SPECIAL TOPIC: Special Topic -- Tithes

SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHING

In the Old Testament (BDB 796)
1. Scripture References to Israel's annual tithe
  1. For Priests and Central Sanctuary
    1. Lev. 27:30-32
    2. Deut. 12:6-7,11,17; 14:22-26
    3. Num. 18:21-24
    4. Neh. 12:44
    5. Mal. 3:8,10
  2. For Local Levites
    1. Deut. 12:12; 14:27; 26:12-15
    2. Num. 18:25-29
    3. Neh. 10:37,38
  3. for Local Poor, Deut. 14:28-29 (see F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions, pp. 243-244)
2. There is some ambiguity and textual confusion about the tithe related to priests vs. Levites. I have included part of my exegetical notes from Numbers 18:21-32.
  "The two paragraphs of Numbers 18:21-32 deal with YHWH's provision for the Levites. They will receive the tithes of Israel (cf. Lev. 27:30-33). Exactly how this is related to a special third-year tithe is uncertain (cf. Deut. 14:28-29; 26:12). Possibly it is for the Levites only and not those associated with the Tabernacle.
  The New Century Bible, Leviticus and Numbers, p. 165 (also note NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 1039), has an explanation of the different texts on tithing. It asserts that
  1. Deut. 14:22-23 ‒ Israelites ate the tithe at the central sanctuary but every third year it went uniquely to the poor (cf. Deut. 26:12)
  2. Numbers 18 ‒ written later, had all the tithes go to the Levites
  3. even later, Lev. 27:30-33; 2 Chr. 31:6 ‒ the tithe included animals
    My problem with this is the assumption that we moderns know the dating of different texts in the OT. The J.E.D.P. theory is just that and worse, it is based on a western literary model, not ANE (see SPECIAL TOPIC: PENTATEUCH SOURCE CRITICISM), but the texts are confusing (see NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 1038-1039)."
3. Examples of tithing predate Mosaic legislation
  1. Genesis 14:20 ‒ Abraham to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:2-9)
  2. Genesis 28:22 ‒ Jacob to YHWH
4. The tithes of Israel were used to (see I. above)
  1. support the central sanctuary (i.e., the tabernacle and later temple)
  2. the local Levites tithed to the temple priests (cf. Neh. 10:38-39; see SPECIAL TOPIC: LEVITICAL PRIESTS). Local people also contributed to them during the year.
  3. every third year the national tithes were directed exclusively to the local poor (i.e., God cares for the poor, vulnerable, and disenfranchised)
5. tithing, like first fruits and the seventh day, showed YHWH's ownership of all things (i.e., He is the true King to whom the tithe in the ANE was due, cf. 1 Samuel 8; NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 1037-1038). It is a matter of the heart, not just the amount (i.e., Mark 12:41-44)!
In the New Testament
1. The NT has few references to tithing. I do not believe the NT mandates tithing for believers because it is against "nit-picking" Jewish legalism and self-righteousness (i.e., Matt. 23:13-36). I believe the NT guidelines for regular giving (if there are any) are found in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 (i.e., initially referring to the one-time gift of the Gentile churches to the poor of the Mother Church in Jerusalem), which go far beyond tithing! If a Jew with only the information of the OT was commanded to give ten to thirty percent (there are two, possibly three, required tithes in the OT; see I. above), then Christians should give far beyond and not even take the time to discuss the Mosaic tithe!
2. NT believers must be careful of turning Christianity into a new legal performance-oriented code (i.e., a Christian Talmud). Their desire to be pleasing to God causes them to try to find guidelines for every area of life. However, theologically it is dangerous to pull old covenant rules which are not reaffirmed in the NT (i.e., The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15:1-29) and make them dogmatic criteria, especially when they are claimed (by modern preachers) to be causes of calamity or promises of prosperity (cf. Malachi 3).
3. Here are some quotes from Frank Stagg, New Testament Theology, pp. 292-293, I fully agree with.
  1. "The New Testament does not once introduce tithing into the grace of giving. Tithes are mentioned only three times in the New Testament:
    1. in censoring the Pharisees for neglect of justice, mercy, and faith while giving meticulous care to the tithing of even garden produce (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42)
    2. in the exposure of the proud Pharisee who 'prayed to himself,' boasting that he fasted twice each week and tithed all his possessions (Luke 18:12)
    3. in arguing for the superiority of Melchizedek, and hence of Christ, to Levi (Heb. 7:6-9)"
  2. "It is clear that Jesus approved tithing as a part of the temple system, just as in principle and practice he supported the general practices of the temple and the synagogues. But there is no indication that he imposed any part of the temple cultus on his followers. Tithes were chiefly produce, formerly eaten at the sanctuary by the one tithing and later eaten by the priests. Tithing as set forth in the Old Testament could be carried out only in a religious system built around a system of plant and animal sacrifice."
  3. "Many Christians find the tithe to be a fair and workable plan for giving. So long as it is not made to be a coercive or legalistic system, it may prove to be a happy plan. However, one may not validly claim that tithing is taught in the New Testament. It is recognized as proper for Jewish observance (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42), but it is not imposed upon Christians. In fact, it is now impossible for Jews or Christians to tithe in the Old Testament sense. Tithing today only faintly resembles the ancient ritual practice belonging to the sacrificial system of the Jews."
  4. "While much may be said for adopting the tithe voluntarily as a standard for one's giving without rigidly imposing it upon others as a Christian requirement, it is clear in adopting such a practice that one is not carrying on the Old Testament practice. At most one is doing something only remotely analogous to the tithing practice of the Old Testament, which was a tax to support the temple and the priestly system, a social and religious system which no longer exists. Tithes were obligatory in Judaism as a tax until the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, but they are not thus binding upon Christians."
  5. "This is not to discredit tithing, but it is to clarify its relationship to the New Testament. It is to deny that the New Testament supports the coerciveness, legalistic, profit motive, and the bargaining which so often characterize the tithing appeals today. As a voluntary system, tithing offers much; but it must be redeemed by grace if it is to be Christian. To plead that 'it works' is only to adopt the pragmatic tests of the world. Much 'works' that is not Christian. Tithing, if it is to be congenial to New Testament theology, must be rooted in the grace and love of God."