Tithes
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Deu.14.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- תעשר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- תבואת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- זרעך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- היצא: VERB,qal,part,ms,sg,def
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 27:30 (verbal): Commands a tithe of the land/produce ('a tithe of everything from the land'), paralleling Deut 14:22's instruction to tithe the yield of the field.
- Numbers 18:21-24 (structural): Allocates the tithe to the Levites as their inheritance and explains the practical purpose of tithes, complementary to Deut 14's tithe regulations.
- Deuteronomy 14:28-29 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same chapter prescribing the third‑year tithe for the Levite, stranger, fatherless and widow — a related application of the tithe of produce.
- Malachi 3:10 (thematic): Prophetic demand to 'bring the whole tithe into the storehouse' echoes the obligation to bring tithes of agricultural produce and frames covenantal blessing for obedience.
- Genesis 28:22 (allusion): Jacob's vow to give a tenth of his increase reflects an earlier practice of tithing produce/income and so alludes to the same concept found in Deut 14:22.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall tithe, tithe the whole yield of your seed that comes out of the field year by year.
- You shall tithe—tithe all the yield of your seed that comes out of the field year by year.
Deu.14.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואכלת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- במקום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לשכן: VERB,qal,inf
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- מעשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דגנך: NOUN,m,sg,sfx
- תירשך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויצהרך: NOUN,m,sg,sfx
- ובכרת: CONJ
- בקרך: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וצאנך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+POSS,2,m,sg
- למען: PREP
- תלמד: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ליראה: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- כל: DET
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:17-18 (verbal): Directly parallels the command to eat the tithe (grain, wine, oil, firstborn of herd/flock) 'before the LORD' in the place he chooses; same wording and centralized-worship instruction.
- Deuteronomy 14:22-29 (structural): Immediate context of v.23: discusses the annual and third-year tithes, alternatives when distance prevents eating at the central sanctuary, and the tithes' social/ritual purpose—closely allied instructions and language.
- Deuteronomy 6:2 (thematic): States the ethical/theological goal ('that you may fear the LORD your God always') paralleling v.23’s explicit purpose clause linking ritual tithing/feasting with learning to fear the LORD all your days.
- Nehemiah 10:37-39 (thematic): Postexilic reform text committing to bring firstfruits/tithes to the house of God and provide for the Levites and priests—echoes the obligation to bring sacred produce to the central sanctuary and support worship personnel.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall eat before the LORD your God in the place that he will choose to make his name dwell there the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God all your days.
- And you shall eat before the LORD your God in the place that he will choose to make his name dwell; the tithe of your grain, your wine and your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God all your days.
Deu.14.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכי: CONJ
- ירבה: VERB,qal,impf,3,ms
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- הדרך: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- תוכל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- שאתו: VERB,qal,inf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- ירחק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ממך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- לשום: VERB,qal,inf
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- כי: CONJ
- יברכך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,obj:2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
Parallels
- Deut.12.5 (verbal): Uses the same technical phrase about “the place the LORD your God will choose to put his name,” providing the foundational command to centralize worship and offerings.
- Deut.14.25 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same regulation: instructs converting the distant tithe into money and spending it at the chosen place — a direct procedural follow‑up to 14:24.
- Deut.26.12 (thematic): Regulates the third‑year tithe to be brought to the place the LORD chooses and presented there — similar concern with tithes and bringing them to the central sanctuary.
- Deut.16.11 (allusion): Commands rejoicing before the LORD at the place he chooses when God has blessed you, echoing the link between divine blessing and coming to the appointed place found in 14:24.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if the journey is too long for you, and you cannot carry it, because the place that the LORD your God will choose to set his name there is far from you when the LORD your God has blessed you,
- But if the journey is too long for you, and you are not able to carry it (for the place that the LORD your God will choose to put his name there is far from you), when the LORD your God has blessed you,
Deu.14.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בכסף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וצרת: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הכסף: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בידך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff,2,m,sg
- והלכת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יבחר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:11 (structural): Same centralizing phrase 'the place that the LORD your God will choose' — establishes the requirement to bring offerings/tithes to the chosen sanctuary.
- Deuteronomy 12:17-18 (thematic): Directly parallels the obligation to consume sacred produce 'before the LORD at the place he will choose' and the provision for bringing tithe/food to that place to rejoice.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 (structural): Repeats the command to appear at 'the place the LORD will choose' for pilgrimage/obligatory worship — same centralization motif governing where sacred duties are carried out.
- Leviticus 27:8 (verbal): Governs conversion/valuation of persons or things into money for sacred purposes (including instructions for redemption), paralleling the legal idea of turning goods into money for use at the sanctuary.
- Deuteronomy 14:26 (structural): Immediate continuation of the rule: after converting to money and bringing it to the chosen place, the money is to be spent there for what one desires — completes the instruction begun in v.25.
Alternative generated candidates
- you shall turn it into money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose.
- then you shall convert it into money, bind up the money in your hand, and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose.
Deu.14.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הכסף: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תאוה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- נפשך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m
- בבקר: PREP
- ובצאן: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וביין: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובשכר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובכל: CONJ+PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תשאלך: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg+obj=2,m,sg
- נפשך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m
- ואכלת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- שם: ADV
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- ושמחת: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- וביתך: NOUN,m,sg,cs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:7 (verbal): Uses the same wording about eating 'before the LORD your God' and rejoicing there with the household—same ritual context for consuming offerings/tithes at the chosen place.
- Deuteronomy 12:17 (structural): Governs the obligation to eat tithes 'before the LORD' at the place he chooses; 14:26 applies this rule to money redeemed from distant tithes.
- Deuteronomy 14:24-25 (structural): Immediate context: prescribes converting a distant tithe into money and taking it to the central sanctuary—14:26 continues by directing how that money is to be spent and enjoyed.
- Deuteronomy 16:11 (thematic): Festival-language about rejoicing 'before the LORD' with one's household echoes the social and cultic purpose of communal celebration found in 14:26.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall spend the money for whatever your soul desires—on oxen and sheep, on wine and strong drink, and on whatever your soul asks—and you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.
- And you shall spend the money for whatever your heart desires—cattle or sheep, wine or strong drink, or whatever your heart asks—and you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
Deu.14.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והלוי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בשעריך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs-2ms
- לא: PART_NEG
- תעזבנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg,pronom:3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- חלק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ונחלה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
Parallels
- Numbers 18:20 (quotation): God declares to Aaron that the priests/Levites shall have no inheritance or portion among the people — the same theological basis for not abandoning the Levite in Deut 14:27.
- Deuteronomy 18:1–2 (verbal): Explicit repetition within Deuteronomy that the priests and Levites 'have no portion nor inheritance with Israel' and therefore rely on the sacred offerings — directly echoes the language and concern of 14:27.
- Joshua 13:33 (allusion): States that the Levites received no territorial inheritance among the tribes, only the LORD and priestly provisions — reinforces the social/legal reason to provide for Levites named in Deut 14:27.
- 1 Chronicles 6:32–33 (or 6:54–55 in some numberings) (thematic): Notes that the Levites were given cities and priestly portions rather than tribal land, reflecting the ongoing biblical theme that Levites lack a regular territorial inheritance and thus must be supported by the community.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall not abandon the Levite who is in your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.
- Do not neglect the Levite who is in your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.
Deu.14.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מקצה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלש: NUM,card,f,sg
- שנים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תוציא: VERB,hiph,impf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- מעשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תבואתך: NOUN,f,sg,cons,2,m
- בשנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- והנחת: CONJ+VERB,hiph,impf,2,m,sg
- בשעריך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs-2ms
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 26:12 (verbal): Repeats the law concerning the third‑year tithe: bring the tithe of that year and distribute it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow—close parallel in wording and beneficiaries.
- Numbers 18:21-24 (structural): Sets out the overall legal framework for the tithe as the Levites' portion and its purpose, providing institutional context for the requirement to collect and store tithes.
- Malachi 3:10 (verbal): Calls to 'bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,' echoing Deut 14:28's command to bring and lay up the tithe in the towns (storehouse language and idea of provision).
- Nehemiah 13:12 (thematic): Describes a post‑exilic practice where 'all Judah brought the tithe... to the storerooms,' an historical enactment of the Deuteronomic instruction to collect and store tithes locally.
- 2 Chronicles 31:11-12 (thematic): Hezekiah's reforms: preparing rooms in the house of the Lord and bringing in tithes and offerings—an example of institutional collection and preservation of tithes parallel to Deut 14:28.
Alternative generated candidates
- At the end of every three years you shall bring out the whole tithe of your produce for that year and lay it up in your towns.
- At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce for that year and set it aside in your towns.
Deu.14.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הלוי: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- אין: PART,neg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- חלק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ונחלה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- והגר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והיתום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והאלמנה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- בשעריך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs-2ms
- ואכלו: VERB,qal,imp,2,mp
- ושבעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- למען: PREP
- יברכך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,obj:2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 18:20-24 (structural): States that the Levites have no land inheritance among Israel and so are to be supported by the people’s offerings/tithes—parallels Deut 14:29’s provision for the Levite because he has no portion.
- Deuteronomy 26:12-13 (verbal): Prescribes giving the year’s second tithe to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow—using the same beneficiary list and linking distribution to covenantal blessing.
- Deuteronomy 24:19-21 (thematic): Commands leaving gleanings for the poor, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow—another legal injunction to provide for vulnerable members within the community.
- Ruth 2:2-10 (thematic): Narrates Boaz’s protection and provision for Ruth (a foreign widow) while she gleans—an illustrative narrative of the social practice behind laws like Deut 14:29.
- Deuteronomy 15:11 (thematic): Commands Israelites to open their hand to the needy because the poor will not cease—reflects the underlying ethical imperative and social-care motive that Deut 14:29 ties to divine blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
- Then the Levite shall come, for he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns; and they shall eat and be satisfied, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands which you do.
You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose to make his name dwell— the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your cattle and of your flock—so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God all your days. And if the way is too long for you, and you are not able to carry it—because the place that the LORD your God will choose to set his name there is far from you, when the LORD your God has blessed you—
you shall convert it into silver, bind up the silver in your hand, and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose.
You shall spend the silver for whatever your heart desires—cattle and sheep, wine and strong drink, and whatever your soul asks for—and you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.
Do not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.
At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year and lay it up within your towns.
Then the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow who are within your towns shall come and eat and be satisfied, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.