Nehemiah 10:37-39

10:37 We will also bring the first of our coarse meal, of our contributions, of the fruit of every tree, of new wine, and of olive oil to the priests at the storerooms of the temple of our God, along with a tenth of the produce ¹  of our land to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who collect the tithes in all the cities where we work. ²  10:38 A priest of Aaron’s line ³  will be with the Levites when the Levites collect the tithes, and the Levites will bring up a tenth of the tithes to the temple of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. 10:39 The Israelites and the Levites will bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms where the utensils of the sanctuary are kept, and where the priests who minister stay, along with the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the temple of our God.”

Nehemiah 12:44

12:44 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms for the contributions, first fruits, and tithes, to gather into them from ⁴  the fields of the cities the portions prescribed by the law for the priests and the Levites, for the people of Judah ⁵  took delight in the priests and Levites who were ministering. ⁶ 

Leviticus 27:30

Redemption of the Tithe

27:30 “‘Any tithe ⁷  of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.

Numbers 18:20-26

Duties of the Levites

18:20 The Lord spoke to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion of property ⁸  among them – I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites. 18:21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting. 18:22 No longer may the Israelites approach the tent of meeting, or else they will bear their sin ⁹  and die. 18:23 But the Levites must perform the service ¹⁰  of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. ¹¹  It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites ¹²  have no inheritance. ¹³  18:24 But I have given ¹⁴  to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the Israelites that are offered ¹⁵  to the Lord as a raised offering. That is why I said to them that among the Israelites they are to have no inheritance.”

Instructions for the Levites

18:25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18:26 “You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up ¹⁶  from it as a raised offering to the Lord a tenth of the tithe.

Deuteronomy 14:22

The Offering of Tribute

14:22 You must be certain to tithe ¹⁷  all the produce of your seed that comes from the field year after year.

[10:37]  ¹ tn Heb “a tithe of our land.”

[10:37]  ² tn Heb “of our work.”

[10:38]  ³ tn Heb “And the priest the son of Aaron.”

[12:44]  ⁴ tc The translation reads מִשְּׂדֶי (missÿde, “from the fields”) rather than the MT reading לִשְׂדֵי (lisdey, “to the fields”).

[12:44]  ⁵ tn Heb “for Judah.” The words “the people of” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, since “Judah” is a proper name as well as a place name.

[12:44]  ⁶ tn Heb “standing.”

[27:30]  ⁷ tn On the “tithe” system in Israel, see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:1035-55 and esp. pp. 1041-42 on Lev 27:30-33.

[18:20]  ⁸ tn The phrase “of property” is supplied as a clarification.

[18:22]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct of the verb “to bear” with the lamed (ל) preposition to express the result of such an action. “To bear their sin” would mean that they would have to suffer the consequences of their sin.

[18:23]  ¹⁰ tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”

[18:23]  ¹¹ sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.

[18:23]  ¹² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.

[18:24]  ¹⁴ tn The classification of the perfect tense here too could be the perfect of resolve, since this law is declaring what will be their portion – “I have decided to give.”

[18:24]  ¹⁵ tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject (although the “Israelites” is certainly intended), and so it can be rendered as a passive.

[18:26]  ¹⁶ tn The verb in this clause is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it has the same force as an imperfect of instruction: “when…then you are to offer up.”

[14:22]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “be certain.”