Deuteronomy 14:23

Deu 14:23 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 thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.

Ver. 23. That thou mayest learn,] A man cannot converse with God, but he shall learn something. Semper a te doctior redeo, said he to his friend. Moses came from the mount with his face shining. Compare Ecc 8:1.

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.

14:23 The place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored (literally the place he will cause his name to dwell) was the central sanctuary, the Lord’s dwelling on the earth among his people (see 12:5, 18).

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

(23) And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God—i.e., thou shalt eat the second tithe. This was to be done two years; but in the third and sixth years there was a different arrangement (see Deu_14:28). In the seventh year, which was Sabbatical, there would probably be no tithe, for there was to be no harvest. The profit of the earth was for all, and every one was free to eat at pleasure.

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

23. eat before the Lord] See on Deu_12:7.

the place which he shall choose] Sam., LXX, which Jehovah thy God shall choose; see on Deu_12:5. Before this the tithe was offered at the local sanctuaries, Amo_4:4.

corn, wine, and oil] Defining that which cometh forth from the field. A purely vegetable tithe: so always in D as in Num_18:27; Num_18:30, corn of threshing floor, fulness of winepress or vat (cp. D, Deu_15:14, Deu_16:13), Neh_10:35-37 (Neh_10:36-38), tithe of the ground (cp. Lev_27:30, whether of the seed of the land or fruit of tree). To this an animal tithe is added by Lev_27:32 and 2Ch_31:6. Corn stands for all cereals; it is singular that nowhere is the fig, the third of the great triad of Israel’s fruit trees, mentioned along with wine and oil.

and the firstlings, etc.] The law of firstlings is Deu_15:19 ff.; here they are mentioned only incidentally, perhaps because the tithes were to be presented at the same time with them. There is no reference here to an animal tithe. ‘Mere firstlings, set apart from the yearly increase of the herds, distinct from the firstborn and offered as a substitute for the animal tithe, are not to be thought of’ (Dillm.).

that thou mayest learn to fear] Such regular offerings mean the practice of the fear of God, for by them the offerers acknowledge that to God and not to their own labour the blessings of their fields are due. The same intention is attributed to making the people hear God’s word, Deu_4:10 (q.v.), and to the injunction to the king to read always in the law, Deu_17:19.

24 f. Another practical consequence of the centralisation of the worship, like that which permits the profane slaughter and enjoyment of animals, Deu_12:21 ff.

if the way be too long for thee, etc.] Cp. Deu_12:21 : if the place … be too far from thee, Deu_19:6.

when the Lord thy God shall bless thee] Means neither with a great extension of thy land (Knobel) nor with so rich a harvest that thou art unable to carry the tithe of it so far (Dillm.), but, more generally, with thy yearly harvests. Was there, then, no tithe when the harvest failed?

shalt thou turn it into money] Heb. may mean either give it in, or in exchange for, money. The Heb. keseph often = silver, usually supposed to have been called so from its paleness (W. R. Smith, Journ. Phil. xiv. 125); but the root is just as probably to cut off, or cut in pieces (Jerusalem, i. 329), and keseph is therefore applicable, and is applied, to other metals. In any case money is the right translation here. Coins proper were not in use in Israel before the Persian period; but from a very early date there was a metallic currency, partly in silver (cp. 1Sa_9:8, quarter of a silver shekel, 2Sa_14:26, shekels stamped by David) and partly in copper (which was current in Palestine by 1400 b.c., Tell-el-Amarna Letters); of the latter the gera or 20th part of the shekel, Eze_45:12, was no doubt one form. On the currency in W. Asia see A. R. S. Kennedy in Hastings’ D.B. art. ‘Money.’

thou shalt bind up the money in thine hand] Heb. confine. As the Heb. for purse (Gen_42:35; Pro_7:20) comes from another form of this root, we might use the Eng. denom. vb. thou shalt purse it in thine hand. Usually money was carried in the girdle, but this seems to imply a form of purse attached to the fingers or wrist.

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 thou shall bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after,.... He might buy what provision he would with it, what he best liked, and was most agreeable to his appetite:

for oxen, or for sheep; he might purchase beef or mutton, or any other sort of meat that could be got, and was lawful to be eaten, as before directed:

or for wine, or for strong drink; to drink with his food, whether wine or any other liquor; the Targum of Jonathan is, wine new or old, which he chose; but the latter, strong drink, Aben Ezra says, was a liquor made of honey and of dates, of wheat and of barley:

or for whatsoever thy soul desireth; whether eatable or drinkable:

and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God; he having put his name in that place; and dwelling there, as the Lord did in the temple of Jerusalem:

and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household; eat their food with cheerfulness and gladness, making a feast of it and keeping it as such, he and his whole family, his wife and children, or as many as were with him; and all males were obliged to appear at the three grand yearly festivals, and it was at one of these this was to be done.

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

See Poole on "Deu 12:6", See Poole on "Deu 12:17".

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

fear

(See Scofield "Psa 19:9").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

'ואכלת וגו AND THOU SHALT EAT [BEFORE THE LORD THY GOD, IN THE PLACE WHICH HE SHALL CHOOSE … THE TITHE OF THY CORN etc.] — This is the “Second Tithe”, for it (Scripture) has already taught us to give the “First Tithe” to the Levites — as it is said, (Numbers 18:26) “[And unto the Levite shalt thou speak …], when ye take of the children of Israel the tithes”, etc., — and besides it gave them permission to eat it in any place, as it is said, (Numbers 18:31) “and ye shall eat it in any place” — thus you must admit that this tithe mentioned here, (which is to be eaten by an ordinary Israelite in Jerusalem) must be another one, — the “Second Tithe”.

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.