Tithe

ABRAM’S RECOMPENSE (VV. 17–20)

The setting was the Valley of Shaveh, the King’s Valley, a brief distance south of Jerusalem. There two kings greeted Abram and his warriors, the king of Sodom and the king of Salem. Both were Canaanite kings. The kings are a study in contrast. The king of Sodom viewed Abram’s victory as a human feat, but the king of Salem saw it as divine. The king of Sodom made a businesslike offer to Abram. But the king of Salem “offered him, in token, a simple sufficiency from God, pronounces an unspecified blessing (dwelling on the Giver, not the gift), and accepts costly tribute” (Kidner).12

Melchizedek. The king of Salem was none other than the mysterious Melchizedek, actually the king of Jerusalem. Both etymology and rabbinic commentary as well as Psalm 76:2 confirm that Salem is Jerusalem. So he was king of what would become the Holy City. Melchizedek means “king of righteousness” or “my king is righteous.” Either way his name stresses his righteous character. And in addition to his royalty and righteousness, he was a priest of the Most High God. Add to this the fact that he was a Canaanite, and you have the reality: Melchizedek was the God-fearing, Canaanite priest-king of Jerusalem. He was a Canaanite like the king of Sodom, a descendant of Canaan, the cursed son of Ham. He was not a physical descendant or relative of Abram. Yet he was like Abram in this: He believed that there is one God, God the Most High. Unlike Abram, he did not know that God’s name is Yahweh. But he would know immediately (cf. v. 22). Gordon Wenham explains:

Within Genesis, however, Melchizedek is primarily an example of a non-Jew who recognizes God’s hand at work in Israel: like Abimelech (21:22), Rahab (Josh. 2:11), Ruth (1:16) or Naaman (2 Kings 5:15). Similarly, he may be seen as a forerunner of the Magi (Matt. 2:1–12), centurions (Matt. 8:5–13; Mark 15:39; Acts 10), or the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mark 7:26–30), let alone the multitude of Gentile converts mentioned in Acts. They are those who have discovered that in Abram all the families of the earth find blessing.

This union of priest and king at Jerusalem will move David, the first Israelite priest (or at least having priestly functions) and king, to sit on a throne in Jerusalem to sing of a greater Melchizedek to come (cf. Psalm 110:4). The significance of this is explained in depth in Hebrews 7, as we shall see in our next study.

What did this God-fearing Canaanite priest-king do? First, he refreshed Abram: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine” (v. 18a). This expressed his goodwill and his generosity. Bread and wine was royal fare (cf. 1 Samuel 16:20). He laid out a royal banquet for the returning conquerors in the valley of the kings.

Melchizedek’s blessing. Secondly, while his hands were full of gifts, his lips were full of blessing.

And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth.” (v. 19)

This looks back to 12:1–3 when God promised Abram that he would be a blessing and that all the families of the earth would be blessed in him. This was the initial fulfillment of that promise, as Melchizedek, one of the families of the earth, blessed Abram. This suggests that Melchizedek himself would be blessed through Abram. This was in stark contrast to the king of Sodom who was outside the blessing.

Melchizedek’s identification of God Most High as “Possessor of heaven and earth” grounded the blessing in the ultimate power in the universe. These blessings “invite us to take creation faith out of the arena of ‘origins’ and see it as source for life buoying, and joy in the trials of the day” (Brueggemann). God’s cosmic power is the ultimate ground of faith.

Then as Melchizedek’s blessing echoed over Abram, Melchizedek blessed God:

“… and blessed be God Most High,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” (v. 20)

Melchizedek understood what was lost on the king of Sodom—that the source of Abram’s victories was God

A. Old Testament

The first reference to the tithe in the OT appears in Gen 14:17–20, where Abram (Abraham) gives a tithe of the spoils of his recent battle to Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High (ʾel ʿelyôn). This passage is extremely difficult to date but would appear to be preexilic. It is known by the author of Psalm 110. The next reference to the tithe in the OT and probably the earliest reference chronologically is Gen 28:18–22, where Jacob, while making the shrine at Bethel, promises a tithe to God. This passage is from the E source (ca. 850 B.C.E.). While these two passages set the tithe in the patriarchal period, they cannot be accepted as historical. Gen 28:18–22, however, does establish that the tithe goes back at least as early as the period of the divided monarchy. This is confirmed by a reference to tithes in Amos 4:4 (ca. 750 B.C.E.).

Substantial information on the tithe comes from the D source (ca. 650 B.C.E.), almost surely “the Book of the Law” discovered by the high priest Hilkiah in the Jerusalem temple in 621 B.C.E. during the reign of King Josiah (2 Kgs 22:3–20). Chapters 12, 14, and 26 of Deuteronomy provide extensive regulations for tithing. The people are instructed to tithe the following resources: seed, grain, wine, oil, and firstlings of herds and flocks (Deut 14:22–23). They are to consume the tithes of grain, wine, oil, and firstlings as a sacrificial meal in a place chosen by God. Since the discovery of the Book of the Law generated a reformation of Israelite worship on the part of Josiah, and since one of Josiah’s major reforms was the centralization of worship in Jerusalem, it appears certain that he understood the place chosen by God for the bringing of the tithes to be Jerusalem. The family or extended family is to eat the meal together. The family is also to invite a Levite from the family’s town to eat the meal with them, since the Levites possess no land and thus have no tithes of their own to bring (Deut 14:27). If the distance to the place for the sacrificial meal (i.e., Jerusalem) is too great for the family to be able conveniently to bring all their tithes, the tithes are to be sold for money and the money brought to the place for the meal (Deut 14:24–26). The family then uses the money to buy whatever food and drink they desire for the meal. The family is to use their tithes for a sacrificial meal for two consecutive years out of every three. On every third year the tithe is to be kept within the town and given to the Levite, the sojourner, the orphan, and the widow, because they do not possess land (Deut 14:28–29; 26:12).

Two passages from the P source of the Pentateuch discuss tithes. Lev 27:30–33 states that tithes come from the seed of the land, the fruit of the trees, and every tenth animal of the herds and flocks. The owner is simply to take every tenth animal that passes under the herdsman’s staff without any inquiry as to whether it is a good animal or a bad animal, and he is not to exchange it for another. But if he exchanges it for another animal, both it and the animal for which he exchanged it become part of the tithe. Animals that are a part of the tithe are considered sacred. If an owner wishes to redeem any of his tithes for money, he may do so, but only if he adds an extra fifth of the animal’s full monetary value. The priest makes the valuations (Lev 27:23).

The second Priestly passage dealing with tithes is Num 18:20–32. The central subject of this passage is the role of the Levites in Israelite society. Since the Levites do not possess any land and therefore cannot readily produce their own food, they are given the agricultural tithes of the people for their sustenance and as reward for their service in the tent of meeting. The Levites are to present to the Lord a tithe of the tithes given them; that is, they are not to consume but to sacrifice a tenth of the tithes they receive. This tithe of the tithes is given by the Levites to the priests and is presumably used to support them. One marked difference in the P source’s understanding of tithes from that of the D source is that the former regards all tithes from the people as going for the support of the Levites, not just the tithes of every third year. Another difference from D is that P does not stipulate any tithes going to sojourners, orphans, and widows. These differences reflect the sociological viewpoints of D and P. D is a “popular” writing concerned with the whole of Israelite society: it could not easily ignore the plight of the poor. P, on the other hand, was more concerned with the status of the priestly class and less with that of the masses, who were perhaps expected to fend for themselves.

It should be noted that in both D and P tithes are by no means the only offerings of the people of Israel. Other offerings included peace offerings, sin offerings, guilt offering, wave offerings, heave offerings, etc. See also SACRIFICE AND SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS.

Tithes are also mentioned in the oracles of the prophet Malachi, who protested that the people were robbing the Lord by not bringing their full tithes into the temple storehouse in Jerusalem (3:6–11). He insisted that if the people would bring in their full tithes, God would pour down upon them “an overflowing blessing” and bless their fields with protection from ravaging insects.

In 2 Chr 31:2–12 the Chronicler attributes to Hezekiah (715–687 B.C.E.) the appointment of the divisions of priests and Levites, to whom the people then bring in abundance their tithes. What the priests and Levites cannot use immediately, they store. The Chronicler understands that the people bring their tithes to both the Levites and the priests, unlike the P source, in which the Levites give to the priests tithes out of the tithes they had received from the people. In Neh 10:32–39 the Chronicler writes that the Levites went into all the rural towns of Judah to collect the tithes from the people. They then brought the tithes to the temple storehouse in Jerusalem. In this passage as well as in Neh 12:44–45 it is clear that all tithes go for the support of the priests and Levites.

B. New Testament

Tithes receive very little mention in the NT. In Matt 23:23 (= Luke 11:42) Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their meticulous tithing on the one hand while on the other neglecting “the weightier matters of the law,” namely justice, mercy, and the love of God. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14) the Pharisee thanks God for his own moral virtue in comparison to the tax collector’s sinfulness. Part of that moral virtue is that the Pharisee gives tithes of all that he gets (Luke 11:12).

The only other reference to tithes in the NT is in Hebrews 7:4–10, and here the reference is to tithes in OT times. The author notes that Abraham gave a tithe of the spoils of battle to Melchizedek and that the Levites were authorized by the Law to take tithes from the people. These references are a part of the author’s larger purpose of comparing Jesus to Melchizedek.

C. Early Judaism and Christianity

In both early Jewish and early Christian exegesis of the scriptural references to tithes the Deuteronomic sacrificial meal is forgotten. Another characteristic common to both early Jews and early Christians is generalizing of the tithes. Whereas in the OT tithes apply to specific agricultural products, rabbinic and patristic exegesis tends to include all agricultural products and eventually all forms of income as subject to the tithe. In the Mishnaic tractate on tithes (Maʿaśerot) is the statement, “Whatsoever is used for food, and is kept watch over, and grows from the soil, is liable to Tithes” (1:1), not just grain, wine, and oil. Later extensive lists are drawn up of every agricultural product subject to the tithe, including even relatively insignificant herbs such as thyme and mustard. This generalizing tendency can already be seen in the 2d century B.C.E. in the book of Tobit: “Of all my produce I would give a tenth to the sons of Levi who ministered at Jerusalem; a second tenth I would sell, and I would go and spend the proceeds each year at Jerusalem, the third tenth I would give to those to whom it was my duty” (1:7–8). Very early in the history of Christianity tithes are extended to include money. This occurs for the first time in Didache 13:7 (late first or early 2d century C.E.), then in all subsequent Christian writing on tithes. Despite this generalizing tendency virtually all references in early Judaism and early Christianity are to tithes (plural) not to the tithe. Tithes do not become the tithe until much later in the history of Christianity.

Another widespread tendency of early Christianity is the identification of the OT Levites, the principal beneficiaries of the tithes, with Christian priests. Origen writes, “God orders the priest-Levite who possessed no land himself, to live together with an Israelite who possesses land. And the priest-Levite should receive those earthly things which he does not have from the Israelite; and the Israelite should correspondingly receive the heavenly and divine things from the priest-Levite. The priest should be completely free to devote himself exclusively to the service of God. He should be supported just as we provide oil for a lamp so that it can give light” (Homilies on Joshua 17:3, quoted in Vischer 1966: 27). The Apostolic Constitutions carry this tendency a step further by equating the OT priestly order with church order. The bishops are the equivalent of the high priest; the elders, of the priests; the deacons, of the Levites (ANF 7:410).

Two different lines of interpretation of the OT commandments on tithing may be discerned in the writings of the Church Fathers. Many of the earlier fathers and especially the early monastic writers regarded the OT commandments on tithing as superseded by the teachings of Jesus. The Hebrews were to give a tenth, but Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all that he had to give to the poor (Matt 19:21 = Mark 10:21 = Luke 18:22). Irenaeus writes that the Jews “had indeed the tithes of their goods consecrated to Him, but those who have received liberty set aside all their possessions for the Lord’s purposes, bestowing joyfully and freely” (haer. 4:18 in ANF 1:485). Nonetheless Christians did not give all that they had; most did not even give a tithe. The sermons of fathers such as Cyprian and Chrysostom occasionally rebuke Christians by implying that those who do not tithe are inferior to the Jews. Chrysostom writes, “Someone told me with great amazement that so-and-so gives a tithe. How shameful it is that what was taken for granted among the Jews has now become an amazing thing among Christians. And if non-payment of the tithe puts a man in jeopardy with God then, consider how many are in such danger today” (Homilies on the Epistle to the Ephesians, chap. 2; quoted in Vischer 1966: 16). A second line of patristic interpretation, more characteristic of the post-Nicene period, sees the OT tithes as an acceptable, though minimal, standard of giving for Christians. Augustine was the chief spokesperson for this viewpoint.

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