22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
22 Thou shalt truly H6237 tithe H6237 all the increase H8393 of thy seed, H2233 that the field H7704 bringeth forth H3318 year H8141 by year. H8141
23 And thou shalt eat H398 before H6440 the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 in the place H4725 which he shall choose H977 to place H7931 his name H8034 there, the tithe H4643 of thy corn, H1715 of thy wine, H8492 and of thine oil, H3323 and the firstlings H1062 of thy herds H1241 and of thy flocks; H6629 that thou mayest learn H3925 to fear H3372 the LORD H3068 thy God H430 always. H3117
24 And if the way H1870 be too long H7235 for thee, so that H3588 thou art not able H3201 to carry H5375 it; or if the place H4725 be too far H7368 from thee, which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 shall choose H977 to set H7760 his name H8034 there, when the LORD H3068 thy God H430 hath blessed H1288 thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn H5414 it into money, H3701 and bind up H6696 the money H3701 in thine hand, H3027 and shalt go H1980 unto the place H4725 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 shall choose: H977
26 And thou shalt bestow H5414 that money H3701 for whatsoever thy soul H5315 lusteth after, H183 for oxen, H1241 or for sheep, H6629 or for wine, H3196 or for strong drink, H7941 or for whatsoever thy soul H5315 desireth: H7592 and thou shalt eat H398 there before H6440 the LORD H3068 thy God, H430 and thou shalt rejoice, H8055 thou, and thine household, H1004
27 And the Levite H3881 that is within thy gates; H8179 thou shalt not forsake H5800 him; for he hath no part H2506 nor inheritance H5159 with thee.
22 Thou shalt surely tithe all the increase of thy seed, that which cometh forth from the field year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before Jehovah thy God, in the place which he shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock; that thou mayest learn to fear Jehovah thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to set his name there, when Jehovah thy God shall bless thee;
25 then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose:
26 and thou shalt bestow the money for whatsoever thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul asketh of thee; and thou shalt eat there before Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household.
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee.
22 `Thou dost certainly tithe all the increase of thy seed which the field is bringing forth year by year;
23 and thou hast eaten before Jehovah thy God, in the place where He doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle, the tithe of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd, and of thy flock, so that thou dost learn to fear Jehovah thy God all the days.
24 `And when the way is too much for thee, that thou art not able to carry it -- when the place is too far off from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, when Jehovah thy God doth bless thee; --
25 then thou hast given `it' in money, and hast bound up the money in thy hand, and gone unto the place on which Jehovah thy God doth fix;
26 and thou hast given the money for any thing which thy soul desireth, for oxen, and for sheep, and for wine, and for strong drink, and for any thing which thy soul asketh, and thou hast eaten there before Jehovah thy God, and thou hast rejoiced, thou and thy house.
27 As to the Levite who `is' within thy gates, thou dost not forsake him, for he hath no portion and inheritance with thee.
22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, the produce of the field, year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before Jehovah thy God, in the place which he will choose to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear Jehovah thy God continually.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which Jehovah thy God will choose to set his name there, when Jehovah thy God blesseth thee;
25 then shalt thou give it for money, and bind the money together in thy hand, and go to the place which Jehovah thy God will choose,
26 and thou shalt give the money for whatever thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever thy soul asketh of thee; and thou shalt eat there before Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thy house.
27 And thou shalt not forsake the Levite that is within thy gates; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee.
22 You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes forth from the field year by year.
23 You shall eat before Yahweh your God, in the place which he shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear Yahweh your God always.
24 If the way be too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place is too far from you, which Yahweh your God shall choose, to set his name there, when Yahweh your God shall bless you;
25 then shall you turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose:
26 and you shall bestow the money for whatever your soul desires, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul asks of you; and you shall eat there before Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
27 The Levite who is within your gates, you shall not forsake him; for he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
22 Put on one side a tenth of all the increase of your seed, produced year by year.
23 And make a feast before the Lord your God, in the place which is to be marked out, where his name will be for ever, of the tenth part of your grain and your wine and your oil, and the first births of your herds and your flocks; so that you may have the fear of the Lord your God in your hearts at all times.
24 And if the way is so long that you are not able to take these things to the place marked out by the Lord your God for his name, when he has given you his blessing, because it is far away from you;
25 Then let these things be exchanged for money, and, taking the money in your hand, go to the place marked out by the Lord your God for himself;
26 And with the money get whatever you have a desire for, oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your soul's desire may be: and make a feast there before the Lord your God, and be glad, you and all your house;
27 And give a thought to the Levite who is living among you, for he has no part or heritage in the land.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Deuteronomy 14
Commentary on Deuteronomy 14 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Israelites were not only to suffer no idolatry to rise up in their midst, but in all their walk of life to show themselves as a holy nation of the Lord; and neither to disfigure their bodies by passionate expressions of sorrow for the dead (Deuteronomy 14:1 and Deuteronomy 14:2), nor to defile themselves by unclean food (vv. 3-21). Both of these were opposed to their calling. To bring this to their mind, Moses introduces the laws which follow with the words, “ye are children to the Lord your God.” The divine sonship of Israel was founded upon its election and calling as the holy nation of Jehovah, which is regarded in the Old Testament not as generation by the Spirit of God, but simply as an adoption springing out of the free love of God, as the manifestation of paternal love on the part of Jehovah to Israel, which binds the son to obedience, reverence, and childlike trust towards a Creator and Father, who would train it up into a holy people. The laws in Deuteronomy 14:1 are simply a repetition of Leviticus 19:28 and Leviticus 21:5. למת , with reference to, or on account of, a dead person, is more expressive than לנפשׁ (for a soul) in Leviticus 19:28. The reason assigned for this command in Deuteronomy 14:2 (as in Deuteronomy 7:6) is simply an emphatic elucidation of the first clause of Deuteronomy 14:1. (On the substance of the verse, see Exodus 19:5-6).
With reference to food, the Israelites were to eat nothing whatever that was abominable. In explanation of this prohibition, the laws of Lev 11 relating to clean and unclean animals are repeated in all essential points in vv. 4-20 (for the exposition, see at Lev 11); also in Deuteronomy 14:21 the prohibition against eating any animal that had fallen down dead (as in Exodus 32:30 and Leviticus 17:15), and against boiling a kid in its mother's milk (as in Exodus 23:19).
As the Israelites were to sanctify their food, on the one hand, positively by abstinence from everything unclean, so were they, on the other hand, to do so negatively by delivering the tithes and firstlings at the place where the Lord would cause His name to dwell, and by holding festal meals on the occasion, and rejoicing there before Jehovah their God. This law is introduced with the general precept, “ Thou shalt tithe all the produce of thy seed which groweth out of the field ( יצא construes with an accusative, as in Genesis 9:10, etc.) year by year ” ( שׁנה שׁנה , i.e., every year; cf. Ewald , §313, a .), which recalls the earlier laws concerning the tithe (Leviticus 27:30, and Numbers 18:21, Numbers 18:26.), without repeating them one by one, for the purpose of linking on the injunction to celebrate sacrificial meals at the sanctuary from the tithes and firstlings. Moses had already directed (Deuteronomy 12:6.) that all the sacrificial meals should take place at the sanctuary, and had then alluded to the sacrificial meals to be prepared from the tithes, though only causally, because he intended to speak of them more fully afterwards. This he does here, and includes the firstlings also, inasmuch as the presentation of them was generally associated with that of the tithes, though only causally, as he intends to revert to the firstlings again, which he does in Deuteronomy 15:19. The connection between the tithes of the fruits of the ground and the firstlings of the cattle which were devoted to the sacrificial meals, and the tithes and first-fruits which were to be delivered to the Levites and priests, we have already discussed at Deut 12. The sacrificial meals were to be held before the Lord, in the place where He caused His name to dwell (see at Deuteronomy 12:5), that Israel might learn to fear Jehovah its God always; not, however, as Schultz supposes, that by the confession of its dependence upon Him it might accustom itself more and more to the feeling of dependence. For 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.
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, provided they could not convey them in kind, and then to spend the money so obtained in the purchase of the things required for the sacrificial meals at the place of the sanctuary. ממּך ירבּה כּי , “ if the way be too great (too far) for thee ,” etc., sc., for the delivery of the tithe. The parenthetical clause, “if Jehovah thy God shall bless thee,” hardly means “if He shall extend thy territory” ( Knobel ), but if He shall bless thee by plentiful produce from the field and the cattle.
“ 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...and give the silver for all that thy soul desireth, for oxen and small cattle, for wine and strong drink,” to hold a joyous meal, to which the Levite was also to be invited (as in Deuteronomy 12:12, Deuteronomy 12:18, and Deuteronomy 12:19).
Every third year, on the other hand, they were to separate the whole of the tithe from the year's produce (“bring forth,” sc., from the granary), and leaven it in their gates (i.e., their towns), and feed the Levites, the strangers, and the widows and orphans with it. They were not to take it to the sanctuary, therefore; but according to Deuteronomy 26:12., after bringing it out, were to make confession to the Lord of what they had done, and pray for His blessing. “ At the end of three years: ” i.e., when the third year, namely the civil year, which closed with the harvest (see at Exodus 23:16), had come to an end. This regulation as to the time was founded upon the observance of the sabbatical year, as we may see from Deuteronomy 15:1, where the seventh year is no other than the sabbatical year. Twice, therefore, within the period of a sabbatical year, namely in the third and sixth years, the tithe set apart for a sacrificial meal was not to be eaten at the sanctuary, but to be used in the different towns of the land in providing festal meals for those who had no possessions, viz., the Levites, strangers, widows, and orphans. Consequently 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” (see Hottinger, de decimies, exerc. viii. pp. 182ff., and my Arch