What is a biblical tithe?
The word is so common among conservative Christians that everybody thinks that he or she knows exactly what it means. However, a serious problem with understanding tithing appears at the very beginning of
this book because of the serious disagreement about the defi nition of “tithe.” The Hebrew and Greek words for “tithe” both simply mean “a tenth.” However,beyond this simple defi nition, much diffi culty exists in defi ning the contents of
the tithe. If a legal court case were being held, a working defi nition would have to be agreed upon by all involved parties before the presentation of a case could proceed. However, since this is not possible, four defi nitions of “tithe” will be
presented. Although many contend for the third defi nition, this book will use the
fourth, Mosaic Law defi nition. Even this choice of a working defi nition will be of
great concern to many because of long-standing traditional ideas of the content of
the tithe
The Pagan and General Defi nition
The first defi nition of “tithe” is a general all-inclusive defi nition which is not
used in the main portion of this book. The Encyclopedia Americana defi nes the
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general tithe as “the tenth part of produce or other income, paid voluntarily or
under the compulsion of law for the benefi t of religious institutions, the support
of priests and pastors, and the relief of those in need.”4 This defi nition does not
distinguish between ecclesiastical tithes from church laws, personal tithes from
trade and agricultural tithes.
Encyclopedia of Religion, “In the ancient Near East lie the origins of a sacred
offering or payment of a tenth part of stated goods or property to the deity. Often
given to the king or to the royal temple, the ‘tenth’ was usually approximate, not
exact. The practice is known from Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, Greece and as
far to the west as the Phoenician city of Carthage.”5
Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, “A 10th part of one’s income consecrated
to God. The separation of a certain proportion of the products of one’s
industry or of the spoils of war as tribute to their gods was practiced by various
nations of antiquity. The Lydians offered a tithe of their booty (Herod. I, 89). The
Phoenicians and Carthaginians sent a tithe annually to the Tyrian Hercules. These
tithes might be regular or occasional, voluntary or prescribed by law.”6
This general tithe is of pagan origin and precedes the Mosaic Law’s tithe by
many centuries. In Genesis 41:34 Joseph encouraged the Egyptians to double
their tithe in order to cover the lean years. In Genesis 14 Abraham was obligated
to pay a tithe from the spoils of war in obedience to the Arab war custom. In New
Testament times the Roman Empire received the fi rst tithe of ten percent of grains
and twenty percent of fruit trees from its conquered subjects, including Judah.
Although an additional full ten percent “spoils of war” tithe was not incorporated
into the Mosaic Law, an additional one percent is mentioned in Numbers
31:25-47. Almost every theological commentator discusses this ancient custom in
Genesis 14:21, which links it to the tithe in verse 20.
The Tithe as a General Offering
A second defi nition of “tithe” is most common among moderate and liberal
churches which equate tithes with free-will offerings. Members are urged to begin
with a small percentage of giving and gradually increase the percentage according
to their ability. Among these churches there is little or no reference to an exact
compulsory giving of ten percent from gross income as a legal requirement. Since
many of the liberal churches assign Adam through Moses to mythology and
believe the Pentateuch was written after the exile, they usually base their approach
to giving on general principles rather than specifi c texts.
Also, many who hold this position prefer to use “tithe” to refer to “net” income
with certain limitations. They are more likely to say that the poor are not required
to give tithes and that tithes are only required from those who make a profi t from
their labor. They also are more likely to say that church support is not required
from those on bare government pension or welfare. The parents’ fi rst duty is to
provide essentials of food, clothing, and housing for their family.
The Tithe as Ten Percent of Gross Income
A third defi nition of “tithe” is taught among many more conservative and
fundamental churches. For these churches “tithe” refers to ten percent of “gross”
income and is an expectation from all economic classes, both rich and poor alike. In
addition to paying salaries of gospel workers and providing social programs, some
smaller churches also use the tithe for building funds and payment of all church
debts. Their position insists that the tithe is an unchanging biblical standard, or
eternal moral principle, which refl ects the character of God, preceded the Mosaic
Law and was, therefore, not abolished by the Mosaic Law. Exact tithing of ten
percent of one’s gross income should be observed by all Christians, and free-will
offerings are to be given in addition to the mandatory tithe. Without exception,
the tithe must be returned to God fi rst, while other necessities such as shelter,
child care, medicine, food, heat, and clothing must be given less priority. The
church is obligated to teach tithing because it is a biblical command.
This common conservative defi nition is rejected and refuted in this book
because it fails to consider the correct defi nition, the purpose, and limitations of
the biblical tithe. As mentioned in the introduction, this book deliberately uses
many conservative evangelical sources in an attempt to demonstrate that this defi -
nition is both legalistic and harmful to the church which should be using much
better New Covenant principles.
The Tithe as an Old Covenant Ordinance for Israel
The fourth defi nition of “tithe” is the precise and narrow Scriptural defi nition
as given in the Mosaic Law in the Old Covenant. The biblical tithe was an ordinance
of the Mosaic Law for the use and benefi t of national Israel under the Old
Covenant. The full tithe was given to the tribe of Levi, fi rst, in exchange for his loss
of land inheritance in Israel and, second, because of his servant service to his brothers
in the Levitical house of Aaron who alone served as priests. A tenth of the fi rst
tithe was, in turn, given by the Levites to the priests who ministered at the altar.
The basic tithe was not to be used for building houses of worship. Since pagan
dust defi led, the original tithe consisted solely of the increase of land produce
from God’s sanctifi ed land of Israel and from the increase of animals herded on
the land of Israel. Although the tithe could be exchanged for its monetary value,
the tithe itself never consisted of money! A second (and third) tithe was also given to
provide food for festival occasions, and to provide welfare food for widows, fatherless,
orphans and needy strangers in Israel.
The Contents of the Tithe
A surprising biblical fact is that the poor did not pay tithes, but, instead,
received from the tithe. A separate chapter on the poor discusses this truth. This
fact is made especially clear in the gleaning laws and in the purpose of the tithe.
Jesus did not tithe, nor did he sin by failing to tithe because he was poor and did
not own land or herd animals for his sustenance. The poor were only expected to
give free-will offerings to the best of their ability.
From the list in this chapter it is easy to demonstrate that the contents of every
recorded tithe found in the Mosaic Law is only from landowners and herdsmen of
the land of Israel. This was a totally unexpected, yet very clear, truth about tithing
that Bible study with an exhaustive concordance revealed. Also, strange as it may
seem, Scriptural tithing was only intended for a society sustained almost wholly
by agricultural crops and animal herds.
Biblical society included the following occupations: bakers, candle makers,
carpenters, clothing makers, hired farm workers, hired herdsmen, hired household
servants, jewelry craftsmen, masons, metal craftsmen, musicians, painters,
perfume makers, physicians, sculptors, soldiers, tanners, teachers and tent makers.
Yet NONE of these professions or products from these professions are included in
any list of tithes or tithing! Why not? These sources provided much of the money
for head taxes, temple taxes, tribute to foreign conquerors and, of course, free-will
offerings. It is inconceivable to think that God simply forgot to include them in
the many lists of items to be tithed.
We must also remember that the Mosaic Law of the ‘fi rstborn’ would drive all
except the fi rstborn in a family with four sons off the land within 2-3 generations
because the fi rstborn was to get a double portion of the land inheritance (Deut.
21:17). Those with plots of land too small to sustain a family had to sell their portion
to their relative with the larger inheritance. Next, they would work as hired
hands on their relatives’ land or move to town and take up a trade. For example,
a 1000 acre plot would be divided by four sons into plots of 400; 200; 200; and
200 in the fi rst generation; 160; 80; 80; and 80 after two generations; 32; 16; 16;
and 16 after three generations. Thus, continually sub-dividing the land would
keep the land-tithe the same, but would seriously reduce the amount of persons
paying land-tithes.
Tithe Texts Which Reveal Its Limited Contents
Lev. 27:30, 32 And 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.… And concerning
the tithe of the herd, or of the fl ock, even of whatsoever passes under
the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the LORD.
Num. 18:27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned to you, as though
it were the grain of the threshing-fl oor, and as the fullness of the wine-press.
Num. 18:28 Thus you also shall offer a heave offering to the LORD of all
your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and you shall give
thereof the LORD’s heave offering to Aaron the priest.
Deut 12:17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of
your wine, or of your oil.
Deut. 14:22 You shall truly tithe all the increase of your seed, that the fi eld
brings forth year by year.
Deut. 14:23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which
he shall choose to place his name, the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and
of your oil, and the fi rst offspring of your herds and of your fl ocks, that you
may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
Deut. 26:12 When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your
increase [produce: NIV, RSV] the third year, which is the year of tithing, and
have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that
they may eat within your gates, and be fi lled.
2 Chron. 31:5 And as soon as the commandment was circulated, the children
of Israel brought in abundance the fi rstfruits of grain, wine, and oil, and
honey, and of all the increase of the fi elds; and the tithe of all things they
brought in abundantly.
2 Chron. 31:6 And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that lived in
the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the
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tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God, and laid
them by heaps.7
Neh. 10:37 And that we should bring the fi rstfruits of our dough, and our
offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, to the priests,
to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithes of our ground to the
Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our
tillage.
Neh. 13:5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where previously
they laid the grain offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes
of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to
the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the offerings of the priests.
Mal. 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat
[food] in my house.
Matt. 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe
of mint and anise and cumin.…
Tithing Was Not an Eternal Moral Principle
A tradition is not automatically an eternal moral principle merely because it is
very old, very common and very widespread. The fact that tithing was common
in much pagan worship before the Bible was written does not make it a moral
principle. Idolatry, worship of astrological bodies, child sacrifi ce, temple prostitution,
witchcraft and necromancy are equally very old, very common and very
widespread in pagan cultures. The practice of giving is found in natural law, but
an exact percentage is not.
Tithing Was Not a Minimum Required from All Old Covenant Israelites
Only those Israelites who earned a livelihood from farming and herding inside
Israel were required to tithe under the Mosaic Law. Their increase came from
God’s hand. Those whose increase came from their own crafts and skills were not
7 Taken from Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison,
editors, Moody Press, 1972. Used by permission. Concerning “2 Chron. 31:6,”
“The tithe of holy things may be a general term for the token percentages of certain
offerings that became the property of the priests (Num. 18:6; cf. Lev. 6:16-7:36).”
While several commentaries call this a scribe’s insertion, the RSV omits the second
word, tithe, in the text altogether.
required to tithe products and money. The poor and needy who did not tithe and
received from the tithe gave freewill offerings.
Tithes Were Not the Same as First-fruits
The fi rst-fruit was a very small amount of the fi rst crop harvest and the fi rstborn
was the fi rst offspring of animals. The fi rst-fruit was small enough to fi t
into a hand-held basket (Deut. 26:1-4, 10; Lev. 23:17; Num. 18:13-17; 2 Chron
31:5a). First-fruit and fi rst-born offerings went directly to the Temple and were
required to be totally consumed by ministering priests only inside the Temple
(Neh. 10:35-37a; Ex. 23:19; 34:26; Deut. 18:4).
Tithes Were Not from Money
One argument to support non-food tithing is that money was not universally
available and barter from food must have been used for most transactions. This
argument is not biblical. Genesis alone contains “money” in 32 texts and the word
occurs 44 times before the tithe is fi rst mentioned in Leviticus 27. The word shekel
also appears often from Genesis to Deuteronomy.
In fact many centuries before Israel entered Canaan and began tithing food
from God’s Holy Land money was an essential everyday item. For example money
in the form of silver shekels paid for slaves (Gen 17:12+); land (Gen 23:9+); freedom
(Ex 23:11); court fi nes (Ex 21 all; 22 all); sanctuary dues (Ex 30:12+); vows
(Lev 27:3-7); poll taxes (Num 3:47+), alcoholic drinks (Deu 14:26) and marriage
dowries (Deu 22:29).
According to Genesis 47:15-17 food was only used for barter after money
had been spent. Banking and usury laws exist in God’s Word in Leviticus even
before tithing. Therefore the argument that money was not prevalent enough for
everyday use is false. Yet the tithe contents never include money from non-food
products and trades.