Numbers 17:12 (Heb. 17:27)–18:32

THE ISRAELITES SAID to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! 13Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die. Are we all going to die?” 18:1The LORD said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your father’s family are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the priesthood. 2Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the Tent of the Testimony. 3They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the Tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die. 4They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the Tent of Meeting—all the work at the Tent—and no one else may come near where you are.

5“You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. 6I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. 7But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”

8Then the LORD said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share. 9You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. 10Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.

11“This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

12“I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest. 13All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the LORD will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

14“Everything in Israel that is devoted to the LORD is yours. 15The first offspring of every womb, both man and animal, that is offered to the LORD is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. 16When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.

17“But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 18Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours. 19Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for both you and your offspring.”

20The LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

21“I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. 22From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die. 23It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the responsibility for offenses against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. 24Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

25The LORD said to Moses, 26“Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD’s offering. 27Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.

28In this way you also will present an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the LORD’s portion to Aaron the priest. 29You must present as the LORD’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

30“Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress. 31You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the Tent of Meeting. 32By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.’”

Original Meaning

AFTER THE LORD has unleashed his terrible swift sword against the Israelites (16:46–50), they are thoroughly traumatized and fear that they will perish, especially if they come near the tabernacle of his Presence (17:12–13). God allays their fears by altering the rules of engagement: The Levite tribe, including the priests, will henceforth bear the culpability of the sanctuary, and the priests alone will bear the culpability of their priesthood (18:1; cf. v. 23). This means that if one or more non-Levites violate the sanctity of the sanctuary, divine wrath will break out only against the Levites, in addition to the unauthorized persons themselves. The Levites were earlier designated to prevent such outbreaks from falling on the entire community (1:53), but now their incentive to stop a violator literally dead in his tracks (cf. 1:51) is to protect themselves.

Similarly, if a nonpriest (including a Levite) encroaches on a priestly prerogative, God will also hold the priests responsible (18:3) because it is up to them to ensure that this does not happen (18:7; cf. 3:10, 38). However, the Lord will no longer unleash his destruction against the whole community, as he threatened to do when the 250 unauthorized chieftains burned incense (16:21) and as he actually started to do when the Israelites sided with the rebels after what they viewed as “martyrdom” (16:41–50).1

In 18:7 Aaron and his sons “must guard their priesthood with regard to everything connected with the (outer) altar2 and with respect to that which is within the (inner) veil” (my transl.). Two loci of priestly officiation are mentioned here—outer altar and inner sanctum—but not the outer sanctum. Because ordinary priests officiate in the outer sanctum but not the inner sanctum, where only the high priest can go once a year (Lev. 16), it has been suggested that in Numbers 18:7 “within the veil” means inside the outer veil, referring to the outer sanctum.3 However, the word for “veil” here is paroket, which elsewhere only denotes the inner veil.4 Another word (masak) is used for the screens/veils at the entrances to the tabernacle (e.g., Ex. 26:36–37) and the courtyard (e.g., 38:18).

In Numbers 18:7 the altar and inner sanctum represent the outermost and innermost areas of priestly officiation. So this combination can easily be understood as a merism, which refers to the entire priestly domain, including the outer sanctum, by specifying its extremes.5 Compare, for example, the expressions “near and far” (Jer. 25:26) and “far and near” (48:24), which include all the space between these extremes.6

The remainder of Numbers 18 reiterates and further details the portions of sacred gifts that belong to the priests and Levites. Placement of this legislation here accomplishes two things. (1) The Lord further affirms his choice of the Aaronic priests and the Levites who assist them. (2) The Lord rewards them for their potentially hazardous work at the sanctuary.

In lieu of a separate tribal territory in the Promised Land, the priests and other Levites will receive wages from the Lord consisting of agricultural tithes given to him (18:20–24) so that they can devote themselves to his service rather than spending all their time supporting themselves by farming. In this sense he will be their share and inheritance (18:20; cf. Gen. 15:1—“reward”). Jacob had said that Levi would be dispersed in Israel (Gen. 49:7), but the Lord turns this into a blessing. The priests will receive seven items as their perpetual entitlement:

1. Portions of most holy sacrifices (Num. 18:9–10; cf. Lev. 6–7).

2. Dedicated portions of sacred gifts (Num. 18:11), such as the breast and right thigh of holy (not most holy) well-being offerings (Lev. 7:30–36).

3. Firstfruits offerings of olive oil, new wine, and grain (Num. 18:12–13).

4. Every irrevocably devoted thing (ḥerem; Num. 18:14; cf. Lev. 27:21, 28).

5. The meat of sacrificeable (clean domestic) firstborn animals (Num. 18:15–18).

6. Every portion set aside (noun and Hiphil verb from root rwm) from holy offerings given by the Israelites (18:19). Here this perpetual entitlement (hoq ʿolam lit., “eternal statute”) is also called a perpetual “covenant of salt.” Some have suggested that the latter expression, which emphasizes the binding nature of God’s promise to the priests, comes from the ancient Near Eastern practice of using salt in covenant-making ceremonies.7 Levine, however, interprets this verse in light of the stipulation that salt be included with every sacrifice to the Lord. “What the present verse states is that the entitlements assigned to the priests in vv 8–19 have the same binding force as the rule requiring the salting of sacrifices stated in Lev 2:13.”8

7. A tithe (tenth) of the tithes received by the Levites (Num. 18:25–32).

Bridging Contexts

TITHES. A TITHE (i.e., a tenth that belongs to God) first appears in Genesis 14, where Abraham gave Melchizedek, “priest of God Most High” (Gen. 14:18), a tithe/tenth after his victory over four kings (v. 20). Later Jacob vowed that if the Lord would bless him, he would give him a tenth of everything that he (God) bestowed on him (28:20–22).

Whereas the patriarchal tithes were voluntary, in Leviticus 27:30–32 the Lord requires a tenth of all the agricultural produce of the Israelites. This passage does not say what is to be done with the tithes, but the fact that they are holy implies that they go to the sanctuary. Numbers 18 now specifies that the people are to give their tithes to the Levites, who perform the work of the sanctuary on their behalf (18:21–24; cf. Neh. 10:38), and the Levites in turn must give a tenth to the priests (Num. 18:25–32).

Whereas in Numbers 18 all tithes belong to the Levites and priests, in Deuteronomy 12:17–19 the Israelites themselves eat their tithes at the central sanctuary along with the members of their households and the Levites who dwell in their towns. Deuteronomy 14:22–27 reiterates this command to set agricultural tithes aside and eat them at the sanctuary, but it allows people to convert them into silver if necessary for easier transportation. If they choose this option, when they arrive at the area where the sanctuary is located, they are to use the silver to buy whatever they wish to eat so that they can rejoice there in God’s presence.

Deuteronomy 14:28–29 provides yet another tithe law:

At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands [see also 26:12].

The relationship between requirements for the Israelites to give all tithes to the Levites (Num. 18:21–24), to eat them at the central sanctuary (Deut. 12:17–19; 14:22–27), and/or to deposit them in their towns (lit., “gates”) every three years (14:28–29; 26:12) confronts us with one of the more challenging problems in Pentateuchal law.9 Unless we take the easy way out by attributing the tithe laws to different documentary “sources” or “redactions,” there appear to be three different tithes that cannot be harmonized into one.

Years ago I was amused to hear a radio preacher apply all three tithes to modern Christians. He added them up to 30 percent of a person’s income and conveniently provided his address for easy transfer to the Lord. This sounds like a way for preachers to retire early and well—if they don’t provoke a trend toward ministerial malpractice suits. The fact is that if the Israelites gave 10 percent to the Levites every year, ate another 10 percent or its equivalent at the sanctuary every year, and gave another 10 percent every third year to the Levites and other economically disadvantaged persons, the average per year would amount to only 23.33 percent of their agricultural output. Furthermore, they were to eat the second tithe themselves, along with their Levite guests. The third tithe every third year went to “charity.”

The second tithe was really a mandatory “celebration account” to ensure that the people would have the means for a first class occasion of thanksgiving at the Lord’s sanctuary. The spiritual, culinary, social, and emotional highlight of the year was all wrapped up in the same event. Needless to say, this would tend to encourage a positive attitude toward God and recognition of his gifts.

Because tithes were holy, failing to give them to the Lord constituted sacrilege. This became a problem in the days of Malachi, who conveyed God’s rebuke for robbing him by neglecting to bring tithes and offerings. The Lord challenged them to comply so that he could abundantly bless them (Mal. 3:8–10).

Contemporary Significance

STABLE SUPPORT FOR MINISTERS. The apostle Paul worked for a living as a tentmaker missionary/evangelist (Acts 18:3; 1 Cor. 9:6, 15, 17–18). However, in 1 Corinthians 9:13–14 he affirmed that Christian ministers have the right to receive material support from those whom they serve, just as the ancient priests and Levites received their sustenance from that which their people gave to God. Similarly, Christ instructed his disciples to accept support wherever they went to minister (Luke 10:7). The principle was the same as in Numbers 18: It is only fair for those who spend their time serving others to receive support that makes it possible for them to continue this work.

The benefits provided by ministers are intangible because they have to do with promoting the health of the divine-human relationship. However, these benefits are real, with tremendous consequences for this life and the life to come, and should be regarded as such. Paul asked rhetorically: “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?” (1 Cor. 9:11). In modern times, when we pay counselors and psychologists to help us with our intangible but real interpersonal problems, it is not difficult to understand that ministers should receive wages too.

The New Testament does not specify a tithe as a means of support for the Christian ministry. However, it is easy to see how the tithe principle could be applied for maintaining a stable source of support for the Lord’s work. Since most of us are not farmers, our income consists of money rather than net agricultural produce (not including seed for replanting). So we can give a tenth of our net money income and take God up on his offer to bless us (Mal. 3:10).

Some Christian denominations encourage payment of tithe or even require it, just as it was required for ancient Israelites. Some Christians who feel that God has especially blessed them voluntarily add a second tithe, which they also give to their churches. Some set aside a portion of their incomes for helping disadvantaged people, as the Israelites were to do every third year (Deut. 14:28–29; 26:12).

I have never heard of Christians consciously setting aside a percentage of their incomes for generous religious-social rejoicing as the Israelites were to do with their second tithe (Deut. 12:17–19; 14:22–27). It would be fascinating to experiment with application of this concept, not forgetting to invite our ministers as the Israelites were to include their Levites (12:18–19; 14:27), and see what happens to attitudes toward God.