The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
Giving Tithes
Deuteronomy 14:22–29 — Giving Tithes. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
22You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
‘aś·śêr tə·‘aś·śêr ’êṯ kāl- tə·ḇū·’aṯ zar·‘e·ḵā hay·yō·ṣê šā·nāh šā·nāh haś·śā·ḏeh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
Tithing you-shall-tithe all the-produce of-your-seed, that-which-comes-forth from-the-field, year by-year.
Where the English smooths the original
Thou shalt surely tithe ] Heb. tithing thou shalt tithe : an idiom emphasising the bare fact. increase ] Lit. income (or in-brought ), revenue , all the produce. of thy seed ] Not of cereals alone, but inclusive of plantations as the next clause and the oil and wine of Deuteronomy 14:23 show.
this tithing is spoken of only as the people’s act here, and Deu 26:12 , and the Levites are not at all mentioned in either place as receivers or takers of them, but only as partakers of them together with the owners, and therefore they are so severely charged here upon their consciences, thou shalt truly tithe all thine increase, because the execution of this was left wholly to themselvesPoole’s point that the people, not the Levites, administer this tithe is decisive for reading the whole unit.
The tithe described in Numbers was called “the first tithe,” and was not considered sacred. The second tithe, on the contrary, was always regarded as a holy thing.
The whole appointment evidently was against the covetousness, distrust, and selfishness of the human heart. It promoted friendliness, liberality, and cheerfulness, and raised a fund for the relief of the poor.
23And you are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’ā·ḵal·tā ma‘·śar də·ḡā·nə·ḵā tî·rō·šə·ḵā wə·yiṣ·hā·re·ḵā ū·ḇə·ḵō·rōṯ bə·qā·rə·ḵā wə·ṣō·ne·ḵā lip̄·nê Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā bam·mā·qō·wm ’ă·šer- yiḇ·ḥar šām lə·šak·kên šə·mōw lə·ma·‘an til·maḏ lə·yir·’āh ’eṯ- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā kāl- hay·yā·mîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-eat the-tithe of-your-grain, your-new-wine, and-your-oil, and-the-firstborn of-your-herds and-your-flocks, before-Yahweh your-God, in-the-place that he-will-choose to-make-dwell his-Name there, so-that you-may-learn to-fear Yahweh your-God all the-days.
Where the English smooths the original
the fear of the Lord is not merely a feeling of dependence upon Him, but also includes the notion of divine blessedness, which is the predominant idea here, as the sacrificial meals were to furnish the occasion and object of the rejoicing before the Lord. The true meaning therefore is, that Israel might rejoice with holy reverence in the fellowship of its God.
Such regular offerings mean the practice of the fear of God, for by them the offerers acknowledge that to God and not to their own labour the blessings of their fields are due.
And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God —i.e., thou shalt eat the second tithe. This was to be done two years; but in the third and sixth years there was a different arrangement (see Deuteronomy 14:28 ). In the seventh year, which was Sabbatical, there would probably be no tithe, for there was to be no harvest.
And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there,.... See Deuteronomy 12:5 there the tithe of all the fruits of the earth was to be eaten; this is the second tithe
24But if the distance is too great for you to carry that with which the LORD your God has blessed you, because the place where the LORD your God will choose to put His Name is too far away,
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·ḵî- had·de·reḵ yir·beh mim·mə·ḵā śə·’ê·ṯōw kî- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā yə·ḇā·reḵ·ḵā kî lō ṯū·ḵal ham·mā·qō·wm ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā yiḇ·ḥar lā·śūm šə·mōw šām kî yir·ḥaq mim·mə·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-if it-is-too-great for-you, the-way, to-carry-it, because too-far for-you is the-place that Yahweh your-God will-choose to-set his-Name there, when Yahweh your-God blesses-you—
Where the English smooths the original
In the land of Canaan, however, where the people would be scattered over a great extent of country, there would be many for whom the fulfilment of this command would be very difficult-would, in fact, appear almost impossible. To meet this difficulty, permission was given for those who lived at a great distance from the sanctuary to sell the tithes at home
When the Lord thy God hath blessed thee — Hath given thee so great an increase that the tenth thereof is more than thou canst carry to the sanctuary.
it might happen that the place which the Lord should choose was at such a distance from the usual residence of many that to observe this injunction would be to them very difficult, if not impossible. To meet this, therefore, it was enacted that the tithe might be commuted into money
when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: (f) When he shall give thee abilities.
25then exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·nā·ṯat·tāh bak·kā·sep̄ wə·ṣar·tā hak·ke·sep̄ bə·yā·ḏə·ḵā wə·hā·laḵ·tā ’el- ham·mā·qō·wm ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā bōw yiḇ·ḥar
Literal — word-for-word from the original
then-you-shall-give it for-silver, and-bind-up the-silver in-your-hand, and-go to the-place that Yahweh your-God will-choose.
Where the English smooths the original
thou shalt bind up the money in thine hand ] Heb. confine . As the Heb. for purse ( Genesis 42:35 ; Proverbs 7:20 ) comes from another form of this root, we might use the Eng. denom. vb. thou shalt purse it in thine hand . Usually money was carried in the girdle, but this seems to imply a form of purse attached to the fingers or wrist.
"Turn it into money," lit., "give it up for silver," sc., the produce of the tithe; "and bind the silver in thy hand," const. praegnans for "bind it in a purse and take it in thy hand
they may not profane the sacred tithe with money not coined, nor with money not current, nor with money which is not in a man's power; for it is said: in thine hand; which the man is possessed of and is his own propertyGill relays the rabbinic inference (Maimonides) drawn from the phrase “in thine hand.”
Bind up the money in thine hand, i.e. in a bag to be taken into thy hand and carried with thee.
26Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·nā·ṯat·tāh hak·ke·sep̄ bə·ḵōl ’ă·šer- nap̄·šə·ḵā tə·’aw·weh bab·bā·qār ū·ḇaṣ·ṣōn ū·ḇay·ya·yin ū·ḇaš·šê·ḵār ū·ḇə·ḵōl ’ă·šer nap̄·še·ḵā tiš·’ā·lə·ḵā wə·’ā·ḵal·tā šām lip̄·nê Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā wə·śā·maḥ·tā ’at·tāh ū·ḇê·ṯe·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-you-shall-give the-silver for-all that your-soul desires: for-cattle, for-sheep, for-wine, and-for-strong-drink, and-for-all that your-soul asks-of-you; and-you-shall-eat there before-Yahweh your-God and-rejoice, you and-your-household.
Where the English smooths the original
Or for strong drink. —From this it is clear that the use of strong drink is not sinful in itself. The same word appears in its Greek form (Heb., shêcar; Greek, sikêr ) in Luke 1:15 .
The comfortable and cheerful using of what God hath given us, with temperance and sobriety, is really the honouring of God with it. Contentment, holy joy, and thankfulness, make every meal a religious feast.
It was this law, which with other customs led to the rise of markets for cattle and other commodities in the Temple Courts with the consequent abuses, fostered by the priests for their own enrichment, which our Lord chastised.Cambridge traces the cleansing of the Temple back to the commerce this very commutation-law set in motion.
Any drink which can inebriate, whether that is made from grain, or the juice of apples, or when honey is boiled into a sweet and barbarous potion, or the fruit of the palm [dates], is expressed into liquorQuoting Jerome, ‘De Vit. Cler.’, on the breadth of ‘strong drink.’
27And do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
lō ṯa·‘az·ḇen·nū wə·hal·lê·wî ’ă·šer- biš·‘ā·re·ḵā kî ’ên lōw ḥê·leq wə·na·ḥă·lāh ‘im·māḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-the-Levite who is within-your-gates, you-shall-not forsake-him, for there-is no portion nor-inheritance for-him with-you.
Where the English smooths the original
the Levite within thy gates ] The rural minister, dispossessed of his allowances by the removal of the tithe from the local sanctuaries. thou shalt not forsake him ] Not in LXX: which adds stranger, orphan, and widow, and other formulas—an instance of how readily these were added by various editors.A rare honest textual note: the very clause may be a later editorial expansion in some witnesses.
Thou shalt not forsake him; thou shalt give him a share in such tithes, or in the product of them.
he was not to leave him behind, but take him with him to partake of this entertainment: for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee in the land: see Deuteronomy 12:12 .
The Levite — thou shalt not forsake him — Thou shalt give him a share in such tithes, or in the product of them.
28At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and lay it up within your gates.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
miq·ṣêh šā·lōš šā·nîm tō·w·ṣî ’eṯ- ma‘·śar kāl- tə·ḇū·’ā·ṯə·ḵā ha·hi·w baš·šā·nāh wə·hin·naḥ·tā biš·‘ā·re·ḵā
Literal — word-for-word from the original
At-the-end of-three years you-shall-bring-out all the-tithe of-your-produce in-that year, and-lay-it-up within-your-gates.
Where the English smooths the original
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth ail the tithe. —This is called by the Jews Ma’aser ‘Âni, “ the poor’s tithe.” They regard it as identical with the second tithe, which was ordinarily eaten by the owners at Jerusalem; but in every third and sixth year was bestowed upon the poor.
this tithe cannot properly be called the "third tithe," as it is by many of the Rabbins, but rather the "poor tithe," as it was simply in the way of applying it that it differed from the "second"
The tithe thus directed in the third year to be dispensed in charity at home, was not paid in addition to that in other years bestowed on the sacred meals, but was substituted for it.
At the end of three years, i.e. in the third year, as it is expressed, Deu 26:12 . So, in the end of three years, or of seven years , is the same with in the third or seventh year
29Then the Levite (because he has no portion or inheritance among you), the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
hal·lê·wî kî ’ên- lōw ḥê·leq wə·na·ḥă·lāh ‘im·māḵ wə·hag·gêr wə·hay·yā·ṯō·wm wə·hā·’al·mā·nāh ’ă·šer biš·‘ā·re·ḵā ū·ḇā wə·’ā·ḵə·lū wə·śā·ḇê·‘ū lə·ma·‘an Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā yə·ḇā·reḵ·ḵā bə·ḵāl ma·‘ă·śêh yā·ḏə·ḵā ’ă·šer ta·‘ă·śeh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-the-Levite—because there-is no portion nor-inheritance for-him with-you—and-the-foreigner and-the-fatherless and-the-widow who are within-your-gates, shall-come and-eat and-be-satisfied, so-that Yahweh your-God may-bless-you in-all the-work of-your-hand that you-do.
Where the English smooths the original
Here the words before Jehovah and rejoice , used in connection with the eating of tithes at the Sanctuary, are omitted; for this is not like that, a festal celebration. On the contrary the third year tithe is designed for the common daily sustenance of those poor persons. This secularisation of the tithe (as it would be called to-day) is interesting
The blessing descends upon the working hand. Expect not that God should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease. And it descends upon the giving hand. He who thus scatters, certainly increases; and to be free and generous in the support of religion, and any good work, is the surest and safest way of thriving.
The tithe was either to be a joyful feast for the family, or a special gift to God’s poor. It furnished a table spread by the God of Israel for the entertainment of His guests.
this tithe was not to be spent merely in feasting themselves, but for the relief of such as were in want, who otherwise might have been compelled to beg
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The unit opens on an emphatic Hebrew figure: ‘aśśēr tə‘aśśēr, infinitive absolute upon imperfect, “tithing you shall tithe.” The Cambridge Bible names it precisely — “Heb. tithing thou shalt tithe: an idiom emphasising the bare fact” — and corrects the common rendering of təḇû’āh from “increase” to “income (or in-brought), revenue.” The near-unanimous PD consensus, voiced by Ellicott, is that this is the “second tithe,” “always regarded as a holy thing,” distinct from the Levitical tithe of Numbers 18. Matthew Poole draws the structural proof: this tithe “is spoken of only as the people’s act here, and Deu 26:12, and the Levites are not at all mentioned… as receivers,” so the people “are so severely charged here upon their consciences… because the execution of this was left wholly to themselves.” ⚙ The doubled verb, then, is not mere intensity but a hedge against self-exemption: a duty no priest collects must be guarded by the conscience that owes it.
The astonishment of the law is its central verb: wə’āḵaltā, “and you shall eat” the tithe. This dedicated tenth is not burned on an altar but feasted upon by the giver “before the LORD… in the place which he shall choose to place his name there” (so Gill, cross-referencing 12:5). The stated aim is pedagogical — ləma‘an tilmaḏ ləyir’āh, “so that you may learn to fear.” Keil & Delitzsch refuse to flatten that fear into mere dependence: “the fear of the Lord… also includes the notion of divine blessedness… that Israel might rejoice with holy reverence in the fellowship of its God.” Cambridge grounds the lesson in gratitude: “by them the offerers acknowledge that to God and not to their own labour the blessings of their fields are due.” ⚙ Here is a tithe that teaches by being enjoyed: reverence is learned at a table, not only at an altar — the worshipper’s joy is itself the curriculum of the fear of God.
Centralization of worship created a practical crisis: a people “scattered over a great extent of country” (Keil) could not always haul grain, wine, and beasts to one sanctuary. The law bends. If the way is too great — the verb rāḇāh, “to grow great,” and rāḥaq, “to be far” — the Israelite may “give it for silver,” bind the kesep̄ in his hand, and travel. Cambridge recovers the precise verb ṣûr: “Heb. confine… thou shalt purse it in thine hand,” and notes that coined money postdates the law, so weighed silver is meant. At the destination the silver buys “whatsoever thy soul desireth” — including šēḵār, strong drink, which Ellicott reads as proof “that the use of strong drink is not sinful in itself,” noting the word surfaces in Greek as sikera (Luke 1:15). The command crescendos into wəśāmaḥtā, “and you shall rejoice”; Benson: “Contentment, holy joy, and thankfulness, make every meal a religious feast.” ⚙ Strikingly, Cambridge traces a shadow forward: this very commutation “led to the rise of markets… in the Temple Courts… which our Lord chastised.” A mercy for the distant became, in corrupt hands, the traffic Christ overturned.
The unit will not let the feast forget the landless. The Levite “within your gates” must not be forsaken (‘āzaḇ, stronger than “neglect”), “for he hath no ḥēleq nor naḥălāh” — no portion, no inheritance. Cambridge identifies him as “the rural minister, dispossessed of his allowances by the removal of the tithe from the local sanctuaries,” and candidly flags that “thou shalt not forsake him” is absent from the LXX — “an instance of how readily these” charitable formulas “were added by various editors.” Every third year the entire tithe is redirected: “laid up” (nûaḥ, “let it rest”) in the towns for the Levite, the gēr, the yāṯôm, and the ’almānāh to “eat and be satisfied.” Keil rightly calls this not a “third tithe” but a “poor tithe” — the second tithe differently applied. Cambridge notes the telling omissions: “before Jehovah” and “rejoice” vanish, “for this is not… a festal celebration” but “the common daily sustenance of those poor persons.” The unit closes on blessing, and Matthew Henry gives the line the tradition has loved: “The blessing descends upon the working hand… And it descends upon the giving hand. He who thus scatters, certainly increases.” ⚙ The architecture is deliberate: worship that feasts the giver (vv. 23–26) is incomplete until it feeds the one with no land to feast from (vv. 27–29). The blessing of v. 29 is promised to a hand that both works and gives.
Read on its own terms, this little law of tithes is a theology of received abundance. Twice the produce is named not “harvest” but təḇû’āh, ‘income, what is brought in’ — and the whole structure presumes that what is brought in was first given. So God commands the giver to eat his own tenth in joy (vv. 23, 26), as if to say: I do not need your grain; I want your gladness in my presence and your generosity toward my poor. The fear of God here is not extracted by threat but learned at a feast (v. 23) — and proven by what the feast leaves over for the Levite, the alien, the orphan, the widow (v. 29). ⚙ Under Sola Scriptura I read the unit as a single movement from gift to gratitude to generosity: the tenth that comes back to the giver’s table is the same tenth that, every third year, must rest in the gate for those who have no table. The blessing of the closing verse is therefore not a bribe to charity but a description of how God’s economy actually runs — the working, scattering hand is the hand that is filled. This is my fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text and the whole counsel of Scripture.
The tenth that returns to the giver’s table is the same tenth that must rest in the gate for those who have no table. (a fallible reading, not a verse)
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The doubled root ‘āśar (“to tithe,” H6237) is genuinely rare — the Verifier finds it in only eight verses across the canon. That scarcity makes it a true verbal hinge. It reappears in Deuteronomy 26:12 — the very passage Poole, Ellicott, and Barnes adduce as the parallel administration of this same ‘second/poor tithe’ — sharing not only ‘āśar but təḇû’āh (“produce,” H8393) and ma‘ăśēr (“tithe,” H4643). The same rare verb anchors 1 Samuel 8:15, 17, where Samuel warns that a king “will take a tenth” of seed and flock — the tithe as royal exaction set against the tithe as joyful worship.
Deuteronomy 26:12 · 1 Samuel 8:15 · 1 Samuel 8:17
basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Rare shared lexeme H6237 ʻâsar (‘to tithe’), present in only 8 verses canon-wide — the verbal hinge. With Deut 26:12 also H8393 tᵉbûwʼâh and H4643 maʻăsêr; the 1 Sam 8:15/17 pairs rest on H6237 plus one common word each (H2233 zeraʻ; H6629 tsôʼn). Verifier-computed per pair.
The same rare tithe-verb ‘āśar (H6237) reaches back to Genesis 28:22, where Jacob at Bethel vows to give God a tenth of all that God gives him. The link is the single rare verb alone — no second lexeme, and certainly no quotation: Jacob’s vow predates the law and could not cite it. So this is a thematic resonance carried by one shared word, not a verbal citation, and we tier it accordingly (down from the verbal tier the bare rarity might tempt). What it genuinely shows is that Israel’s legislated tithe stands inside an older pattern of grateful return — the giver pledging back a tenth of what was first given to him.
Genesis 28:22
basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. A single shared lexeme H6237 ʻâsar (‘to tithe’, 8 vv canon-wide). Though the word is rare, one lexeme across a pre-Sinai vow and Mosaic law is a thematic (grateful-return) bond, not a quotation; downgraded from verbal to honour the under-claim rule. Verifier-computed (engine flagged H6237 as rare; tier lowered editorially).
Verse 23 is stitched to Deuteronomy’s law of the one place of worship by a shared cluster of the centralization formula: māqôm (“place,” H4725) + bāchar (“choose,” H977) + šākan (“cause to dwell,” H7931). The Verifier records these against Deuteronomy 12:11 (where ma‘ăśēr, “tithe,” H4643 is also shared) and against Deuteronomy 16:11 (where the same place/choose/dwell triad recurs with šām, “there,” H8033). Gill and Keil both read v. 23 directly through 12:5–11. Every one of these lexemes is common — the bond is the structural refrain of the single sanctuary, not a verbal citation, so the tier stays structural.
Deuteronomy 12:11 · Deuteronomy 16:11
basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. With Deut 12:11: shared H4725 mâqôwm, H977 bâchar, H7931 shâkan, H4643 maʻăsêr. With Deut 16:11: shared H4725 mâqôwm, H977 bâchar, H7931 shâkan, H8033 shâm. All common (>120 vv each) — a recurring single-sanctuary formula, not a rare-word quotation. Verifier-computed per pair; tier kept structural by lexeme frequency.
Verse 29’s roll of beneficiaries is no loose list but a fixed Deuteronomic formula. A verse-level Verifier run finds verse 29 sharing with Deuteronomy 16:11 a tight set of relatively uncommon lexemes: yāṯôm (“fatherless,” H3490, 42 vv), ’almānāh (“widow,” H490, 54 vv), gēr (“sojourner,” H1616, 83 vv), and Lēwî (“Levite,” H3881). The identical quartet recurs at 26:12 (there with śāḇa‘, “be satisfied,” H7646 shared as well) and at 16:14. Cambridge notes that “D frequently emphasises the duty of caring for them.” The bond is a repeated set-phrase, not a quotation of one text by another; but the low frequency of yāṯôm/’almānāh means the words themselves — not merely a theme — recur, so the link is verbal-formulaic rather than loosely thematic. We name it ‘verbal’ in that strict sense: shared rare words, no citation claimed.
Deuteronomy 16:11 · Deuteronomy 26:12
basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Shared formulaic lexemes vs 16:11: H3490 yâthôwm (42 vv) + H490 ʼalmânâh (54 vv) + H1616 gêr (83 vv) + H3881 Lêvîyîy; vs 26:12 the same set plus H7646 sâbaʻ. A recurring ‘Levite/alien/orphan/widow’ set-phrase — verbal-formulaic, NOT a citation; the low frequency of yâthôwm/ʼalmânâh supports the verbal tier. Verifier-computed per pair (14:29↔16:11, 14:29↔26:12).
The produce-triad of v. 23 (dāgān grain, tîrôš new wine, yiṣhār oil) and the unit’s tithe-verb echo forward into the reforms of Nehemiah 10:37–38 and 13:5, 12, where Israel re-binds itself to bring the tithes of its ground to the Levites. The Verifier records v. 23 sharing yiṣhār (H3323), tîrôš (H8492), and ma‘ăśēr (H4643) with Neh 13:5/12, and v. 22’s rare tithe-verb ‘āśar (H6237) sharing with Neh 10:37–38 (where Lēwî, H3881, also recurs). Cambridge’s long Additional Note treats Nehemiah 10:37f. as the practical out-working of the later tithe-law — though it candidly judges D and the Priestly/Nehemiah system to rest on “incompatible principles.” Honesty note: the engine, going by the moderate rarity of these cult-words, would auto-tier this pair verbal; we deliberately under-claim to structural, because every two tithe-laws will share this stock vocabulary — the bond is a shared cult-lexicon across legislation and its enactment, not a quotation.
Nehemiah 10:37 · Nehemiah 13:12
basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. v.23↔Neh 13:5/12 share H3323 yitshâr, H8492 tîyrôwsh, H4643 maʻăsêr (+ H1715 dâgân with 13:12); v.22↔Neh 10:37–38 share the rare H6237 ʻâsar (+ H3881 Lêvîyîy, H4643 maʻăsêr with 10:38). Engine would auto-tier verbal on moderate rarity; editorially DOWNGRADED to structural — a shared cult-lexicon across legislation and its enactment, not a citation. Verifier-computed per pair.
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
This tithe is unique in the Law: the dedicated tenth is not surrendered and burned but eaten by the giver “before the LORD” (v. 23, 26). Ellicott, commenting on this unit, sees in it “a table spread by the God of Israel for the entertainment of His guests.” ⚙ The figure runs forward, on the same ancient logic of God hosting His people at a meal, to the table Christ spreads — the Supper at which the worshipper does not bring food to God but receives it from Him, and to the marriage-feast of the Lamb. The link is figural and is argued, not asserted from any shared word: this is an Old-Covenant shadow read in light of the New, and the typology of a divine host feasting His people is widely held in the Christian tradition.
Deuteronomy 14:23 · Deuteronomy 14:26
Cambridge, on v. 26, makes a remarkable historical observation: “It was this law” permitting the tithe to be turned into silver and the silver into cattle and wine at the sanctuary “which… led to the rise of markets for cattle and other commodities in the Temple Courts with the consequent abuses, fostered by the priests for their own enrichment, which our Lord chastised” (cf. Matthew 21:12–13; John 2:14–16). ⚙ The connection is structural-historical, traced by a Public-Domain commentator from the Deuteronomic concession to the Gospel scene of cleansing — not a shared-lexeme verbal link (the Testaments share no original-language word here). It shows a gracious accommodation for the distant worshipper corrupted into traffic, and Christ acting to restore the house as a place of worship rather than a market.
Deuteronomy 14:26
The Levite is provided for precisely because “he hath no ḥēleq nor naḥălāh” (vv. 27, 29). Elsewhere Deuteronomy states the converse: the LORD Himself is Levi’s inheritance (10:9; 18:1–2). ⚙ Read forward, this anticipates the Christian hope of an inheritance that is not land but God Himself — “the LORD is my portion” (Psalm 16:5; 73:26), fulfilled where Christ is named the believer’s inheritance and the saints “heirs of God.” The reading is figural and is offered as a novel synthesis here, not claimed as an ancient consensus or a verbal quotation; it rests on the Hebrew motif of naḥălāh, the inheritance, not on any New-Testament citation of this verse.
Deuteronomy 14:27 · Deuteronomy 14:29
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
This unit (Deuteronomy 14:22–29) is Hebrew throughout; every parse and Strong’s number is sourced from the Berean apparatus and is not contradicted here. Three honesty notes specific to these verses: (1) The identity of the tithe is debated among the PD voices themselves. Ellicott, Barnes, Poole, Keil, and the Pulpit Commentary read vv. 22–29 as one ‘second/festival tithe’ differently applied every third year; the Cambridge Bible’s Additional Note argues at length that D’s tithe-law rests on “incompatible principles” with the Priestly law of Numbers 18 and Nehemiah 10. We have reported both without adjudicating a source-critical dispute the text itself does not settle. (2) A genuine text-critical flag at v. 27: Cambridge notes that “thou shalt not forsake him” is absent from the LXX, which instead carries the fuller list of stranger, orphan, and widow — “an instance of how readily these were added by various editors.” The clause as printed follows the Masoretic Text. (3) Cross-Testament links are never claimed as verbal. The Greek↔Hebrew connections drawn by the voices — šēḵār/sikera at Luke 1:15 (Ellicott), the Temple-market scene at Matthew 21 / John 2 (Cambridge), and tithing at Hebrews 7:5 — share no Strong’s lexeme by definition and were flagged accordingly by the Verifier; they are presented as structural or typological readings that must be argued, and are so labelled. (4) Two cross-reference tiers were editorially downgraded below what the Verifier would auto-assign, in the direction of under-claiming. The Genesis 28:22 link rests on a single shared word (the rare tithe-verb H6237) and is moved from verbal to structural/thematic, since one lexeme across a pre-Sinai vow and Mosaic law is a thematic resonance, not a quotation. The Nehemiah 10/13 link, which the engine would tier verbal on the moderate rarity of its cult-words (yiṣhār, maʻăśēr, tîrôš), is likewise kept structural: two tithe-laws will inevitably share this stock vocabulary, so the bond is a shared cult-lexicon, not a citation. A stated downgrade is the honest default when a shared lexeme could be over-read. (5) One earlier draft claim — that təḇû’āh (H8393) ‘anchors the tithe-laws of Nehemiah’ — was removed: the Verifier finds no shared H8393 with Nehemiah, whose overlap runs through maʻăśēr/yiṣhār/dāgān instead. The whole unit contains no ‘1:5’ verse, so the standing Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 flag does not arise here.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)