I will try to give just a little at a time. I want feed back negative or positive.

Definition of Tithing

serious problem with understanding tithing appears at the very beginning of

The Hebrew and Greek words for “tithe” both simply mean “a tenth.” However,

beyond this simple definition, much difficulty exists in defining the contents of

the tithe. If a legal court case were being held, a working definition would have

proceed. However, since this is not possible, four defi nitions of “tithe” will be

presented. Although many contend for the third defi nition, this book will use the

fourth, Mosaic Law definition. Even this choice of a working definition will be of

the tithe.

The Pagan and General Defi nition

The fi rst defi nition of “tithe” is a general all-inclusive defi nition which is not

used in the main portion of this book. The Encyclopedia Americana defines the

under the compulsion of law for the benefi t of religious institutions, the support

distinguish between ecclesiastical tithes from church laws, personal tithes from

trade and agricultural tithes.

offering or payment of a tenth part of stated goods or property to the deity. Often

given to the king or to the royal temple, the ‘tenth’ was usually approximate, not

exact. The practice is known from Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, Greece and as

far to the west as the Phoenician city of Carthage.”5

to God. The separation of a certain proportion of the products of one’s

nations of antiquity. The Lydians offered a tithe of their booty (Herod. I, 89). The

Phoenicians and Carthaginians sent a tithe annually to the Tyrian Hercules. These

tithes might be regular or occasional, voluntary or prescribed by law.”6

This general tithe is of pagan origin and precedes the Mosaic Law’s tithe by

many centuries. In Genesis 41:34 Joseph encouraged the Egyptians to double

their tithe in order to cover the lean years. In Genesis 14 Abraham was obligated

to pay a tithe from the spoils of war in obedience to the Arab war custom. In New

Testament times the Roman Empire received the fi rst tithe of ten percent of grains

and twenty percent of fruit trees from its conquered subjects, including Judah.

31:25-47. Almost every theological commentator discusses this ancient custom in

Genesis 14:21, which links it to the tithe in verse 20.

A second defi nition of “tithe” is most common among moderate and liberal

churches which equate tithes with free-will offerings. Members are urged to begin

with a small percentage of giving and gradually increase the percentage according

to their ability. Among these churches there is little or no reference to an exact

compulsory giving of ten percent from gross income as a legal requirement. Since

believe the Pentateuch was written after the exile, they usually base their approach

to giving on general principles rather than specifi c texts.

Also, many who hold this position prefer to use “tithe” to refer to “net” income

with certain limitations. They are more likely to say that the poor are not required

to give tithes and that tithes are only required from those who make a profi t from

their labor. They also are more likely to say that church support is not required

from those on bare government pension or welfare. The parents’ fi rst duty is to

provide essentials of food, clothing, and housing for their family.

A third defi nition of “tithe” is taught among many more conservative and

fundamental churches. For these churches “tithe” refers to ten percent of “gross”

This common conservative defi nition is rejected and refuted in this book

because it fails to consider the correct defi nition, the purpose, and limitations of

the biblical tithe. As mentioned in the introduction, this book deliberately uses

many conservative evangelical sources in an attempt to demonstrate that this defi -

nition is both legalistic and harmful to the church which should be using much

better New Covenant principles.

The fourth defi nition of “tithe” is the precise and narrow Scriptural defi nition

as given in the Mosaic Law in the Old Covenant. The biblical tithe was an ordinance of the Mosaic Law for the use and benefi t of national Israel under the Old Covenant. The full tithe was given to the tribe of Levi, fi rst, in exchange for his lossof land inheritance in Israel and, second, because of his servant service to  his brothers in the Levitical house of Aaron who alone served as priests. A tenth of the fi rst tithe was, in turn, given by the Levites to the priests who ministered at the altar. The basic tithe was not to be used for building houses of worship. Since pagan dust defiled, the original tithe consisted solely of the increase of land produce from God’s sanctifi ed land of Israel and from the increase of animals herded on the land of Israel. Although the tithe could be exchanged for its monetary value, the tithe itself never consisted of money! A second (and third) tithe was also given to provide food for festival occasions, and to provide welfare food for widows, fatherless,orphans and needy strangers in Israel.

A surprising biblical fact is that the poor did not pay tithes, but, instead,

fact is made especially clear in the gleaning laws and in the purpose of the tithe.

Jesus did not tithe, nor did he sin by failing to tithe because he was poor and did

not own land or herd animals for his sustenance. The poor were only expected to

give free-will offerings to the best of their ability.

the land of Israel. This was a totally unexpected, yet very clear, truth about tithing

that Bible study with an exhaustive concordance revealed. Also, strange as it may

seem, Scriptural tithing was only intended for a society sustained almost wholly

by agricultural crops and animal herds.

Biblical society included the following occupations: bakers, candle makers,

carpenters, clothing makers, hired farm workers, hired herdsmen, hired household

servants, jewelry craftsmen, masons, metal craftsmen, musicians, painters,

perfume makers, physicians, sculptors, soldiers, tanners, teachers and tent makers.

Yet NONE of these professions or products from these professions are included in

any list of tithes or tithing! Why not? These sources provided much of the money

for head taxes, temple taxes, tribute to foreign conquerors and, of course, free-will

the many lists of items to be tithed.

We must also remember that the Mosaic Law of the ‘fi rstborn’ would drive all

except the fi rstborn in a family with four sons off the land within 2-3 generations

because the fi rstborn was to get a double portion of the land inheritance (Deut.

21:17). Those with plots of land too small to sustain a family had to sell their portion

to their relative with the larger inheritance. Next, they would work as hired

hands on their relatives’ land or move to town and take up a trade. For example,

a 1000 acre plot would be divided by four sons into plots of 400; 200; 200; and

200 in the fi rst generation; 160; 80; 80; and 80 after two generations; 32; 16; 16;

and 16 after three generations. Thus, continually sub-dividing the land would

keep the land-tithe the same, but would seriously reduce the amount of persons

paying land-tithes.