Leviticus 27:30

Lev 27:30 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 unto the LORD.

Ver. 30. And all the tithe.] See here in this chapter what a liberal maintenance God allowed the priests: (1.) Various votive oblations, or their redemptions; (2.) All the firstborn, or their redemptions; (3.) Every devoted thing, unless devoted to some particular use; (4.) All the tithes of what kind soever: besides firstfruits, oblations, portions of sacrifices, &c. And I see not, saith a reverend man, {a} but that tithes at least, or some better thing, should be due to the ministers of the gospel by Divine ordinance: and that those that take them from us should give us a better thing, as those here that had a mind to redeem their tithe, were bound by the law to add to the price every fifth penny above the true value.

{a} Mr Wilkinson’s Debt Book.

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.

Lev_27:30-33

All the tithes of the land . . . is the Lords.

The history of tithes

I. The scripture records concerning the law of tithes.

1. Antecedent to the Mosaic legislation. The principle of dedicating a tenth to God was recognised in the act of Abraham, who paid tithes of his spoils to Melchizedek in his sacerdotal rather than his sovereign capacity (Gen_14:20; Heb_7:6). Later, in Jacobs vow (Gen_28:22), the dedication of a tenth presupposes a sacred enactment, or a custom in existence which fixed that proportion rather than any other proportion, such as a seventh or twelfth.

2. The Mosaic statutes. These given in this section lay claim in Gods name to the tenth of produce and cattle. An after enactment fixed that these tithes were to be paid to the Levites for their services (Num_18:21-24), who were to give a tithe of what they received to the priests (Lev_27:26-28). The sacred festivals were later made occasion for a further tithe (Deu_12:5-6; Deu_12:11; Deu_12:17; Deu_14:22-23); which was allowed to come in money value rather than in kind (Deu_14:24-26).

3. Hezekiahs reformation. This was signalised by the eagerness with which the people came with their tithes (2Ch_31:5-6).

4. After the Captivity. Nehemiah made marked and emphatic arrangements concerning the tithing (Neh_10:37; Neh_12:44).

5. Prophets teachings. Both Amos (4:4) and Malachi (3:10) enforce this as a duty, by severely rebuking the nation for its neglect-as robbing God.

6. In Christs day. Our Lord exposed and denounced the ostentatious punctiliousness of the Pharisees over their tithing (Mat_23:23).

7. Teaching of the New Testament. The fact of the existence of ministers as a distinct Mass, assumes provision made for their maintenance. The necessity for such provision, and the right on which it is founded, are recognised in such texts as Mat_10:10; Luk_10:7; Rom_15:27; 1Co_9:7-14.

II. The ecclesiastical development of the demand for tithes.

1. The Fathers urged the obligation of tithing on the earliest Christians. The Apostolical Canons, the Apostolical Constitutions, St. Cyprian on The Unity of the Church, and the writings of Ambrose, Chrysostom, Augustine, and other Fathers of both divisions of the early Church, abound with allusions to this as a duty; and the response was made, not in enforced tithing, but by voluntary offerings.

2. The legislation of the first Christian emperors recognised the obligation of maintaining the ministers of Christ. But while they assigned lands and other property to their support, they enacted no general payment of the tenth of the produce of the lands.

3. Ancient Church councils favoured tithings of land and produce, e.g., the Councils of Tours, A.D. 567; the second Council of Macon, A.D. 585; the Council of Rouen, A.D. 650; of Nantes, A.D. 660; of Metz, 756.

4. Its first imperial enactment. Charlemagne (king of the Franks, A.D. 768-814, and Roman Emperor, A.D. 800-814) originated the enactment of tithes as a public law, and by his capitularies formally established the practice over the Roman Empire which his rule swayed. From this start it extended itself over Western Christendom; and it became general for a tenth to be paid to the Church.

5. Introduction of tithes into England. Offa, king of Mercia, is credited with its assertion here, at the close of the eighth century. It spread over other divisions of Saxon England, until Ethelwulf made it a law for the whole English realm. It remained optional with those who were compelled to pay tithes to determine to what Church they should be devoted, until Innocent III. addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury, A.D. 1200, a decretal requiring tithes to be paid to the clergy of the parish to which payees belonged. About this time also, tithes, which had originally been confined to those called praedial, or the fruits of the earth, was extended to every species of profit and to the wages of every kind of labour.

6. The great and small tithe. The great tithe was made upon the main products of the soil, corn, hay, wood, &c.; the small on the less important growths. To the rector the great tithes of a parish are assigned, and to the vicar the small.

7. Tithes paid in kind. These claim the tenth portion of the product itself (verses 30-33). This is varied by a payment of an annual valuation; or an average taken over seven years; or by a composition, which, in a bulk sum, redeems the land from all future impost, rendering it henceforth tithe flee. (W. H. Jellie.)

Tithes

I know of two men who started business with this view: We will give to God one-tenth of our profits. The first year the profits were considerable; the tithe was consequently considerable. The next year there was increase in the profits, and, of course, increase in the tithe. In a few years the profits became very, very large indeed, so that the partners said one to another: Is not a tenth of this rather too much to give away? Suppose we say we will give a twentieth? And they gave a twentieth; and the next year the profits had fallen down; the year after they fell down again, and the men said to one another, as Christians should say in such a case, Have not we broken our vow? Have we not robbed God? And in no spirit of selfish calculation, but with humility of soul, self-reproach and bitter contrition they went back to God and told Him how the matter stood, prayed His forgiveness, renewed their vow, and God opened the windows of heaven and gave back to them all the old prosperity. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)

Giving to God

What Abraham gave to Melchizedek, and Jacob vowed at Bethel, has ever appeared most natural for men to set aside for the Lord regularly--the tenth of all. Among the Israelites, there were several kinds of tithe, and yet all cheerfully paid; the tenth for the Lord, paid to the Levites (Num_18:21), and the next tenth, consecrated and feasted on at Jerusalem, or given away to the poor (Deu_12:6; Deu_28:29). Seed or fruit might be redeemed; and there might be good reasons for a man wishing to redeem this part of the tithe. He might require to sow his field, and be in need of the seed of dates or pomegranates to replenish his orchard. Therefore permission is given to redeem these, though still with the addition of a fifth, in order to show that the Lord is jealous, and marks anything that might be a retraction, on the mans part, of what was due to the Lord. He may redeem this tithe, but it is done cum nota As to the tithe of herd and flock, this is not allowed. Whatever passes under the rod, good or bad, is tithed and taken, inalienably. The Lord does not seek a good animal, where the rod, in numbering, lighted on a bad as the tenth passed by; neither does He admit of the substitution of an inferior animal, if the rod has lighted on the best in the whole flock. He seeks just what is His due, teaching us strict and holy disregard of bye-ends and selfish interests. And thus this book--this Gospel of the Old Testament--ends with stating Gods claims on us, and His expectation of our service and willing devotedness. As the first believers at Pentecost, rejoicing in pardon and the love of God, counted nothing dear to them, nor said that aught they possessed was their own, so ought we to live. We must sit loose from earth; and true love to our Redeemer will set us loose. This giving up of our possessions at Gods call, teaches us to live a pilgrim life, and that is an Abrahamic life--nay, it is the life of faith in opposition to sight. The whole of this concluding chapter has been leading us to the idea of giving to the Lord all we have. It has been making us familiar with the idea, and by example inculcating the practice of like devotedness. God should be all in all to us; he is God all-sufficient. Let us part even with common, lawful comforts, and try if He alone be not better than all. Like the child with the stalk of grapes, who picked one grape after another from the cluster, and held it out to her father, till, as affection waxed warm and self faded, she gaily flung the whole into her fathers bosom, and smiled in his face with triumphant delight; so let us do, until, loosening from every comfort, and independent of the help of broken cisterns, we can say, I am not my own! Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth whom I desire besides. Thou art to me, as Thou wert to David at the gates of death, All my salvation and all my desire. After so much love on Gods part to us, displayed in rich variety of type and shadow, shall we count any sacrifice hard? (A. A. Bonar.)

Are tithes binding on Christians

In attempting to settle for ourselves this question, it is to be observed, in order to clear thinking on this subject, that in the law of tithe as here declared there are two elements--the one moral, the other legal--which should be carefully distinguished. First and fundamental is the principle that it is our duty to set apart to God a certain fixed proportion of our income. The other and--technically speaking--positive element in the law is that which declares that the proportion to be given to the Lord is precisely one-tenth. Now, of these two, the first principle is distinctly recognised and reaffirmed in the New Testament, as of continued validity in this dispensation; while, on the other hand, as to the precise proportion of our income to be thus set apart for the Lord, the New Testament writers are everywhere silent. As regards the first principle, St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, orders that on the first day of the week--the day of the primitive Christian worship--every one shall lay by him in store as God hath prospered him. He adds that he had given the same command also to the churches of Galatia (1Co_16:1-2). This most clearly gives apostolic sanction to the fundamental principle of the tithe, namely, that a definite portion of our income should be set apart for God. While, on the other hand, neither in this connection, where a mention of the law of the tithe might naturally have been expected, if it had been still binding as to the letter, nor in any other place does either St. Paul or any other New Testament writer intimate that the Levitical law, requiring the precise proportion of a tenth, was still in force--a fact which is the more noteworthy that so much is said of the duty of Christian benevolence. To this general statement with regard to the testimony of the New Testament on this subject, the words of our Lord to the Pharisees (Mat_23:23), regarding their tithing of mint and anise and cummin--these ye ought to have done--cannot be taken as an exception, or as proving that the law is binding for this dispensation; for the simple reason that the present dispensation had not at that time yet begun, and those to whom He spoke were still under the Levitical law, the authority of which He there reaffirms. From these facts we conclude that the law of these verses, in so far as it requires the setting apart to God of a certain definite proportion of our income, is doubtless of continued and lasting obligation; but that, in so far as it requires from all alike the exact proportion of one-tenth, it is binding on the conscience no longer. Nor is it difficult to see why the New Testament should not lay down this or any other precise proportion of giving to income as a universal law. It is only according to the characteristic usage of the New Testament law to leave to the individual conscience very much regarding the details of worship and conduct, which under the Levitical law was regulated by specific rules: which St. Paul explains (Gal_4:1-5) by reference to the fact that the earlier method was intended for and adapted to a lower and more immature stage of religious development; even as a child, during his minority, is kept under guardians and stewards, from whose authority, when he becomes of age, he is free. But, still further, it seems to be forgotten by those who argue for the present and permanent obligation of this law, that it was here for the first time formally appointed by God as a binding law, in connection with a certain Divinely instituted system of theocratic government, which, if carried out, would effectively prevent excessive accumulations of wealth in the hands of individuals, and thus secure for the Israelites, in a degree the world has never seen, an equal distribution of property. In such a system it is evident that it would be possible to exact a certain fixed and definite proportion of income for sacred purposes, with the certainty that the requirement would work with perfect justice and fairness to all. But with us social and economic conditions are so very different, wealth is so very unequally distributed, that no such law as that of the tithe could be made to work otherwise than unequally and unfairly. To the very poor it must often be a heavy burden; to the very rich, a proportion so small as to be a practical exemption. While, for the former, the law, if insisted on, would sometimes require a poor man to take bread out of the mouth of wife and children, it would still leave the millionaire with thousands to spend on needless luxuries. The latter might often more easily give nine-tenths of his income than the former could give one-twentieth. It is thus no surprising thing that the inspired men who laid the foundations of the New Testament Church did not reaffirm the law of the tithe as to the latter. And yet, on the other hand, let us not forget that the law of the tithe, as regards the moral element of the law, is still in force. It forbids the Christian to leave, as so often, the amount he will give for the Lords work, to impulse and caprice. Statedly and conscientiously he is to lay by him in store as the Lord hath prospered him. If any ask how much should the proportion be, one might say that by fair inference the tenth might safely be taken as an average minimum of giving, counting rich and poor together (see 2Co_8:7-9). (S. H. Kellogg, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 27:30. The tithe — There were divers sorts of tithes, but this seems to be understood only of the ordinary and yearly tithes belonging to the Levites, as the very expression intimates, and the addition of the fifth part in case of the redemption thereof implies.

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

27:30 One-tenth (the “tithe”) of the harvest belonged to the Lord (Deut 14:22-26; cp. Lev 23:10-14). Members of the tribe of Levi, the priests and Levites, received no tribal lands. Accordingly, they were allotted one tenth of all produce from those who did own land (Num 18:21-29). This tithe was set aside every year (Deut 14:22) and was taken to the sanctuary; part of it was eaten there in a ritual meal (Deut 14:23-26). A second tithe was paid locally every third year to the local Levites and the poor (Deut 14:27-29; 26:12; contrast Amos 4:4). The Levites then paid a tithe of what they received to the Tabernacle priests (Num 18:26), who used it to support themselves and maintain the sanctuary. Some interpreters think there were three tithes, the first paid to the Levites, the second consumed at the sanctuary, and the third paid every third year for the poor. Others suggest that there was just one tithe, paid at the sanctuary for two years, then paid locally every third year.

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

all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land--This law gave the sanction of divine authority to an ancient usage (Gen 14:20; Gen 28:22). The whole produce of the land was subjected to the tithe tribute--it was a yearly rent which the Israelites, as tenants, paid to God, the owner of the land, and a thank offering they rendered to Him for the bounties of His providence. (See Pro 3:9; Co1 9:11; Gal 6:6).

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

Verse 30. All the tithe of the land] This God claims as his own; and it is spoken of here as being a point perfectly settled, and concerning which there was neither doubt nor difficulty. See my view of this subject "Ge 28:22", to which I do not see the necessity of adding any thing.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(30) And all the tithe of the land.—That is, of the soil, or what grows on it, in contradistinction to the tithes of the land mentioned in Lev_27:32. The last things mentioned which cannot be dedicated to the Lord by a vow are tithes. Like the firstborn of Animals (see Lev_27:26), they already belong to God by another statute. A man, therefore, cannot vow to God what is not his own.

Whether of the seed of the land.—That is, what the seed when sown produced in the soil (Num_18:21-24; Deu_14:22-29).

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

30–33. Laws concerning tithes

A distinction is here made between the tithe on the yield of the land or of fruit trees, and that on animals. The former according to this passage may be redeemed on payment of 1 1/5th of the estimation. In Num_18:21-24 there is no such permission given. See McNeile (C.B.) there for comparison of the two passages. The tithe on cattle here imposed is, as he points out, a fresh demand, found nowhere else in O.T. except 2Ch_31:6.

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 if a man, will redeem ought of his tithes,.... Of his own, and not his neighbour's, as Jarchi observes; for if he redeemed the tithes of his neighbour, but did not add a fifth part, which he was obliged to do if he redeemed his own, as follows:

he shall add thereunto the fifth part thereof; besides giving the value for what part of his tithes he redeemed, he gave a fifth part of that sum over and above; as, supposing the tithe was worth fifty shillings, then he gave that, and ten shillings more, and so in proportion. The use of this redemption, as Jarchi suggests, was, that he might have liberty of eating it in any place: for he understands it of the second tithe, as before observed, and which was to be eaten at Jerusalem.

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

Tithes. Abraham and Jacob paid tithes, out of devotion, Genesis xiv., and xxviii. 22. Moses first made a law on this subject, which began to be in force when the Hebrews had obtained quiet possession of Chanaan. The people paid them more exactly when they were determined to keep God’s law, and had pious princes at their head, 2 Paralipomenon xxxi. 5. At other times they were very negligent, Malachias iii. 10. This forced Esdras to appoint inspectors, Namnim, to collect them. The Pharisees affected a decree of exactitude in this respect, (Luke xi. 42., and Matthew xxiii. 23,) paying what some Jews do not suppose to be necessary, though our Saviour says it was. Since the destruction of the temple the Jews pay none. The first-fruits and tithes of wheat, barley, figs, raisins, olives, pomegranates, and dates, were required, though it be not certain what quantity of the first-fruits was given; some say between the 40th and the 60th part of the produce. Wine and wool were also to be offered. The tithes were taken after the first-fruits and the heaved oblations (thorume) were paid. They belonged to the Levites, and these gave a tithe to the priests, Numbers xviii. 28. See chap. xix. 24. The Eastern kings required a tithe of their subjects, for the support of their families, 1 Kings viii. 15. God does the like, Malachias iii. 10. The Persians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, and even the Arabs and Scythians, religiously paid their tithes in honour of their false gods. See Cyrop. iv. and Q. Curtius iv. 2.; Herod. ii. 135.; Pliny, [Natural History?] xii. 14.; Mela. ii. 5, &c. The Romans often consecrate the tithes of their spoils to Hercules, as the Carthaginians did also. The Scythians sent them to Apollo. (Solin 27, &c.) (Calmet) --- Scaliger and Amama dispose the tithes, and the oblations of the Hebrews, in the following order. Supposing a person’s annual produce amount to 6000 bushels, an oblation (thorume) of at least 100 was to be made to the priests: out of the remaining 5900, a first tithe of 590 belonged to the Levites, out of which they paid 59 to the priests. The residue, of 5310 bushels, paid a second tithe of 531, to be consumed in feasts in the temple, (a custom which the ancient Christians imitated in their love-feasts, called agape; Calmet) The original produce was thus reduced to 4779 bushels; and both the tithes amounted to 1121 and the oblation to 100. The thorume consisted of flour dressed, and of oil, wine (Amama) and wool, (Calmet) to be given to the priests on the feast of Pentecost, chap. xxiii. 15. It could not be less than the 60th part of the produce, (Ezechiel xlv. 13.) and it was necessary to pay it before any could be used in the family. Hence these oblations are often called first-fruits, and have been confounded with those sheaves which were to be offered at the beginning of harvest. (Amama)

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).

There are divers sorts of tithes, but this seems to be understood only of the ordinary and yearly tithes belonging to the Levites, &c., as the very expression intimates, and the addition of the fifth part in case of redemption thereof implies.

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

30. All the tithe — This already was the Lord’s, and could not be the object of an acceptable vow. Yet if for any reason it was desirable to redeem it, it could be done by adding a fifth. In reckoning the tithes, the firstfruits were first set aside. Lev_2:12, note. Out of the rest the tithes were taken for the Levites. Num_18:21. Another tenth was to be eaten by the owner in Jerusalem. Deu_12:6-7. Every third year it was distributed to the poor.

Of the land — This law gave the sanction of divine authority to an ancient usage. The whole produce of the land was subjected to the tithe tribute — it was a kind of yearly rent which the Israelites, as tenants, paid to God as owner of the land.

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

Vers. 30-32. Tithes, like the cherem, are introduced as things well known. Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek. (Gen_14:20 Heb_7:4) Jacob vowed the tenth to the Lord, (Gen_28:22) whence we see that the practice of the payment of tithes was not of Mosaic institution, but immemorial. The duty was, however, commanded afresh for the Israelites. "I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle", (Num_18:21) and of this tithe they were to pay a tenth to the priests. (Num_18:26) Being already the Lord"s, the tithe of the corn and fruits could not be vowed to the Lord, but it could be redeemed, or commuted, by the owner paying one-fifth more than the price at which it was valued.

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

The tithe - There are divers sorts of tithes, but this seems to be understood only of the ordinary and yearly tithes belonging to the Levites, as the very expression intimates, and the addition of the fifth part in case of redemption thereof implies.

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

Lastly, the tenth of the land, both of the seed of the land - i.e., not of what was sown, but of what was yielded, the produce of the seed (Deu 14:22), the harvest reaped, or "corn of the threshing-floor," Num 18:27 - and also of the fruit of the tree, i.e., "the fulness of the press" (Num 18:27), the wine and oil (Deu 14:23), belonged to the Lord, were holy to Him, and could not be dedicated to Him by a vow. At the same time they could be redeemed by the addition of a fifth beyond the actual amount.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

tithe

(See Scofield "2Co 8:1").

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

If a man redeems any of his tithe

"If a man wants to buy back any of his tithe"

translationWords

tenth

grain

fruit

redeem

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

‎ ‎וכל מעשר הארץ AND ANY TITHE OF THE LAND… [BELONGETH TO THE LORD] — Scripture is speaking here of the “second tithe”.

מזרע הארץ OF THE SEED OF THE EARTH — i. e. of grain,

מפרי העץ OF THE FRUIT OF THE TREE — i. e. wine and oil,

לה' הוא BELONGETH TO THE LORD — the Lord has acquired it (it is His possession) and it is from His table that He bids you to carry up (להעלות = לעלות) and to eat in Jerusalem (Kiddushin 53b), as it is said, (Deuteronomy 14:23) “And thou shalt eat before the Lord, thy God,… the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, etc.”.

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.