2 Chronicles 31:6

2Ch 31:6 And [concerning] the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid [them] by heaps.

Ver. 6. Which were consecrated unto the Lord,] i.e., Such as, over and above the tithes ordinarily appointed to be paid, any did voluntarily vow to give: so the Vulgate. See 2Ch 31:8.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch 31:6-7. They brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep — They not only brought in the same tithe which the dwellers in Jerusalem did, namely, of corn, and wine, and oil, &c., which they had in their own storehouses in that city, but also oxen and sheep, which were more proper to the country; for under the term cities of Judah, are comprehended the suburbs and territories belonging to them. And the tithe of holy things — That is, of all holy things, which were consecrated to the Lord — Whether by vow, or voluntary promise, or otherwise; as the tithes of gain by merchandise, or spoils of war, Gen 14:20; Gen 28:22; Num 31:28-30. And laid them by heaps — What the priests and Levites had occasion for, they made use of, and the overplus was laid in heaps. In the third month they began — Of the sacred year, in which month their harvest began. And finished them in the seventh month — In which their harvest ended, and the feast of tabernacles was kept.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

31:6 The tithes of the animals that piled . . . up in great heaps might refer to the proceeds from the sale of animals rather than the animals themselves. The law permitted the people to exchange the yield of the field for money (Deut 14:24-26) and to consume the meat at their homes (Deut 12:15).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which they had dedicated to the Lord by a vow.

For the relief of the Priests, Levites, widows, pupils, fatherless, strangers, and such as were in necessity.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

and laid them by heaps--The contributions began to be sent in shortly after the celebration of the passover, which had taken place in the middle of the second month. Some time would elapse before the king's order reached all parts of the kingdom. The wheat harvest occurred in the third month, so that the sheaves of that grain, being presented before any other, formed "the foundation," an under-layer in the corn stores of the temple. The first-fruits of their land produce which were successively sent in all the summer till the close of the fruit and vintage season, that is, the seventh month, continued to raise heap upon heap.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(6) Concerning.—Omit.

The children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah.—Contrasted with “the children of Israel” who dwelt in Jerusalem (2Ch_31:5). “The children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah” are evidently those who had left the northern kingdom to settle in the south. (Comp. 2Ch_10:17; 2Ch_11:16; 2Ch_30:25.)

The tithe of holy things.—This expression is assumed to be equivalent to “the heave offerings of the holy things” (Num_18:19), which denotes such portions of the sacrificial gifts as were not consumed upon the altar. Taken literally, “tithe of things consecrated” would be a very surprising, as it is a wholly isolated, expression.

The present text of the LXX. appears to contain, not a trace of a different reading, but simply an old error of transcription, suggested probably by the words immediately preceding; for its rendering is, “and tithes of goats” (αἰγῶν for ἀγίων). The Syriac paraphrases freely, but the Vulgate follows the Hebrew (décimas sanctorum). (See also Note on 2Ch_31:10; 2Ch_31:12.) There is probably a lacuna in the text.

And laid them by heaps.—Literally, and made heaps heaps—i.e., many heaps. (Comp.Vulg., “fecerunt acervos plurimos.”)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. And concerning the children] R.V. And the children. Cp. 2Ch_11:16.

holy things] R.V. dedicated things (as 2Ch_31:12).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah,.... As for the supplement "concerning", I see no need of it; the sense is, that when the king's edict was known by the inhabitants of the cities in the country, as well as at Jerusalem:

they also brought in the tithes of oxen, and sheep; according to the law in Lev 27:32.

and the tithe of holy things, which were consecrated unto the Lord their God; which Jarchi understands of the second tithe the Levites were to give to the priests; but Kimchi of things consecrated to sacred uses, and no longer for their own, and which were even free from tithing:

and laid them by heaps: heaps upon heaps, such large quantities were brought in.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

By “the children of Israel” in 2Ch 31:5, seem to be intended the inhabitants of Jerusalem only (see 2Ch 31:4); by “the children of Israel and Judah that dwelt in the cities of Judah” in this verse, seem to be meant the Jews of the country districts and the Israelites who dwelt among them 2Ch 30:25. Of these two classes, the first brought both first-fruits and tithes of “all things;” while the others, who had not been included in the command 2Ch 31:4, brought in first-fruits and paid the tithe of sheep and oxen only, and of the things which they had vowed to God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Things, out of which the Levites had to give tithes to the priests. Lyranus) Num. xviii. 26. M. --- Vowed. Heb. "consecrated to....God, and laid them in heaps." H.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Also the tithe of oxen and sheep; they brought in not only the same tithes which the dwellers in Jerusalem did, to wit, of corn, and wine, and oil, &c., which they had in their own storehouses in that city; but also oxen and sheep, which were more proper to the country; for under the cities of Judah are comprehended the suburbs and territories adjacent and belonging to them, as is evident from the nature of the thing, and the law of God.

And the tithe of holy things: this may be taken either,

1. By way of explication, even the tithe of holy things, &c. Or rather,

2. By way of addition,

the tithe of all holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord, whether by vow, or voluntary promise, or otherwise; as the tithes of gains by merchandise, or spoils of war, &c.; of which see Gen 14:20; 28:22; Num 31:28,30.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Laid them by heaps — Literally, gave heaps, heaps; that is, they brought and laid them in many heaps or piles.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That dwelt in the cities of Judah. As vers. 4 and 5 referred to the dwellers in Jerusalem, so this verse tells of the dwellers in other cities, villages, etc., of the surrounding country. (so 2Ch_30:25) Their tithes of holy things probably denote the "heave offerings" of Aaron Num_18:8; for other references to the matter of this verse, see Lev_27:30; Deu_14:28.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By heaps - What the priests and the Levites had occasion for, they made use of, and the overplus was laid in heaps.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

third month

This is the third month of the Hebrew calendar. It is at the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the dry season. It is during the last part of May and the first part of June on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)

seventh month

This is the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. This is during the early rain season, which would soften the land for sowing. It is during the last part of September and the first part of October on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)

translationWords

Israel

tenth

cow

ewe

set apart

God

bless

people of God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

and the tithes of sacred things consecrated to the Lord the tithe of the tithe, which the Levites give the priests (Num. 18:25f.).

and they gave many stacks עֲרֵמוֹת עֲרֵמוֹת (houffen, Middle High German, heaps), an example is (Song 7:3): “a stack of (עֲרֵמַת) wheat.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.