Tithe

A tithe (from Old English teogotha "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax or levy, usually to support a Jewish or Christian religious organization. Today, tithes (or tithing) are normally voluntary and paid in cash, checks, or stocks, whereas historically tithes could be paid in kind, such as agricultural products. There are still European countries today that allow some churches to assess a mandatory tithe which is enforced by law.

Tithing in the Bible

The practice of regular tithes was not established until after Exodus. Tithes were common throughout the ancient Near East, as well as in Lydia, Arabia, and Carthage.

Related Topics:
Exodus - Lydia - Arabia - Carthage

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Tithes were not adopted by the Christian church for over seven centuries. Although rejected, they were mentioned in councils at Tours in 567 and at Mâcon in 585. They were formally recognized under Pope Adrian I in 787. Tithing in Christian churches today is frequently preached from the pulpit, but denominations and sects view tithing differently. As tithing was only a requirement found in the Old Testament, some consider it to be a practice that has no place in modern Christianity. Others, such as Word of Faith advocates, espouse that tithing which is inspired in the individual by God will enable blessings, usually financial, with references to ten or hundred-fold increases. Despite the widespread preaching of the tithe in many christian churches, very few church members actually consistantly contribute 10% or more.

Related Topics:
Christian church - Tours - 567 - Mâcon - 585 - Pope Adrian I - 787 - Old Testament - Word of Faith

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The tithe and tithing first appear in the Bible in the Hebrew Old Testament (OT) in the book of Genesis in connection with the figure of Abraham. The origin of tithing is intimately linked with both Abraham's cultural background and the figure of the Canaanite king and priest Melchizedek.

Related Topics:
Bible - Hebrew - Genesis - Abraham - Canaanite - Melchizedek

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Old Testament origins

In the time of Abraham/Abram the Hebrew

According to the Genesis account, "Abram the Hebrew," returning from a military sortie which rescued his nephew Lot and Lot's clan from a group of foreign kings probably intent upon seizing the copper mines south of the Dead Sea, was hailed by Melchizedek, the Canaanite king of the city-state of Salem (Jerusalem) who was also the high priest of the local Canaanite god of that region, El-Elyon.

Related Topics:
Genesis - Lot - Dead Sea - Salem - Jerusalem

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:(Gen 14:18) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of El-Elyon.

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::(19) He blessed him , saying,

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::"Blessed be Abram by El-Elyon,

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::Creator of heaven and earth.

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::(20) And praised be El-Elyon,

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::Who has delivered your foes to you."

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:And he gave him a tenth of everything."

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:

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When Melchizedek appeared and offered him bread and wine and blessed him in the name of his Canaanite deity, Abram presented Melchizedek with a tithe from his booty.

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The standard Babylonian one-tenth tax

Hebrew was a Semitic language, related to Akkadian, the lingua franca of that time. An Akkadian noun that Abraham was most likely familiar with given his Babylonian background was esretu, meaning "one-tenth." By the time of Abraham, this phrase was used to refer to the "one-tenth tax," or "tithe." Listed below are some specific instances of the Mesopotamian tithe, taken from The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Vol. 4 "E":

Related Topics:
Akkadian - Lingua franca

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"the palace has taken eight garments as your tithe (on 85 garments)"

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:"...eleven garments as tithe (on 112 garments)"

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:"...(the sun-god) Shamash demands the tithe..."

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:"four minas of silver, the tithe of Bel, Nabu, and Nergal..."

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:"...he has paid, in addition to the tithe for Ninurta, the tax of the gardiner"

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:"...the tithe of the chief accountant, he has delivered it to Shamash"

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:"...why do you not pay the tithe to the Lady-of-Uruk?"

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:"...(a man) owes barley and dates as balance of the tithe of the **years three and four"

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:"...the tithe of the king on barley of the town..."

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:"...with regard to the elders of the city whom (the king) has **summoned to (pay) tithe..."

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:"...the collector of the tithe of the country Sumundar..."

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:"...(the official Ebabbar in Sippar) who is in charge of the tithe..."

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Because of this standard one-tenth tax in Babylon, Abraham of the Genesis account was most likely familiar with the concept of giving up ten-percent of goods as tax.

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In the time of Moses

The tithe is specifically mentioned in the book of Numbers in connection with the establishment of the cultus by Moses. Numbers 18:24-28 concerns the tribe of Levi, and especially the family of Aaron. Because members of the tribe of Levi were assistants to Aaron, his family, and the Israelite priests and did not own or inherit a territorial patrimony, goods donated from the other Israeli tribes were their source of sustenance. They received from "all Israel" a tithe of food or livestock for support, but would first set aside a portion of that tithe for the Aaronic priests.

Related Topics:
Book of Numbers - Cultus - Moses - Levi - Aaron - Patrimony

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In the time of King Hezekiah

LMLK seals may represent the oldest archaeological evidence of tithing. About 10 percent of the storage jars manufactured during Hezekiah's reign (circa 700 BC) were stamped (Grena, 2004, pp. 376-8). See 2 Chronicles 29-31 for a record of this early worship reformation.

Related Topics:
LMLK seal - Hezekiah - 2 Chronicles

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Tithing in the Books of the (Minor) Prophets

The book of Tobit (1:6-8) provides an example of all three classes of tithes practiced during the Babylonian exile:

Related Topics:
Book of Tobit - Babylonia

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But I alone went often to Jerusalem at the feasts, as it was ordained unto all the people of Israel by an everlasting decree, having the firstfruits and tenths of increase, with that which was first shorn; and them gave I at the altar to the priests the children of Aaron. The first tenth part of all increase I gave to the sons of Aaron, who ministered at Jerusalem: another tenth part I sold away, and went, and spent it every year at Jerusalem: And the third I gave unto them to whom it was meet, as Debora my father's mother had commanded me...

Related Topics:
Jerusalem - Israel - Firstfruits

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Jews, Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians who tithe, understand that no man may outdo God in the act of charity. (Malachi 3:8-12):

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: 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, `How are we robbing thee?' In your tithes and offerings.

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: 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you.

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:10 Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.

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:11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.

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:12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.

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Tithing in the New Testament

According to Catholics, as those who serve the altar should live by the altar (1 Cor 9:13)), provision of some kind had necessarily to be made for the sacred ministers.

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In the beginning this was supplied by the spontaneous offerings of the faithful. In the course of time, however, as the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy.

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Many Christians (both Catholic and Protestant) support their churches and pastors with monetary contributions of one sort or another. Frequently these monetary contributions are called tithes whether or not they actually represent ten-percent of anything. However, as tithing was an ingrained Jewish custom by the time of Jesus, no specific command to tithe per se is found in the New Testament. References to tithing in the New Testament can be found in Matthew, Luke, and the book of Hebrews.

Related Topics:
Protestant - Jesus - New Testament - Matthew - Luke - Book of Hebrews

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For Catholics, the payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law, and early writers speak of it as a divine ordinance and an obligation of conscience, rather than any direct command by Jesus Christ.

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Some Protestant denominations cite Matthew 23:23 as support for tithing.

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:Away with you, you pettifogging Pharisee lawyers! You give to God a tenth of herbs, like mint, dill, and cumin, but the important duties of the Law -- judgement, mercy, honesty -- you have neglected. Yet these you ought to have performed, without neglecting the others.

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:(Albright & Mann, Matthew, Anchor Bible, Vol. 26 (1971))

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and its parallel Luke 11:42

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:Woe to you, Pharisees! You tithe mint and rue and every edible herb but disregard justice and the love of God. These were rather the things one should practice, without neglecting the others.

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:(Fitzmyer, Luke, Anchor Bible, Vol.l, 28A (1985))

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Because of Jesus' specific mention of tithe in this passage, it is often felt that he thereby gave his endorsement to the practice of tithing in general and specifically to tithing herbs like mint, dill and cumin. Some scholars disagree, however, pointing out that Jesus was simply obeying Mosaic law as an obedient Jew.

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The only other occurrence of "tithe" in the New Testament is found in Hebrews, chapter 7. Hebrews is an attempt to convince Jewish Christians that the entire sanctuary system, especially its priesthood, had been replaced by the Melchizedek-type high priesthood of Jesus Christ and the individual priesthood of every believer. Chapter 7 uses the ineffectiveness of tithing to illustrate that the laws governing the priesthood (including tithing) were "changed" and "abolished" (7:5, 12, 18).

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