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 praised be the most high God who delivered thine oppressors into thy hand; and he will give him of the tenth of all.
And Jacob will vow a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will preserve me in this way which I went, and gave to me bread to eat, and covering to put on, And I turned back in peace to my father's house; and Jehovah was to me for God. read more. And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
And all the tenth of the land from the seed of the land, from the fruit of the tree, is to Jehovah: it is holy to Jehovah. And if redeeming, a man shall redeem from his tenth, he shall add to its fifth upon it read more. And all the tenth of cattle and sheep, all which shall pass through under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Jehovah. He shall not search between good to evil, and he shall not exchange it; and if exchanging, he shall exchange it, and it was, it and its exchange shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
And to the sons of Levi, behold, I gave all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance for their services which they served, the service of the tent of appointment And the sons of Israel shall no more come near the tent of appointment, to bear sin and to die. read more. And it is the Levite serving the service of the tent of appointment, and they shall bear their iniquity a law forever to your generations, and in the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance. For the tenth of the sons of Israel which they shall lift up to Jehovah, an offering I gave to the Levites to inherit: for this I said to them, In the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance. And Jehovah will speak to Moses, saying, And to the Levites thou shalt speak and say to them, When ye shall take from the sons of Israel the truth which I gave to you from them for your inheritance, and ye lifted up an offering of Jehovah, a tenth from the tenth. And your offerings were reckoned to you as the grain of the threshing-floor, and as the filling up from the winepress. So shall ye also lift up an offering of Jehovah from all your tenths, which ye shall take from the sons of Israel; and ye gave from it the offering of Jehovah to. Aaron the priest
And ye ate it in every place, ye and your house; for it is the reward to you for your service in the tent of appointment
For this, there was not to Levi a portion and an inheritance with his brethren; Jehovah, he is his inheritance, as Jehovah thy God spake to him.
But the place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, to his dwelling shall ye seek, and there do thou come: And bring there your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, and your tenths, and the offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your voluntary gifts and the first-born. of your cattle and your sheep: . read more. And eat there before Jehovah your God, and rejoice in all the stretching forth of your hand, ye and your houses in which Jehovah thy God blessed thee. Ye shall not do according to all we do here this day, every man the right in his eyes. For ye came not yet now to the rest and to the inheritance which Jehovah thy God gave to thee. And pass ye over Jordan and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God causes you to inherit, and he caused rest to you from all your enemies from round about, and ye dwelt confidently: And there was the place which Jehovah your God shall choose in it to cause his name to dwell there; there shall ye bring all which I command you: your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, your tenths, and the offerings of your hands, and all the choice of your vows which ye shall vow to Jehovah. And rejoice ye before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons and your daughters, and your servants, and your maids, and the Levite who is in your gates; for not to him a portion and inheritance with you. Watch to thyself lest thou lift up thy burnt-offering in every place which thou shalt see. But in the place which Jehovah shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt bring up thy burnt-offering, and there thou. shalt do all I command thee. Only in all the desire of thy soul thou shalt sacrifice and eat flesh according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he gave to thee in all thy gates: the unclean and the clean shall eat it, as the roe and as the stag. Only the blood thou shalt not eat: upon the earth ye shall pour it as water. Thou shalt not be able to eat in thy gates the tenth of thy grain, and thy new wine and thy new oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and thy flocks, and all the vows which thou shalt vow, and thy voluntaries, and the offerings of thy hand: But before Jehovah thy God thou shalt eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose in it, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy servant, and thy maid, and the Levite which is in thy gates: and rejoice thou before Jehovah thy God in all the stretching forth of thy hand.
Taking the tenth, thou shalt take the tenth of all thy produce of thy used of the field bringing forth year by year
From the end of three years thou shalt bring all the tenth of thy produce in that year, and place thou it in thy gates: And the Levite came (because no portion and inheritance to him with thee) and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow which is in thy gates, and ate and were satisfied; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou shalt do.
And the Levite came (because no portion and inheritance to him with thee) and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow which is in thy gates, and ate and were satisfied; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou shalt do.
There shall not be to the priests the Levites, all the tribe of Levi, part and inheritance with Israel: the sacrifices of Jehovah and his inheritance they shall eat And an inheritance shall not be to him in the midst of his brethren: Jehovah, he is his inheritance, as he spake to him.
When thou shalt finish to tithe all the tenth part of thy produce, in the third year the year of the tenth part, and thou gavest it to the Levite and to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow, and they ate in thy gates and were satisfied. And thou saidst before Jehovah thy God, I took away the holy thing from the house, and also I gave it to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, according to all thy commands which thou didst command me: I passed not by from thy command, and I did not forget
And thou saidst before Jehovah thy God, I took away the holy thing from the house, and also I gave it to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the orphan and to the widow, according to all thy commands which thou didst command me: I passed not by from thy command, and I did not forget I ate not from it in my mourning, and I took not away from it in uncleanness, and I gave not from it to the dead: I heard to the voice of Jehovah my God, I did according to all thou didst command me.
I ate not from it in my mourning, and I took not away from it in uncleanness, and I gave not from it to the dead: I heard to the voice of Jehovah my God, I did according to all thou didst command me.
And of your seeds and of your vineyards he will take the tenth and give to his eunuchs and to his servants.
And of your sheep he will take the tenth: and ye shall be to him for servants.
And when the word broke forth, the sons of Israel increased the first-fruits of the grain, the new wine and the new oil, and honey, and all the produce of the field; and the tenth of all they brought in for abundance.
And Azariah the head priest for the house of Zadok will say to him and he will say, From the beginning to bring the oblations into the house of Jehovah, eating and being filled, and leaving even to abundance: for Jehovah blessed his people; and that being left this multitude.
And they will bring in the oblations and the tenth, and the holies, with faithfulness: and over them the leader Cononiah the Levite, and Shimei his brother, the second.
And to the sons of Aaron the priests in the fields of the area of their cities, in every city and city, the men who were distinguished by names to give gifts to every male among the priests, and to all the enrolling among the Levites.
And the priest the son of Aaron being with the Levites in the tenth of the Levites: and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tenth to the house of our God to the cells to the house of the treasure. For to the cells shall the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi bring the oblations of the grain, of the new wine and the new oil, and there the vessels of the holy place, and the priests serving, and the gate-keepers and those singing: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
And in that day they will appoint men over the cells to the treasures for the oblations for the first-fruits and for the tenths to collect into them to the fields of the cities the portions of the law to the priests and to the Levites: for the gladness of Judah over the priests and over the Levites standing.
And he will make for him a great cell, and there before them were given the gifts, the frankincense and the vessels, and the tenth of the grain of the new wine and the new oil, (the command of the Levites, and those singing, and the gate-keepers,) and the oblations of the priests.
And all Judah brought the tenth of the grain and the new wine and the new oil to the treasuries.
Honor Jehovah from thy substance, and from the first-fruits of all thy produce. And thy storehouses shall be filled with abundance, and thy wine-vats shall break forth with new wine.
In the cities of the mountain, in the cities of the low country, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in round about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the sheep yet pass through upon the hand of him numbering, said Jehovah.
And I caused you to pass under the rod I brought you into the bond of the covenant
Come to the house of God and transgress: at Gilgal multiply to transgress; and bring your sacrifices for the morning, your tenths for three days:
Bring ye all the tenths to the house of treasure, and food shall be in my house, and try me now in this, said Jehovah of armies, if I will not open to you the lattices of the heavens, and empty out to you a blessing, even is it not a sufficiency.
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye exact tenths and dill and cummin, and ye have left the weightier things of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith: these it was necessary to do, and not to let go those.
I fast twice of the Sabbath; I pay tithes of all I possess.
According to one day of the sabbaths let each of you put by himself, treasuring up that which he is prospered in, that when I come there be no collections.
For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, having met Abraham returning from the cutting off of the kings, and praised him; To whom also Abraham divided a tenth from all; (first truly interpreted King of justice, and then also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; read more. Without father, without mother, of unknown origin, neither having beginning of days, nor end of life; and likened to the Son of God;) remains a priest perpetually. And behold how great this one, to whom also Abraham the patriarch gave the tenth of the first fruits. And they truly of the sons of Levi, receiving the office of priest, have a command to take a tenth part from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, although having come out of the loins of Abraham: And he not having his descent traced from them received a tenth from Abraham, and praised him having the promises. And without all controversy the less is praised of the better. And here truly dying men receive tenths; but there he, bearing witness that he lives. And as the word says, through Abraham, also Levi, receiving tenths, has paid a tenth. For yet was he in his father's loins, when Melchisedec met him.
Hastings
According to both North Israelite (Ge 28:22) and Jud
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And praised be the most high God who delivered thine oppressors into thy hand; and he will give him of the tenth of all.
And praised be the most high God who delivered thine oppressors into thy hand; and he will give him of the tenth of all.
And Jacob will vow a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will preserve me in this way which I went, and gave to me bread to eat, and covering to put on, And I turned back in peace to my father's house; and Jehovah was to me for God. read more. And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
And all the tenth of the land from the seed of the land, from the fruit of the tree, is to Jehovah: it is holy to Jehovah. And if redeeming, a man shall redeem from his tenth, he shall add to its fifth upon it read more. And all the tenth of cattle and sheep, all which shall pass through under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Jehovah. He shall not search between good to evil, and he shall not exchange it; and if exchanging, he shall exchange it, and it was, it and its exchange shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
And to the sons of Levi, behold, I gave all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance for their services which they served, the service of the tent of appointment And the sons of Israel shall no more come near the tent of appointment, to bear sin and to die. read more. And it is the Levite serving the service of the tent of appointment, and they shall bear their iniquity a law forever to your generations, and in the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance. For the tenth of the sons of Israel which they shall lift up to Jehovah, an offering I gave to the Levites to inherit: for this I said to them, In the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance.
For the tenth of the sons of Israel which they shall lift up to Jehovah, an offering I gave to the Levites to inherit: for this I said to them, In the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance.
Taking the tenth, thou shalt take the tenth of all thy produce of thy used of the field bringing forth year by year
Come to the house of God and transgress: at Gilgal multiply to transgress; and bring your sacrifices for the morning, your tenths for three days:
To whom also Abraham divided a tenth from all; (first truly interpreted King of justice, and then also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
And behold how great this one, to whom also Abraham the patriarch gave the tenth of the first fruits.
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 praised be the most high God who delivered thine oppressors into thy hand; and he will give him of the tenth of all.
And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
And all the tenth of the land from the seed of the land, from the fruit of the tree, is to Jehovah: it is holy to Jehovah. And if redeeming, a man shall redeem from his tenth, he shall add to its fifth upon it read more. And all the tenth of cattle and sheep, all which shall pass through under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Jehovah. He shall not search between good to evil, and he shall not exchange it; and if exchanging, he shall exchange it, and it was, it and its exchange shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
And to the sons of Levi, behold, I gave all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance for their services which they served, the service of the tent of appointment And the sons of Israel shall no more come near the tent of appointment, to bear sin and to die. read more. And it is the Levite serving the service of the tent of appointment, and they shall bear their iniquity a law forever to your generations, and in the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance. For the tenth of the sons of Israel which they shall lift up to Jehovah, an offering I gave to the Levites to inherit: for this I said to them, In the midst of the sons of Israel they shall not inherit an inheritance.
And to the Levites thou shalt speak and say to them, When ye shall take from the sons of Israel the truth which I gave to you from them for your inheritance, and ye lifted up an offering of Jehovah, a tenth from the tenth. And your offerings were reckoned to you as the grain of the threshing-floor, and as the filling up from the winepress. read more. So shall ye also lift up an offering of Jehovah from all your tenths, which ye shall take from the sons of Israel; and ye gave from it the offering of Jehovah to. Aaron the priest
And bring there your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, and your tenths, and the offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your voluntary gifts and the first-born. of your cattle and your sheep: . And eat there before Jehovah your God, and rejoice in all the stretching forth of your hand, ye and your houses in which Jehovah thy God blessed thee. read more. Ye shall not do according to all we do here this day, every man the right in his eyes. For ye came not yet now to the rest and to the inheritance which Jehovah thy God gave to thee. And pass ye over Jordan and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God causes you to inherit, and he caused rest to you from all your enemies from round about, and ye dwelt confidently: And there was the place which Jehovah your God shall choose in it to cause his name to dwell there; there shall ye bring all which I command you: your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, your tenths, and the offerings of your hands, and all the choice of your vows which ye shall vow to Jehovah. And rejoice ye before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons and your daughters, and your servants, and your maids, and the Levite who is in your gates; for not to him a portion and inheritance with you.
Thou shalt not be able to eat in thy gates the tenth of thy grain, and thy new wine and thy new oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and thy flocks, and all the vows which thou shalt vow, and thy voluntaries, and the offerings of thy hand: But before Jehovah thy God thou shalt eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose in it, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy servant, and thy maid, and the Levite which is in thy gates: and rejoice thou before Jehovah thy God in all the stretching forth of thy hand.
Taking the tenth, thou shalt take the tenth of all thy produce of thy used of the field bringing forth year by year And eat before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose to cause his name to dwell there, the tenth of thy grain, thy new wine, and thy new oil, and first-born of thy cattle and thy sheep, so that thou shalt learn to fear Jehovah thy God all the days. read more. And when the way shall be enlarged too much for thee that thou shalt not be able to lift it up; when the place shall be far off from thee which Jehovah thy God shall choose to put his name there, when Jehovah thy God shall bless thee: And give it in silver, and bind up the silver in thy hand, and go to the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose in it And give the silver for all which thy soul shall desire, in cattle and in sheep, and in wine, and in strong drink, and in all thy soul shall ask thee: and eat there before Jehovah thy God, and rejoice, thou, and thine house. And the Levite that is in thy gates thou shalt not forsake him; for to him no portion and inheritance with thee. From the end of three years thou shalt bring all the tenth of thy produce in that year, and place thou it in thy gates: And the Levite came (because no portion and inheritance to him with thee) and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow which is in thy gates, and ate and were satisfied; so that Jehovah thy God shall bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou shalt do.
And the first-fruits of our groats and our oblations, and the fruits of every tree, new wine and new oil we shall bring to the priests to the cells of the house of our God; and the tenth of our lands to the Levites, and these Levites giving tenths in all the cities of our work. And the priest the son of Aaron being with the Levites in the tenth of the Levites: and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tenth to the house of our God to the cells to the house of the treasure.
Come to the house of God and transgress: at Gilgal multiply to transgress; and bring your sacrifices for the morning, your tenths for three days:
Will man defraud God? For ye defraud me. And ye said, In what did we defraud thee? The tenths and the offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: and ye defrauded me, the nation all of it read more. Bring ye all the tenths to the house of treasure, and food shall be in my house, and try me now in this, said Jehovah of armies, if I will not open to you the lattices of the heavens, and empty out to you a blessing, even is it not a sufficiency. And I rebuked upon the eater for you, and he shall not corrupt for you the fruit of the earth; and the vine in the field shall not be barren to you, says Jehovah of armies. And all nations pronounced you happy, for ye shall be a land of delight, said Jehovah of armies.
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye exact tenths and dill and cummin, and ye have left the weightier things of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith: these it was necessary to do, and not to let go those.
Let him being taught the word participate with him teaching in all good things.
To whom also Abraham divided a tenth from all; (first truly interpreted King of justice, and then also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, of unknown origin, neither having beginning of days, nor end of life; and likened to the Son of God;) remains a priest perpetually. read more. And behold how great this one, to whom also Abraham the patriarch gave the tenth of the first fruits. And they truly of the sons of Levi, receiving the office of priest, have a command to take a tenth part from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, although having come out of the loins of Abraham: And he not having his descent traced from them received a tenth from Abraham, and praised him having the promises. And without all controversy the less is praised of the better. And here truly dying men receive tenths; but there he, bearing witness that he lives. And as the word says, through Abraham, also Levi, receiving tenths, has paid a tenth.
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 praised be the most high God who delivered thine oppressors into thy hand; and he will give him of the tenth of all.
And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
And all the tenth of the land from the seed of the land, from the fruit of the tree, is to Jehovah: it is holy to Jehovah. And if redeeming, a man shall redeem from his tenth, he shall add to its fifth upon it read more. And all the tenth of cattle and sheep, all which shall pass through under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Jehovah.
Taking the tenth, thou shalt take the tenth of all thy produce of thy used of the field bringing forth year by year And eat before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose to cause his name to dwell there, the tenth of thy grain, thy new wine, and thy new oil, and first-born of thy cattle and thy sheep, so that thou shalt learn to fear Jehovah thy God all the days.
From the end of three years thou shalt bring all the tenth of thy produce in that year, and place thou it in thy gates:
When thou shalt finish to tithe all the tenth part of thy produce, in the third year the year of the tenth part, and thou gavest it to the Levite and to the stranger and to the orphan and to the widow, and they ate in thy gates and were satisfied.
And of your seeds and of your vineyards he will take the tenth and give to his eunuchs and to his servants.
And of your sheep he will take the tenth: and ye shall be to him for servants.