iv. 152; v. 77; vii. 132; 9:81; Diod. Sic. v. 42; xi. 33; 20:44; Cicero, Verr. ii. 3,6-7; Xenophon, Anabasis v. 3, section 9. The "tithe" (terumot) of all produce as also of flocks and cattle belonged to Jehovah. and was paid in kind, or if redeemed one fifth of the value was added. Le 27:30-33, "whatsoever passed under the rod": the rabbis had the tradition that the animals to be tithed were enclosed in a pen, from whence they passed one by one under the counter's rod, and every tenth was touched with a rod dipped in vermilion (Jer 33:13; Eze 20:37).
The Levites received this terumot; they in turn paid a tenth of this to the high priest (Nu 18:21-28,31). In De 10:9; 12:5-18; 14:22,29; 18:1-2; 26:12-14, the general first tithe of all animal and vegetable increase for maintaining the priests and Levites is taken, for granted; what is added in this later time is the second additional tithe of the field produce alone, and for celebrating the sacred feasts each first and second year in the Shiloh or Jerusalem sanctuary, and every third year at home with a feast to the Levites, the stranger, fatherless, and widow. The six years thus marked were followed by the Jubilee year; on it the attendance was the larger because of the scant attendance on the sixth year when most stayed at home. In the Jubilee year there was no tithe, as the land enjoyed its sabbath. Tobit (Tob 1:7-8) says he gave a third tithe to the poor; Josephus (Ant. 4:8, 8, section 22) also mentions a third tithe; so Jerome too on Ezekiel 45.
Maimonides denies a third tithe (which would be an excessive burden) and represents the seceded tithe of the third and sixth years as shared between the poor and the Levites. (See Selden on Tithes, 2:13). Ewald suggests that for two years the tithe was virtually voluntary, on the third year compulsory. Thus there was a yearly tithe for the Levites, a second yearly tithe for two years for the festivals; but this second tithe on every third year was shared by the Levites with the poor. The kings, Samuel foresaw, would appropriate the three years' poor man's tithe (1Sa 8:15,17). Hezekiah rectified the abuse (2Ch 31:5,12,19); also Nehemiah after the return from Babylon (Ne 10:38-39; 13:5,12; 12:44).
The Pharisees were punctilious in paying tithe for all even the smallest herbs (Mt 23:23; Lu 18:12). Amos (Am 4:4) upbraids Israel with zeal for the letter of the tithe law while disregarding its spirit. Malachi (Mal 3:10) seconded Nehemiah's efforts. God promises to "open heaven's windows and pour out a blessing" so that there would be no "room to receive it," provided the people by bringing in all the tithes would put Him to the proof as to keeping His word. Christians, whose privileges are so much greater and to whom heaven is opened by Christ's death and ascension, should at least offer no less a proportion of all their income to the Lord's cause than did the Israelite: we should not lose but even in this world gain thereby (Pr 3:9-10). Azariah the high priest told Hezekiah: "since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord we have bad enough to eat, and have left plenty, for the Lord hath blessed His people, and that which is left is this great store" (2Ch 31:10).
The New Testament plan of giving is 1Co 16:2; 2Co 9:7-9. Moral obligation, not force, was what constrained the Israelite to give tithes. He solemnly professed he had done so every third and sixth year (of the septennial cycle), when instead of taking the second or vegetable tithe to the sanctuary he used it at home in charity and hospitality (De 26:13-14; 14:28-29). Ananias' and Sapphira's declaration corresponds, but it was a lie against the Holy Spirit (Acts 5); Joseph's fifth of Egypt's increase to the sovereign who had saved the people's lives corresponds to, and was perhaps suggested by, the double tithe or fifth paid by Israel long before.
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and blessed be the most high God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And Abram gave him tithes of all.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God; read more. and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
And all the tithes of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's; it is holiness unto the LORD. And if anyone desires to redeem anything of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. read more. And concerning the tithe of the cows or of the sheep, even of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holiness unto the LORD. He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he changes it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
And, behold, I have given the sons of Levi all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their ministry because they serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony. Neither must the sons of Israel from now on come near the tabernacle of the testimony lest they bear sin and die because of it. read more. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the testimony, and they shall bear their iniquity by a perpetual statute throughout your ages, and they shall not possess an inheritance among the sons of Israel. For unto the Levites I have given the tithes of the sons of Israel as inheritance, which they shall offer unto the LORD as offerings; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the sons of Israel they shall possess no inheritance. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto the Levites and say unto them, When ye take the tithes from the sons of Israel which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall present a tithe of the tithes as an offering unto the LORD. And ye shall count your offering as though it were the grain of the threshingfloor and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer an offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye shall have received of the sons of Israel; and ye shall give of them an offering unto the LORD, to Aaron the priest.
And ye shall eat it in any place, ye and your family; for it is your reward for your ministry in the tabernacle of the testimony.
Therefore, Levi had no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God said unto him.)
But ye shall seek the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there for his habitation, and thou shalt go there. And there ye shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and the offerings of your hand and your vows and your freewill offerings and the firstborn of your cows and of your sheep; read more. and there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye and your households shall rejoice in every work of your hands in which the LORD thy God has blessed thee. Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, each man doing what seems right in his own eyes, For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God gives you. But when ye pass the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit and when he gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety, then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; there shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the offerings of your hand and all your choice of vows which ye vow unto the LORD; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye and your sons and your daughters and your menslaves and your maidslaves and the Levite that is within your gates because he has no part nor inheritance with you. Keep thyself that thou not offer thy burnt offerings in any place that thou seest but in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes; there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. Notwithstanding, thou may kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, according to the desire of thy soul, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he has given thee; the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck and as of the hart. Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. Thou may not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain or of thy wine or of thy oil or the firstborn of thy cows or of thy sheep nor any of thy vows which thou hast promised nor thy freewill offerings or the heave offerings of thy hands. But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall have chosen, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all the work of thy hands.
Thou shalt without fail tithe all the increase of thy seed that thy field brings forth each year.
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, who has no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands which thou doest.
And the Levite, who has no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands which thou doest.
The priests the Levites and all the tribe of Levi shall have no part nor shall they inherit with Israel; they shall eat of the offerings on fire unto the LORD and of his inheritance. Therefore, shall they have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as he has said unto them.
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy fruits the third year, which is the year of tithing and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled; then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought the consecrated things out of my house and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger to the fatherless and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.
then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought the consecrated things out of my house and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger to the fatherless and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken out any of it being unclean, nor have I given any of it for the dead; but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken out any of it being unclean, nor have I given any of it for the dead; but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards to give to his officers and to his slaves.
He will also take the tenth of your sheep, and finally ye shall be his slaves.
And as soon as the commandment burst forth and multiplied, an abundance of firstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field was multiplied unto the sons of Israel; and likewise, they brought in the tithe, of all things in abundance.
And Azariah, the high priest of the house of Zadok, answered him and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have eaten and been satisfied and have had an abundance left over; for the LORD has blessed his people, and that which is left is this great store.
and brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully, over which Cononiah, the Levite, was ruler and Shimei, his brother, was second.
Likewise, to the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in all the cities, the men that were expressed by name, gave portions to all the males among the priests and to all the lineage of the Levites.
And that the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall offer the tithe of the tithes in the house of our God, to the chambers, in the treasure house. For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, unto the chambers where are the vessels of the sanctuary and the priests that minister and the porters and the singers; and we will not forsake the house of our God.
And at that time men were appointed over the chambers of the treasures, of the offerings, of the firstfruits, and of the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the legal portions for the priests and the Levites; for the joy of Judah was upon the priests and the Levites that served.
and he had prepared for him a great chamber, where before they had kept the present, the frankincense, the vessels, the tithe of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, to the singers and the porters and the offerings of the priests.
Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil unto the store houses.
Honour the LORD with thy substance and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that counts them, said the LORD.
And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
Go to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal increase the rebellion; and bring your sacrifices early in the morning and your tithes every three years:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have omitted that which is more important of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith; these were expedient for ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
I fast two meals every sabbath; I give tithes of all that I possess.
Each first sabbath let each one of you set aside in store, as God has prospered him, that there be no collections when I come.
For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom Abraham also gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is King of peace; read more. without father, without mother, without lineage, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually. Now consider how great this one was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily those that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they also have come out of the loins of Abraham; but he whose descent is not counted in those took tithes from Abraham and blessed him that had the promises. And without any contradiction the less is blessed of the better. In the same manner, here men that die take tithes; but there he received them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. And as I may so say, Levi also, who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
Hastings
According to both North Israelite (Ge 28:22) and Jud
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and blessed be the most high God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And Abram gave him tithes of all.
and blessed be the most high God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And Abram gave him tithes of all.
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God; read more. and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
And all the tithes of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's; it is holiness unto the LORD. And if anyone desires to redeem anything of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. read more. And concerning the tithe of the cows or of the sheep, even of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holiness unto the LORD. He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he changes it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
And, behold, I have given the sons of Levi all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their ministry because they serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony. Neither must the sons of Israel from now on come near the tabernacle of the testimony lest they bear sin and die because of it. read more. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the testimony, and they shall bear their iniquity by a perpetual statute throughout your ages, and they shall not possess an inheritance among the sons of Israel. For unto the Levites I have given the tithes of the sons of Israel as inheritance, which they shall offer unto the LORD as offerings; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the sons of Israel they shall possess no inheritance.
For unto the Levites I have given the tithes of the sons of Israel as inheritance, which they shall offer unto the LORD as offerings; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the sons of Israel they shall possess no inheritance.
Thou shalt without fail tithe all the increase of thy seed that thy field brings forth each year.
Go to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal increase the rebellion; and bring your sacrifices early in the morning and your tithes every three years:
to whom Abraham also gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is King of peace;
Now consider how great this one was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
Morish
The giving of a tenth to God, or to His representatives, was practised long before the law enforced it. Abraham gave tithes of the spoils to Melchizedek, and Jacob vowed that he would give to God the tenth of all that God might give to him. Ge 14:20; 28:22; Heb 7:2-9. There is evidence that heathen nations devoted tithes to sacred and fiscal uses, consecrating them to their gods or to victorious generals, or as a permanent source of income to their sovereign.
The tithes under the law were
1. Those given to the Levites: they embraced a tenth of all produce. Every tenth animal as it passed under the rod was to be given, whether it was good or bad: if changed, both had to be given: if either animal or vegetable produce were redeemed, a fifth had to be added thereto. Le 27:30-33; Nu 18:21-24; Ne 10:37-38. Again a tenth of the tithe given to the Levites was a portion for the priests. Nu 18:26-28.
2. On coming into the land a second tenth of all produce was to be taken to Jerusalem, or, if the distance was too great, it could be turned into money, and when the offerer arrived at Jerusalem he could purchase any thing that he desired, which was to be eaten there by himself, his children, his servants, and any Levites that might be there at the time. De 12:6-12,17-18; 14:22-27.
3. Every third year (called 'the year of tithing') a third tenth was given according to Josephus (Ant. iv. 8, 22: cf. Tobit 1:7, 8), or, what is more probable, a variation was made in that year respecting the second tenth: it was not to be carried to Jerusalem, but to be laid up 'within the gates,' and there shared by "the Levites . . . . and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow." De 14:28-29; Am 4:4.
At the end of 'the year of tithing,' the offerer was to make a solemn declaration before the Lord that he had fully performed the commandment of the Lord, and had withheld for his own use nothing of the tithe. And on this ground he was to pray for the divine blessing on Israel. One of the charges brought against Israel at the end of the O.T. was that they had robbed God, because they had withholden the tithes and offerings; and therefore the whole nation was "cursed with a curse." But if they would bring the tithes into God's storehouse, and prove Him, there would be a blessing beyond their capacity to receive it. Mal 3:8-12.
In New Testament times many were punctilious in paying tithes of small things, while they neglected the weightier matters of the law
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and blessed be the most high God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And Abram gave him tithes of all.
and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
And all the tithes of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's; it is holiness unto the LORD. And if anyone desires to redeem anything of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. read more. And concerning the tithe of the cows or of the sheep, even of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holiness unto the LORD. He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he changes it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
And, behold, I have given the sons of Levi all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their ministry because they serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony. Neither must the sons of Israel from now on come near the tabernacle of the testimony lest they bear sin and die because of it. read more. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the testimony, and they shall bear their iniquity by a perpetual statute throughout your ages, and they shall not possess an inheritance among the sons of Israel. For unto the Levites I have given the tithes of the sons of Israel as inheritance, which they shall offer unto the LORD as offerings; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the sons of Israel they shall possess no inheritance.
Thus shalt thou speak unto the Levites and say unto them, When ye take the tithes from the sons of Israel which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall present a tithe of the tithes as an offering unto the LORD. And ye shall count your offering as though it were the grain of the threshingfloor and as the fullness of the winepress. read more. Thus ye also shall offer an offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye shall have received of the sons of Israel; and ye shall give of them an offering unto the LORD, to Aaron the priest.
And there ye shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and the offerings of your hand and your vows and your freewill offerings and the firstborn of your cows and of your sheep; and there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye and your households shall rejoice in every work of your hands in which the LORD thy God has blessed thee. read more. Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, each man doing what seems right in his own eyes, For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God gives you. But when ye pass the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit and when he gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety, then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; there shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the offerings of your hand and all your choice of vows which ye vow unto the LORD; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye and your sons and your daughters and your menslaves and your maidslaves and the Levite that is within your gates because he has no part nor inheritance with you.
Thou may not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain or of thy wine or of thy oil or the firstborn of thy cows or of thy sheep nor any of thy vows which thou hast promised nor thy freewill offerings or the heave offerings of thy hands. But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall have chosen, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all the work of thy hands.
Thou shalt without fail tithe all the increase of thy seed that thy field brings forth each year. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose for his name to dwell, the tithe of thy grain, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstborn of thy cows and of thy sheep, that thou may learn to fear the LORD thy God always. read more. And if the way is too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, or if the place is too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God has blessed thee, then shalt thou sell it for money and bind up the money in thy hand and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; and thou shalt give that money for whatever thy soul desires, for cows or for sheep or for wine or for strong drink or for whatever thy soul desires; and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thine household. And thou shalt not forsake the Levite that dwells within thy gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, who has no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied, that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands which thou doest.
And that we would also bring the firstfruits of our dough and of our offerings and the fruit of every tree, of the wine and of the oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tenths of our labours in all the cities. And that the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall offer the tithe of the tithes in the house of our God, to the chambers, in the treasure house.
Go to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal increase the rebellion; and bring your sacrifices early in the morning and your tithes every three years:
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In the tithes and the offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye, even this whole nation, have robbed me. read more. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will reprehend the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of the ground; neither shall the vine in the field abort, said the LORD of the hosts. And all the Gentiles shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, said the LORD of the hosts.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have omitted that which is more important of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith; these were expedient for ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Let the one that is taught in the word communicate unto the one that teaches in all good things.
to whom Abraham also gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is King of peace; without father, without mother, without lineage, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually. read more. Now consider how great this one was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily those that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they also have come out of the loins of Abraham; but he whose descent is not counted in those took tithes from Abraham and blessed him that had the promises. And without any contradiction the less is blessed of the better. In the same manner, here men that die take tithes; but there he received them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. And as I may so say, Levi also, who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham.
Watsons
TITHES. We have nothing more ancient concerning tithes, than what we find in Ge 14:20, that Abraham gave tithes to Melchisedec, king of Salem, at his return from his expedition against Chedorlaomer, and the four kings in confederacy with him. Abraham gave him tithe of all the booty he had taken from the enemy. Jacob imitated this piety of his grandfather, when he vowed to the Lord the tithe of all the substance he might acquire in Mesopotamia, Ge 28:22. Under the law, Moses ordained, "All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy unto the Lord. And if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord," Le 27:30-32. The Pharisees, in the time of Jesus Christ, to distinguish themselves by a more scrupulous observance of the law, did not content themselves with paying the tithe of the grain and fruits growing in the fields; but they also paid tithe of the pulse and herbs growing in their gardens, which was more than the law required of them. The tithes were taken from what remained, after the offerings and first fruits were paid. They brought the tithes to the Levites in the city of Jerusalem, as appears from Josephus and Tobit, 1:6. The Levites set apart the tenth part of their tithes for the priest; because the priest did not receive them immediately from the people, and the Levites were not to meddle with the tithes they had received, before they had given the priests such a part as the law assigned them. Of those nine parts that remained to the proprietors, after the tithe was paid to the Levites, they took still another tenth part, which was either sent to Jerusalem in kind, or, if it was too far, they sent the value in money; adding to it a fifth from the whole as the rabbins inform us. This tenth part was applied toward celebrating the festivals in the temple, which bore a near resemblance to the agapae, or love feasts of the first Christians. Thus are those words of Deuteronomy understood by the rabbins: "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thy oil, and of the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks: that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always," De 14:22-23. Tobit, 1:6, says, that every three years he punctually paid his tithe to strangers and proselytes. This was probably because there were neither priests nor Levites in the city where he dwelt. Moses speaks of this last kind of tithe: "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest," De 14:28; 26:12. It is thought that this tithe was not different from the second kind before noticed, except that in the third year it was not brought to the temple, but was used upon the spot by every one in the city of his habitation. So, properly speaking, there were only two sorts of tithes, that which was given to the Levites and priests, and that which was applied to making feasts of charity, either in the temple of Jerusalem, or in other cities. Samuel tells the children of Israel, that the king they had a mind to have over them would "take the tenth of their seed, and of their vineyards, and give to his officers, and his servants. He will take the tenth of your sheep, and ye shall be his servants," 1Sa 8:15,17. Yet it does not clearly appear from the history of the Jews, that they regularly paid any tithe to their princes. But the manner in which Samuel expresses himself, seems to insinuate that it was looked upon as a common right among the kings of the east. At this day, the Jews no longer pay any tithe; at least they do not think themselves obliged to do it, except it be those who are settled in the territory of Jerusalem, and the ancient Judea. For there are few Jews now that have any lands of their own, or any flocks. They only give something for the redemption of the first-born, to those who have any proofs of their being descended from the race of the priests or Levites. However, we are assured, that such among the Jews as would be thought to be very strict and religious give the tenth part of their whole income to the poor.
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and blessed be the most high God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And Abram gave him tithes of all.
and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
And all the tithes of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's; it is holiness unto the LORD. And if anyone desires to redeem anything of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. read more. And concerning the tithe of the cows or of the sheep, even of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holiness unto the LORD.
Thou shalt without fail tithe all the increase of thy seed that thy field brings forth each year. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose for his name to dwell, the tithe of thy grain, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstborn of thy cows and of thy sheep, that thou may learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year and shalt lay it up within thy gates.
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy fruits the third year, which is the year of tithing and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled;
And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards to give to his officers and to his slaves.
He will also take the tenth of your sheep, and finally ye shall be his slaves.