Topical Bible Verses
Leviticus 27:30And 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 to the LORD.
Topicalbible.orgLuke 12:33
Sell that you have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupts.
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2 Corinthians 9:7
Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.
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Matthew 6:1-4
Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
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Acts 20:35
I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
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Malachi 3:10
Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, said the LORD of 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.
Topicalbible.org
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A tenth of the produce of the earth consecrated and set apart for special purposes. The dedication of a tenth to God was recognized as a duty before the time of Moses. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (
Genesis 14:20;
Hebrews 7:6); and Jacob vowed unto the Lord and said, "Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."
The first Mosaic law on this subject is recorded in Leviticus 27:30-32. Subsequent legislation regulated the destination of the tithes (Numbers 18:21-24, 26-28; Deuteronomy 12:5, 6, 11, 17; 14:22, 23). The paying of the tithes was an important part of the Jewish religious worship. In the days of Hezekiah one of the first results of the reformation of religion was the eagerness with which the people brought in their tithes (2 Chronicles 31:5, 6). The neglect of this duty was sternly rebuked by the prophets (Amos 4:4; Malachi 3:8-10). It cannot be affirmed that the Old Testament law of tithes is binding on the Christian Church, nevertheless the principle of this law remains, and is incorporated in the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:13, 14); and if, as is the case, the motive that ought to prompt to liberality in the cause of religion and of the service of God be greater now than in Old Testament times, then Christians outght to go beyond the ancient Hebrew in consecrating both themselves and their substance to God.
Every Jew was required by the Levitical law to pay three tithes of his property (1) one tithe for the Levites; (2) one for the use of the temple and the great feasts; and (3) one for the poor of the land.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A tenth; the tenth part of anything; specifically, the tenth part of the increase arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted to the clergy for their support, as in England, or devoted to religious or charitable uses. Almost all the tithes of England and Wales are commuted by law into rent charges.
2. (n.) Hence, a small part or proportion.
3. (a.) Tenth.
4. (v. t.) To levy a tenth part on; to tax to the amount of a tenth; to pay tithes on.
5. (v. i.) To pay tithes.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
TITHEtith (ma`aser; dekate): The custom of giving a 10th part of the products of the land and of the spoils of war to priests and kings (1 Maccabees 10:31; 11:35; 1 Samuel 8:15, 17) was a very ancient one among most nations. That the Jews had this custom long before the institution of the Mosaic Law is shown by Genesis 14:17-20 (compare Hebrews 7:4) and Genesis 28:22. Many critics hold that these two passages are late and only reflect the later practice of the nation; but the payment of tithes is so ancient and deeply rooted in the history of the human race that it seems much simpler and more natural to believe that among the Jews the practice was in existence long before the time of Moses.
In the Pentateuch we find legislation as to tithes in three places.
(1) According to Leviticus 27:30-33, a tithe had to be given of the seed of the land, i.e. of the crops, of the fruit of the tree, e.g. oil and wine, and of the herd or the flock (compare Deuteronomy 14:22, 23 2 Chronicles 31:5, 6). As the herds and flocks passed out to pasture they were counted (compare Jeremiah 33:13 Ezekiel 20:37), and every 10th animal that came out was reckoned holy to the Lord. The owner was not allowed to search among them to find whether they were bad or good, nor could he change any of them; if he did, both the one chosen and the one for which it was changed were holy. Tithes of the herds and flocks could not be redeemed for money, but tithes of the seed of the land and of fruit could be, but a 5th part of the value of the tithe had to be added.
(2) In Numbers 18:21-32 it is laid down that the tithe must be paid to the Levites. (It should be noted that according to Hebrews 7:5, `they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood.... take tithes of the people.' Westcott's explanation is that the priests, who received from the Levites a tithe of the tithe, thus symbolically received the whole tithe. In the time of the second temple the priests did actually receive the tithes. In the Talmud (Yebhamoth 86a et passim) it is said that this alteration from the Mosaic Law was caused by the sin of the Levites, who were not eager to return to Jerusalem, but had to be persuaded to do so by Ezra (Ezra 8:15).) The Levites were to receive the tithes offered by Israel to Yahweh, because they had no other inheritance, and in return for their service of the tabernacle (Numbers 18:21, 24). The tithe was to consist of corn of the threshing-floor and the fullness of the wine press (Numbers 18:27), which coincides with seed of the land and fruit of the trees in Leviticus 27. The Levites, who stood in the same relation to the priests as the people did to themselves, were to offer from this their inheritance a heave offering, a tithe of a tithe, to the priests (compare Nehemiah 10:39), and for this tithey were to choose of the best part of what they received.
(3) In Deuteronomy 12:5, 6, 11, 18 (compare Amos 4:4) it is said that the tithe is to be brought "unto the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there," i.e. to Jerusalem; and in Deuteronomy 12:7, 12, 18, that the tithe should be used there as a sacred meal by the offerer and his household, including the Levite within his gates. Nothing is said here about tithing cattle, only grain, wine and oil being mentioned (compare Nehemiah 10:36-38; Nehemiah 13:5, 12). In Deuteronomy 14:22-29 it is laid down that if the way was too long to carry the tithe to Jerusalem it could be exchanged for money, and the money taken there instead, where it was to be spent in anything the owner chose; and whatever was bought was to be eaten by him and his household and the Levites at Jerusalem. In the third year the tithe was to be reserved and eaten at home by the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. In Deuteronomy 26:12-15 it is laid down that in the 3rd year, after this feast had been given, the landowner should go up himself before the Lord his God, i.e. to Jerusalem, and ask God's blessing on his deed. (According to the Mishna, CoTah 9 10; Ma`aser Sheni 5 65, the high priest Johanan abolished this custom.) In this passage this 3rd year is called "the year of tithing."
There is thus an obvious apparent discrepancy between the legislation in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. It is harmonized in Jewish tradition, not only theoretically but in practice, by considering the tithes as three different tithes, which are named the First Tithe, the Second Tithe, and the Poor Tithe, which is called also the Third Tithe (Pe'ah, Ma`aseroth, Ma`ser Sheni, Dema'i, Ro'sh ha-shanah; compare Tobit 1:7, 8; Ant, IV, iv, 3; viii, 8; viii, 22). According to this explanation, after the tithe (the First Tithe) was given to the Levites (of which they had to give the tithe to the priests), a Second Tithe of the remaining nine-tenths had to be set apart and consumed in Jerusalem. Those who lived far from Jerusalem could change this Second Tithe into money with the addition of a 5th part of its value. Only food, drink or ointment could be bought for the money (Ma`aser Sheni 2 1; compare Deuteronomy 14:26). The tithe of cattle belonged to the Second Tithe, and was to be used for the feast in Jerusalem (Zebhachim 5 8). In the 3rd year the Second Tithe was to be given entirely to the Levites and the poor. But according to Josephus (Ant., IV, viii, 22) the "Poor Tithe" was actually a third one. The priests and the Levites, if landowners, were also obliged to give the Poor Tithe (Pe'ah 1 6).
The explanation given by many critics, that the discrepancy between Deuteronomy and Leviticus is due to the fact that these are different layers of legislation, and that the Levitical tithe is a post-exilian creation of the Priestly Code, is not wholly satisfactory, for the following reasons:
(1) The allusion in Deuteronomy 18:1, 2 seems to refer to the Levitical tithe.
(2) There is no relation between the law of Numbers 18 and post-exilian conditions, when the priests were numerous and the Levites a handful.
(3) A community so poor and disaffected as that of Ezra's time would have refused to submit to a new and oppressive tithe burden.
(4) The division into priests and Levites cannot have been of the recent origin that is alleged.
See LEVITES.
W. R. Smith and others suggest that the tithe is simply a later form of the first-fruits, but this is difficult to accept, since the first-fruits were given to the priest, while the tithes were not. The whole subject is involved in considerable obscurity, which with our present information cannot easily be cleared away.
The Talmudic law of tithing extends the Mosaic Law, with most burdensome minuteness, even to the smallest products of the soil. Of these, according to some, not only the seeds, but, in certain cases, even the leaves and stalks had to be tithed (Ma`aseroth 4 5), "mint, anise, and cummin" (Dema'i 11 1; compare Matthew 23:23 Luke 11:42). The general principle was that "everything that is eaten, that is watched over, and that grows out of the earth" must be tithed (Ma`aseroth 1 1).
Considering the many taxes, religious and secular, that the Jews had to pay, especially in post-exilian times, we cannot but admire the liberality and resourcefulness of the Jewish people. Only in the years just after the return from exile do we hear that the taxes were only partially paid (Nehemiah 13:10; compare Malachi 1:7;; and for pre-exilian times compare 2 Chronicles 31:4;). In later times such cases seldom occur (Sotah 48a), which is the more surprising since the priests, who benefited so much by these laws of the scribes, were the adversaries of the latter.
Paul Levertoff
Greek
1181. dekate -- a tenth part, a tithe ... a tenth part, a
tithe. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: dekate Phonetic
Spelling: (dek-at'-ay) Short Definition: a tenth part, a
tithe Definition: a
... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1181.htm - 6k586b. apodekatoo -- to pay a tenth of, tithe
... 586a, 586b. apodekatoo. 587 . to pay a tenth of, tithe. Transliteration:
apodekatoo Short Definition: tenth. Word Origin from apo ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/586b.htm - 5k
1183. dekatoo -- to collect tithes
... to collect tithes. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: dekatoo Phonetic Spelling:
(dek-at-o'-o) Short Definition: I tithe, collect tithe from Definition: I ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1183.htm - 6k
586. apodekatoo -- to pay a tenth of
... of. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: apodekatoo Phonetic Spelling:
(ap-od-ek-at-o'-o) Short Definition: I take off a tenth part, pay tithe Definition: ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/586.htm - 6k
Strong's Hebrew
4643. maaser -- tenth part, tithe... maaser or maasar or maasrah. 4644 . tenth part,
tithe. Transliteration: maaser
or maasar or maasrah Phonetic Spelling: (mah-as-ayr') Short Definition:
tithe.
... /hebrew/4643.htm - 6k 6237. asar -- to take the tenth of, tithe
... 6236, 6237. asar. 6238 . to take the tenth of, tithe. Transliteration:
asar Phonetic Spelling: (aw-sar') Short Definition: tenth. ...
/hebrew/6237.htm - 6k
Library
In Process of Tithe, that is to Say, in the Tenth Generation after ...
... THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING Chapter 24 In process of tithe,
that is to say, in the tenth generation after the Flood? ...
/.../the demonstration of the apostolic preaching/chapter 24 in process of.htm
Of Agreement as to Tithe, Composition, Notice, &C.
... A COMPENDIUM OF THE LAW RELATING TO TITHES. 2. Of Agreement as to Tithe,
Composition, Notice, &c. A real composition is, when an ...
/.../prideaux/directions to church-wardens/2 of agreement as to.htm
The Answer to the Effect that the Fast of Lent Has Reference to ...
... The Conferences of John Cassian. Chapter XXV. The answer to the effect that
the fast of Lent has reference to the tithe of the year. ...
/.../cassian/the conferences of john cassian/chapter xxv the answer to.htm
Of the Nature of Tithes.
... man. The first species is usually called PREDIAL, as of corn, grass, hops
and wood, including tithe for the agistment of cattle. ...
/.../prideaux/directions to church-wardens/1 of the nature of.htm
Whether Tithes Should be Paid to the Clergy?
... tithes ought to be paid. Therefore it would seem that no fixed tithe ought
to be paid to the clergy. Objection 3: Further, it is ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether tithes should be paid.htm
On the Words of the Gospel, Luke xi. 39, "Now do Ye Pharisees ...
... The Lord knowing this, immediately subjoined, "But woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees,
who tithe mint, and cummin, and rue, and all herbs." [3387] That ye may ...
/.../sermons on selected lessons of the new testament/sermon lvi on the words.htm
Of a Modus, Custom, &C.
... 3. Of a Modus, Custom, &c. A CUSTOM to pay only part of the tithe, without
substituting any thing in lieu or the remainder, is bad. ...
/.../prideaux/directions to church-wardens/3 of a modus custom.htm
Whether Christ Paid Tithes in Abraham's Loins?
... Therefore for a like reason did Christ. Objection 3: Further, "in Abraham tithe
was levied on that which needed healing," as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether christ paid tithes in.htm
part 1
... enactment or commandment from God that His people, in those early days, should either
offer sacrifices to Him or keep the Sabbath or give the tithe (there is ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/tithing/part 1.htm
part 2
... it" (Mal.3:10). Down deep in the heart of every Christian there is undoubtedly
the conviction that he ought to tithe. There is an ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/tithing/part 2.htm
Thesaurus
Tithe (30 Occurrences)... Every Jew was required by the Levitical law to pay three tithes of his property
(1) one
tithe for the Levites; (2) one for the use of the temple and the great
.../t/tithe.htm - 28kTithing (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Tithe. 2. (n.) The act of levying
or taking tithes; that which is taken as tithe; a tithe. ...
/t/tithing.htm - 7k
Tithes (23 Occurrences)
... the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall
offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. ...
/t/tithes.htm - 14k
Rue (1 Occurrence)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary A garden herb (Ruta graveolens) which the Pharisees were
careful to tithe (Luke 11:42), neglecting weightier matters. ...
/r/rue.htm - 8k
Dill (3 Occurrences)
... for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier
matters of the law," etc. In the tract, Ma`aseroth (4 ...
/d/dill.htm - 8k
Anise (1 Occurrence)
... for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier
matters of the law," etc. In the tract, Ma`aseroth (4 ...
/a/anise.htm - 9k
Heave-offering (55 Occurrences)
... Numbers 18:24 For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a
heave-offering unto Jehovah, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance ...
/h/heave-offering.htm - 26k
Inheritance (263 Occurrences)
... Numbers 18:21 "To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel
for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the ...
/i/inheritance.htm - 45k
Wave (65 Occurrences)
... Numbers 18:24 For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave
offering to Yahweh, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore ...
/w/wave.htm - 30k
Talmud
... (3) Dema'i, "Doubtful" fruits (grain, etc.) of which it is uncertain whether the
duty for the priests and, in the fixed years, the 2nd tithe have been paid. ...
/t/talmud.htm - 37k
Resources
Should we tithe off our gross or net income? | GotQuestions.orgShould a Christian tithe off miscellaneous income, e.g. inheritance, gifts, winnings, tax refunds, legal settlements, etc.? | GotQuestions.orgShould a church tithe 10% of the offerings it receives? | GotQuestions.orgTithe: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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