Easton Bible Dictionary
Tithe: A tenth of the produce of the earth consecrated and set apart for special purposes. The dedication of a tenth to God was recognized as a duty before the time of Moses. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Gen_14:20; Heb_7:6); and Jacob vowed unto the Lord and said, “Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
The first Mosaic law on this subject is recorded in Lev_27:30-32. Subsequent legislation regulated the destination of the tithes (Num_18:21-24, Num_18:26-28; Deu_12:5, Deu_12:6, Deu_12:11, Deu_12:17; Deu_14:22, Deu_14:23). The paying of the tithes was an important part of the Jewish religious worship. In the days of Hezekiah one of the first results of the reformation of religion was the eagerness with which the people brought in their tithes (2Ch_31:5, 2Ch_31:6). The neglect of this duty was sternly rebuked by the prophets (Amo_4:4; Mal_3:8-10). It cannot be affirmed that the Old Testament law of tithes is binding on the Christian Church, nevertheless the principle of this law remains, and is incorporated in the gospel (1Co_9:13, 1Co_9:14); and if, as is the case, the motive that ought to prompt to liberality in the cause of religion and of the service of God be greater now than in Old Testament times, then Christians ought to go beyond the ancient Hebrew in consecrating both themselves and their substance to God.
Every Jew was required by the Levitical law to pay three tithes of his property
(1.) one tithe for the Levites;
(2.) one for the use of the temple and the great feasts; and
(3.) one for the poor of the land.

Smith's Bible Dictionary
Tithe. The proportion of property, devoted to religious uses, from very early times. Instances of the use of tithes are found, prior to the appointment, of the Levitical tithes under the law. In biblical history, the two prominent instances are -- Abram presenting the tenth of all his property, or rather of the spoils of his victory, to Melchizedek. Gen_14:20; Heb_7:2; Heb_7:6. Jacob, after his vision at Luz, devoting a tenth of all his property to God, in case, he should return home in safety. Gen_28:22. The first enactment of the law, in respect of tithe, is the declaration that the tenth of all produce, as well as of flocks and cattle, belongs to Jehovah and must be offered to him; that the tithe was to be paid in kind, or, if redeemed, with an addition of one fifth to its value. Lev_27:30-33 . This tenth is ordered to be assigned to the Levites as the reward of their service, and it is ordered further thatm they are themselves to dedicate to the Lord a tenth of these receipts, which is to be devoted to the maintenance of the high priest. Num_18:21-28. This legislation is modified, or extended, in the book of Deuteronomy, that is, from thirty-eight to forty years later. Commands are given to the people. -- To bring their tithes, together with their votive, and other offerings and first-fruits, to the chosen centre of worship, the metropolis, there to be eaten in festive celebration, in company with their children, their servants and the Levites. Deu_12:5-18. All the produce of the soil was to be tithed; and these tithes, with the firstlings of the flock and herd, were to be eaten in the metropolis. But in case of distance, permission is given to convert the produce into money, which is to be taken to the appointed place, and there laid out in the purchase of food for a festal celebration, in which the Levite is, by special command, to be included. Deu_14:22-27. Then follows the direction that , at the end of three years, all the tithe of that year, is to be gathered and laid up, "within the gates," and that a festival is to be held, of which the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, together with the Levite, are to partake. Deu_5:28-29. Lastly, it is ordered that after taking the tithe in each third year, "which is the year of tithing," an exculpatory declaration is to be made by every Israelite that he has done his best to fulfill the divine command, Deu_26:12-14. From all this we gather --
(1) That one tenth of the whole produce of the soil was to be assigned for the maintenance of the Levites.
(2) That out of this the Levites were to dedicate a tenth to God for the use of the high priest.
(3) That a tithe, in all probability a second tithe, was to be applied to festival purposes.
(4) That in every third year, either this festival tithe or a third tenth was to be eaten in company with the poor and the Levites.
(These tithes in early times took the place of our modern taxes, us well as of gifts for the support of religious institutions. -- Editor).

Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Tithes (See DEUTERONOMY.) Tenths of produce, property, or spoils, dedicated to sacred use. So Abram (and Levi, as in Abram's loins) to Melchizedek the king priest who blessed him (Gen_14:20; Heb_7:1-10). Jacob after his Bethel vision vowed a tenth of all that God gave him, should God be with and keep him, and give him bread and raiment, and bring him again to his father's house in peace (Gen_28:20-22). The usage of consecrated tithes existed among the Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, and Arabians. See 1Ma_11:35; Herodotus i. 89; iv. 152; v. 77; vii. 132; 9:81; Diod. Sic. v. 42; xi. 33; 20:44; Cicero, Verr. ii. 3,6-7; Xenophon, Anabasis v. 3, section 9. The "tithe" (terumot) of all produce as also of flocks and cattle belonged to Jehovah. and was paid in kind, or if redeemed one fifth of the value was added. Lev_27:30-33, "whatsoever passed under the rod": the rabbis had the tradition that the animals to be tithed were enclosed in a pen, from whence they passed one by one under the counter's rod, and every tenth was touched with a rod dipped in vermilion (Jer_33:13; Eze_20:37).
The Levites received this terumot; they in turn paid a tenth of this to the high priest (Num_18:21-28; Num_18:31). In Deu_10:9; Deu_12:5-18; Deu_14:22; Deu_14:29; Deu_18:1-2; Deu_26:12-14, the general first tithe of all animal and vegetable increase for maintaining the priests and Levites is taken, for granted; what is added in this later time is the second additional tithe of the field produce alone, and for celebrating the sacred feasts each first and second year in the Shiloh or Jerusalem sanctuary, and every third year at home with a feast to the Levites, the stranger, fatherless, and widow. The six years thus marked were followed by the Jubilee year; on it the attendance was the larger because of the scant attendance on the sixth year when most stayed at home. In the Jubilee year there was no tithe, as the land enjoyed its sabbath. Tobit (Tob_1:7-8) says he gave a third tithe to the poor; Josephus (Ant. 4:8, 8, section 22) also mentions a third tithe; so Jerome too on Ezekiel 45. Maimonides denies a third tithe (which would be an excessive burden) and represents the seceded tithe of the third and sixth years as shared between the poor and the Levites. (See Selden on Tithes, 2:13). Ewald suggests that for two years the tithe was virtually voluntary, on the third year compulsory. Thus there was a yearly tithe for the Levites, a second yearly tithe for two years for the festivals; but this second tithe on every third year was shared by the Levites with the poor. The kings, Samuel foresaw, would appropriate the three years' poor man's tithe (1Sa_8:15; 1Sa_8:17). Hezekiah rectified the abuse (2Ch_31:5; 2Ch_31:12; 2Ch_31:19); also Nehemiah after the return from Babylon (Neh_10:38-39; Neh_13:5; NEh_13:12; Neh_12:44).
The Pharisees were punctilious in paying tithe for all even the smallest herbs (Mat_23:23; Luk_18:12). Amos (Amo_4:4) upbraids Israel with zeal for the letter of the tithe law while disregarding its spirit. Malachi (Mal_3:10) seconded Nehemiah's efforts. God promises to "open heaven's windows and pour out a blessing" so that there would be no "room to receive it," provided the people by bringing in all the tithes would put Him to the proof as to keeping His word. Christians, whose privileges are so much greater and to whom heaven is opened by Christ's death and ascension, should at least offer no less a proportion of all their income to the Lord's cause than did the Israelite: we should not lose but even in this world gain thereby (Pro_3:9-10). Azariah the high priest told Hezekiah: "since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord we have bad enough to eat, and have left plenty, for the Lord hath blessed His people, and that which is left is this great store" (2Ch_31:10).
The New Testament plan of giving is 1Co_16:2; 2Co_9:7-9. Moral obligation, not force, was what constrained the Israelite to give tithes. He solemnly professed he had done so every third and sixth year (of the septennial cycle), when instead of taking the second or vegetable tithe to the sanctuary he used it at home in charity and hospitality (Deu_26:13-14; Deu_14:28-29). Ananias' and Sapphira's declaration corresponds, but it was a lie against the Holy Spirit (Acts 5); Joseph's fifth of Egypt's increase to the sovereign who had saved the people's lives corresponds to, and was perhaps suggested by, the double tithe or fifth paid by Israel long before.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Tithe
tith (ma'aser; dekate): The custom of giving a 10th part of the products of the land and of the spoils of war to priests and kings (1 Macc 10:31; 11:35; 1Sa_8:15, 1Sa_8:17) was a very ancient one among most nations. That the Jews had this custom long before the institution of the Mosaic Law is shown by Gen_14:17-20 (compare Heb_7:4) and Gen_28:22. Many critics hold that these two passages are late and only reflect the later practice of the nation; but the payment of tithes is so ancient and deeply rooted in the history of the human race that it seems much simpler and more natural to believe that among the Jews the practice was in existence long before the time of Moses.

In the Pentateuch we find legislation as to tithes in three places. (1) According to Lev_27:30-33, a tithe had to be given of the seed of the land, i.e. of the crops, of the fruit of the tree, e.g. oil and wine, and of the herd or the flock (compare Deu_14:22-23; 2Ch_31:5-6). As the herds and flocks passed out to pasture they were counted (compare Jer_33:13; Eze_20:37), and every 10th animal that came out was reckoned holy to the Lord. The owner was not allowed to search among them to find whether they were bad or good, nor could he change any of them; if he did, both the one chosen and the one for which it was changed were holy. Tithes of the herds and flocks could not be redeemed for money, but tithes of the seed of the land and of fruit could be, but a 5th part of the value of the tithe had to be added. (2) In Num_18:21-32 it is laid down that the tithe must be paid to the Levites. (It should be noted that according to Heb_7:5, 'they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood .... take tithes of the people.' Westcott's explanation is that the priests, who received from the Levites a tithe of the tithe, thus symbolically received the whole tithe. In the time of the second temple the priests did actually receive the tithes. In the Talmud (Yebhamoth 86a et passim) it is said that this alteration from the Mosaic Law was caused by the sin of the Levites, who were not eager to return to Jerusalem, but had to be persuaded to do so by Ezra (Ezr_8:15).) The Levites were to receive the tithes offered by Israel to Yahweh, because they had no other inheritance, and in return for their service of the tabernacle (Num_18:21, Num_18:24). The tithe was to consist of corn of the threshing-floor and the fullness of the wine press (Num_18:27), which coincides with seed of the land and fruit of the trees in Lev. 27. The Levites, who stood in the same relation to the priests as the people did to themselves, were to offer from this their inheritance a heave offering, a tithe of a tithe, to the priests (compare Neh_10:39), and for this tithey were to choose of the best part of what they received. (3) In Deu_12:5-6, Deu_12:11, Deu_12:18 (compare Amo_4:4) it is said that the tithe is to be brought "unto the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there," i.e. to Jerusalem; and in Deu_12:7, Deu_12:12, Deu_12:18, that the tithe should be used there as a sacred meal by the offerer and his household, including the Levite within his gates. Nothing is said here about tithing cattle, only grain, wine and oil being mentioned (compare Neh_10:36-38; Neh_13:5, Neh_13:12). In Deu_14:22-29 it is laid down that if the way was too long to carry the tithe to Jerusalem it could be exchanged for money, and the money taken there instead, where it was to be spent in anything the owner chose; and whatever was bought was to be eaten by him and his household and the Levites at Jerusalem. In the third year the tithe was to be reserved and eaten at home by the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. In Deu_26:12-15 it is laid down that in the 3rd year, after this feast had been given, the landowner should go up himself before the Lord his God, i.e. to Jerusalem, and ask God's blessing on his deed. (According to the Mishna, CoTah 9 10; Ma'aser Sheni 5 65, the high priest Johanan abolished this custom.) In this passage this 3rd year is called "the year of tithing."

There is thus an obvious apparent discrepancy between the legislation in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. It is harmonized in Jewish tradition, not only theoretically but in practice, by considering the tithes as three different tithes, which are named the First Tithe, the Second Tithe, and the Poor Tithe, which is called also the Third Tithe (Pe'ah, Ma'aseroth, Ma'ser Sheni, Dema'i, Ro'sh ha-shanah; compare Tobit 1:7-8; Ant, IV, iv, 3; viii, 8; viii, 22). According to this explanation, after the tithe (the First Tithe) was given to the Levites (of which they had to give the tithe to the priests), a Second Tithe of the remaining nine-tenths had to be set apart and consumed in Jerusalem. Those who lived far from Jerusalem could change this Second Tithe into money with the addition of a 5th part of its value. Only food, drink or ointment could be bought for the money (Ma'aser Sheni 2 1; compare Deu_14:26). The tithe of cattle belonged to the Second Tithe, and was to be used for the feast in Jerusalem (Zebhachim 5 8). In the 3rd year the Second Tithe was to be given entirely to the Levites and the poor. But according to Josephus (Ant., IV, viii, 22) the "Poor Tithe" was actually a third one. The priests and the Levites, if landowners, were also obliged to give the Poor Tithe (Pe'ah 1 6).

The explanation given by many critics, that the discrepancy between Deuteronomy and Leviticus is due to the fact that these are different layers of legislation, and that the Levitical tithe is a post-exilian creation of the Priestly Code, is not wholly satisfactory, for the following reasons: (1) The allusion in Deu_18:1-2 seems to refer to the Levitical tithe. (2) There is no relation between the law of Num. 18 and post-exilian conditions, when the priests were numerous and the Levites a handful. (3) A community so poor and disaffected as that of Ezra's time would have refused to submit to a new and oppressive tithe burden. (4) The division into priests and Levites cannot have been of the recent origin that is alleged.

W. R. Smith and others suggest that the tithe is simply a later form of the first-fruits, but this is difficult to accept, since the first-fruits were given to the priest, while the tithes were not. The whole subject is involved in considerable obscurity, which with our present information cannot easily be cleared away.

The Talmudic law of tithing extends the Mosaic Law, with most burdensome minuteness, even to the smallest products of the soil. Of these, according to some, not only the seeds, but, in certain cases, even the leaves and stalks had to be tithed (Ma'aseroth 4 5), "mint, anise, and cummin" (Dema'i 11 1; compare Mat_23:23; Luk_11:42). The general principle was that "everything that is eaten, that is watched over, and that grows out of the earth" must be tithed (Ma'aseroth 1 1).

Considering the many taxes, religious and secular, that the Jews had to pay, especially in post-exilian times, we cannot but admire the liberality and resourcefulness of the Jewish people. Only in the years just after the return from exile do we hear that the taxes were only partially paid (Neh_13:10; compare Mal_1:7 ff.; and for pre-exilian times compare 2Ch_31:4 ff.). In later times such cases seldom occur (Sotah 48a), which is the more surprising since the priests, who benefited so much by these laws of the scribes, were the adversaries of the latter. Paul Levertoff