Types of Tithes and Their Purpose
The sons of Levi were chosen by Yehovah to oversee matters related to His service and to teach Torah to the people wherever they lived. They were not given a territorial inheritance because Yehovah Himself was their inheritance. For this reason, God assigned to them portions of certain offerings, as prescribed in the Torah, together with the firstfruits of the harvests for their support.
The tithe—the tenth part of agricultural produce and livestock—belonged to Yehovah, but it served different purposes.
According to Leviticus 27:30-33 and Numbers 18:21-24, both the tithe of the land and the tithe of livestock belonged to Yehovah, who assigned them to the Levites as their inheritance in return for their service in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. The Levites, in turn, were instructed to give a “tithe of the tithe” to the priests, as described in Numbers 18:26-28.
When studying the passages concerning tithing, many scholars conclude that the Torah describes more than one type of tithe. One tithe was given to support the Levites. Another was set aside to be consumed by the families themselves before Yehovah during the appointed festivals, as described in Deuteronomy 14:22-27. While there are differing interpretations regarding the relationship between these passages, it is clear that not all tithes served the same purpose.
According to Deuteronomy 12:17 and Deuteronomy 14:22-27, a portion of what was set aside was taken to the place chosen by Yehovah and consumed there during His appointed festivals. In this way, families learned to fear Yehovah and celebrate His provision.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 teaches that every third year a tithe was set aside for the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. In this way, the needs of those who lacked inheritance or sufficient resources were provided for. It functioned somewhat like what we would today call social assistance, except that it was the responsibility of the community rather than the government.
But What About the New Testament?
Through His death and resurrection, Yeshua opened the way for all of us to have direct access to our Father. In this sense, He made us a kingdom of priests, meaning that all who have been redeemed through Him may approach Yehovah directly without the need for human mediators.
This does not mean that the Temple immediately ceased to function. It continued operating for several decades after Yeshua’s resurrection, and the apostles themselves continued to visit it. However, the redemptive work of Messiah fulfilled the sacrificial system as the means of atonement and pointed toward the establishment of the New Covenant through His perfect sacrifice.
In a very real sense, believers today continue to offer sacrifices—not animal sacrifices, but sacrifices of praise and worship:
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to Yehovah, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His Name.
Hebrews 13:15
Likewise, Scripture describes believers as a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). Yet this does not eliminate the different functions and responsibilities that Yehovah has established within His people. There remain specific callings related to teaching, leadership, exhortation, and service, just as there were among the first disciples.
Since all believers share in this priestly calling, are there servants in the New Testament who function in a role somewhat comparable to the Levites?
In a certain sense, yes. However, their responsibilities do not involve Temple sacrifices, and they are not limited merely to teaching Torah.
Yeshua called twelve disciples to be with Him during His earthly ministry, inviting them to leave everything behind and become “fishers of men.” Later, they were commissioned to lead and expand the message entrusted to them: the Good News of the coming Kingdom of Heaven.
We see that these disciples truly left behind friends, business partners, professions, family expectations, and traditions in order to follow and serve the Messiah. When Yeshua sent them out on local missions, He instructed them not to carry provisions because “the laborer is worthy of his wages,” teaching them that God Himself would provide through those to whom they ministered.
How, then, would they be supported after Yeshua departed?
The book of Acts provides the answer:
All who believed were together and had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as anyone had need.
Acts 2:44-45
This appears to have arisen spontaneously rather than through formal regulation. Hearts transformed by the Spirit naturally desired to care for one another so that no one would suffer need. After all, this reflected the commandment Yeshua gave:
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:12-13
The commandment itself was not new; it already existed in the Torah:
You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yehovah.
Leviticus 19:18
What was new was the measure of that love. Yeshua elevated the standard, just as He did with many other aspects of righteous living. It was therefore natural for this new generation of disciples to follow His example and willingly share what they had. The apostles themselves were part of that community.
For this reason, nowhere in the Apostolic Writings do we find a command requiring believers to give tithes to apostles, elders, pastors, or congregational leaders. Such a command would have been unnecessary because the natural fruit of the Ruach HaKodesh was already producing generosity toward fellow believers and toward those who served by teaching and shepherding them.
This does not mean, however, that those who dedicate their lives to ministry should receive no material support. The Apostle Paul clearly taught that those who proclaim the Good News have the right to receive support from those they serve:
In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:14
He also wrote:
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
Galatians 6:6
The difference is that Paul never established a mandatory percentage, nor did he refer to such support as a tithe. His emphasis was on voluntary generosity and appreciation for faithful servants of God.
Notice the word serve, because that was the model left by Yeshua:
Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:26-28
Yeshua’s followers never saw Him collecting offerings after performing miracles or feeding the multitudes. He never turned ministry into a fundraising campaign.
Those called to ministry are not appointed to replace Yeshua as the Head of His people, nor to manipulate or financially exploit those who seek to draw near to the Father. Rather, we are called to serve by communicating truth, leading people into deeper fellowship with Yehovah through Yeshua, and encouraging obedience to Torah.
Our responsibility is to help develop mature faith so that believers may become lights in a dark world and, if necessary, one day seal their testimony with their lives.
In Summary
If we define the tithe exactly as the Torah defines it, we find that it was closely connected to the land of Israel, agricultural produce, livestock, the Levitical priesthood, and the operation of the Temple. In the absence of these elements, it becomes difficult to apply the biblical system in exactly the same manner today.
What remains fully relevant is the principle behind those instructions: acknowledging that everything comes from Yehovah, supporting those who faithfully serve, caring for the needy, and practicing generosity from a grateful heart.
Those whom Yehovah has called to serve Him and His people devote their time, talents, resources, experience, and relationships to proclaiming His message, loving, discipling, teaching, encouraging, and correcting those who desire to walk the narrow path of obedience as Yeshua did.
And while we depend on our Father’s provision, we know that He often supplies that provision through grateful hearts that value what they receive from Him through others and willingly share their resources so that there may be no need among the brethren.