Tithe in the Bible

What the Bible Says about Tithe

Abraham, Lot, Sodom, and Melchizedek

Genesis 14:1-20 ... war broke out in the region. King Amraphel of Babylonia, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Kedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim 2 fought against King Bera of Sodom (and several other cities)... 11 The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies. 12 They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he owned. ... 14 When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them... 15 ... he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army fled, but Abram chased them .... 16 Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives. 17 After Abram returned from his victory..., the king of Sodom went out to meet him... 18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth[Jehovah(vs.22)]. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.

Hebrews 7:1-6 This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. 2 Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means “king of peace.” 3 There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors—no beginning or end to his life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God. 4 Consider then how great this Melchizedek was. Even Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, recognized this by giving him a tenth of what he had taken in battle. 5 Now the law of Moses required that the priests, who are descendants of Levi, must collect a tithe from the rest of the people of Israel, who are also descendants of Abraham. 6 But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. {For more about Melchizedek, see the later part of Hebrews 6 and the rest of Hebrews 7}

Jacob's Tithe Vow:

Genesis 28:20-22 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 so that I come again to my father`s house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God, 22 then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God`s house. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

The Tithe, (The Tenth) Is Jehovah's

Leviticus 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 Jehovah`s: it is holy unto Jehovah. And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto Jehovah.

The Levites Receive Jehovah's Tithe

Numbers 18:20-28 And Jehovah said unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion among them: I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. 21 And unto the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the tent of meeting. ... 24 For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering unto Jehovah, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ... 26 Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe. ... 28 Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering unto Jehovah of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and thereof ye shall give Jehovah`s heave-offering to Aaron the priest. {For more details, read to the end of the chapter}

More details about the "heave-offering" => http://sidnash.org/b/ikR
Notice that Levites continually worked for Jehovah in all the duties of taking care of the church(tabernacle). They did not receive land as all the other tribes. Rather, they received the tithes from all the other tribes. They also gave a tithe of all they received, to Aaron, the high priest.
Note that ALL the members of the tribe of Levi lived on tithe received from the other tribes. However, they had no land inheritance, but ministered to the other tribes on their land. Think about how that might apply to those who do the work of Jehovah today...

In Deuteronomy, chapters 12, 14, and 26, you will find more information about special uses of the tithe and a special tithe every third year. Here is a link to start a study on that => http://sidnash.org/b/i74

Hezekiah Supported the Levites with Tithing

2 Chronicles 31:2,4-6,12 Hezekiah then organized the priests and Levites into divisions to offer the burnt offerings and peace offerings, and to worship and give thanks and praise to [Jehovah] at the gates of the Temple... he required the people in Jerusalem to bring a portion of their goods to the priests and Levites, so they could devote themselves fully to the Law of [Jehovah]. 5 When the people of Israel heard these requirements, they responded generously by bringing the first share of their grain, new wine, olive oil, honey, and all the produce of their fields. They brought a large quantity—a tithe of all they produced. 6 The people who had moved to Judah from Israel, and the people of Judah themselves, brought in the tithes of their cattle, sheep, and goats and a tithe of the things that had been dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them up in great heaps. ... 12 the people faithfully brought all the gifts, tithes, and other items dedicated for use in the Temple. Conaniah the Levite was put in charge, assisted by his brother Shimei.

Nehemiah Supported the Levites with Tithing

Nehemiah 10:37-39 We will store the produce in the storerooms of the Temple of our God. We will bring the best of our flour and other grain offerings, the best of our fruit, and the best of our new wine and olive oil. And we promise to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produces, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns. 38 “A priest—a descendant of Aaron—will be with the Levites as they receive these tithes. And a tenth of all that is collected as tithes will be delivered by the Levites to the Temple of our God and placed in the storerooms. 39 The people and the Levites must bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the storerooms and place them in the sacred containers near the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. “We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God.”

Note that the priests are all descendants of Aaron - a Levite.
Now that Aaron is dead, notice that the tithe(a tenth of the tenth) of the Levites is now stored in a secure room in the Temple, sometimes translated as "storehouse" or "storeroom".

Nehemiah 12:44 On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the offerings, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They were responsible to collect from the fields outside the towns the portions required by the Law for the priests and Levites. For all the people of Judah took joy in the priests and Levites and their work.

Nehemiah 13:9-13 ... I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense. 10 I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields. 11 I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. 12 And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms. 13 I assigned supervisors for the storerooms: ... These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites.

Malachi 3:7-12 From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts. But ye say, Wherein shall we return? 8 Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with the curse; for ye rob me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you happy; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith Jehovah of hosts.

Jesus Speaks of Tithe

Matthew 23:23-24 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other[tithe] undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Luke 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other[tithe] undone.

While calling out the Jew's hypocrisy, Jesus made two points about tithe:
1. Tithing is important => "not to leave the other[tithe] undone."
2. These are more-important that tithe => "judgment, mercy, and faith" "and the love of God";

Luke 18:11-12 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

According to Jesus, in verse 14, this bragging Pharisee was not "justified", while the publican was: Lk18:14 "I tell you, this man[publican] went down to his house justified rather than the other[Pharisee]: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." So, even if we do good works, such as returning Jehovah's tithe, it will do us no good if we do it in arrogance!

My Summary Conclusion

The Bible has surprisingly little to say about the Tithe. I only found 33 verses( http://sidnash.org/b/zg4 ) in the Bible that mention tithing. This is understandable since:

Jesus said there are other things more-important than tithe.
Tithing is not mentioned in the 10 commandments.

Still, Jesus said that tithing should not be left undone(Mt23:24; Lk11:42) and Father Jehovah accused Israel of robbing Him of His tithes and offerings(Mal3:7-12). So, tithing(10%) is certainly expected by God, of His followers. Remember that those who were supported by the tithe were also expected to return a tithe of the tithe that they received.

According to the Bible, how is the tithe to be used? It was to be stored in the "storehouse" at the Temple to provide food for all those who work in the church(Temple). In Bible times, this was the entire tribe of Levi. They were to spend all of their time caring for everything related to the church, including ministry to the people, studying, teaching, sacrifices, and I suppose much more. But how does that apply in God's church today? Certainly pastors must be supported by the tithe, but should others also receive tithe? Possibly, but that is not for me to determine :-).

Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah (Deut8:3; Matt4:4)

-Sid Nash: 12/12/2023. Latest version: http://sidnash.org/docs/Tithe.html