Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 14:23
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.
23. eat before the Lord ] See on Deu 12:7.
the place which he shall choose ] Sam., LXX, which Jehovah thy God shall choose; see on Deu 12:5. Before this the tithe was offered at the local sanctuaries, Amo 4:4.
corn, wine, and oil ] Defining that which cometh forth from the field. A purely vegetable tithe: so always in D as in Num 18:27; Num 18:30, corn of threshing floor, fulness of winepress or vat (cp. D, Deu 15:14, Deu 16:13), Neh 10:35-37 (Neh 10:36-38), tithe of the ground (cp. Lev 27:30, whether of the seed of the land or fruit of tree). To this an animal tithe is added by Lev 27:32 and 2Ch 31:6. Corn stands for all cereals; it is singular that nowhere is the fig, the third of the great triad of Israel’s fruit trees, mentioned along with wine and oil.
and the firstlings, etc.] The law of firstlings is Deu 15:19 ff.; here they are mentioned only incidentally, perhaps because the tithes were to be presented at the same time with them. There is no reference here to an animal tithe. ‘Mere firstlings, set apart from the yearly increase of the herds, distinct from the firstborn and offered as a substitute for the animal tithe, are not to be thought of’ (Dillm.).
that thou mayest learn to fear ] 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. The same intention is attributed to making the people hear God’s word, Deu 4:10 ( q.v.), and to the injunction to the king to read always in the law, Deu 17:19.
24 f. Another practical consequence of the centralisation of the worship, like that which permits the profane slaughter and enjoyment of animals, Deu 12:21 ff.
if the way be too long for thee, etc.] Cp. Deu 12:21: if the place be too far from thee, Deu 19:6.
when the Lord thy God shall bless thee ] Means neither with a great extension of thy land (Knobel) nor with so rich a harvest that thou art unable to carry the tithe of it so far (Dillm.), but, more generally, with thy yearly harvests. Was there, then, no tithe when the harvest failed?
shalt thou turn it into money ] Heb. may mean either give it in, or in exchange for, money. The Heb. keseph often = silver, usually supposed to have been called so from its paleness (W. R. Smith, Journ. Phil. xiv. 125); but the root is just as probably to cut off, or cut in pieces ( Jerusalem, i. 329), and keseph is therefore applicable, and is applied, to other metals. In any case money is the right translation here. Coins proper were not in use in Israel before the Persian period; but from a very early date there was a metallic currency, partly in silver (cp. 1Sa 9:8, quarter of a silver shekel, 2Sa 14:26, shekels stamped by David) and partly in copper (which was current in Palestine by 1400 b.c., Tell-el-Amarna Letters); of the latter the gera or 20th part of the shekel, Eze 45:12, was no doubt one form. On the currency in W. Asia see A. R. S. Kennedy in Hastings’ D.B. art. ‘Money.’
thou shalt bind up the money in thine hand ] Heb. confine. As the Heb. for purse (Gen 42:35; Pro 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See Poole on “Deu 12:6“, See Poole on “Deu 12:17“.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there,…. See De 12:5 there the tithe of all the fruits of the earth was to be eaten; this is the second tithe, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi, and which is more particularly described as follows:
the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil: see De 12:7:
and the firstlings of thine herds, and of thy flocks; of which see the note on the above place:
that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always; which such a constant practice would inure unto; see De 10:12.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
23. And thou shalt eat before the Lord. He again commands the victims to be brought into the place of the sanctuary; although by the place which God shall choose, he designates Jerusalem, as has been said in the above commentary on chap. 12; for the Ark of the Covenant had no settled resting-place until the time of David, but was received as it were in temporary lodgings. Moses, therefore, now commands, that when God shall have so greatly honored a particular place, and shall have chosen a perpetual rest, in which His name shall dwell, thither are the offerings to be brought. But we know that this place was Jerusalem; and all the oblations were restricted to this one place, lest any corruption should creep in to destroy the unity of the faith. For all strange inventions, as has already been sufficiently seen, are so many profanations of God’s worship. But, whereas in chap. 12, Moses had promiscuously joined the tithes with the firstlings, and had made the same appointment with respect to both, he now relaxes the stringency of that law, by adding an exception, viz, that if the way should be too long, a commutation might be made, and money might be paid instead of corn. He does not, indeed, speak only of the tithes, but unites with them the vows and free-gifts; nay, he refers properly to these alone. But, since as to the latter there is no question, let us only consider whether it was consistent that the tithes should be paid in one place alone. They were given to the Levites for their maintenance, who, as is well known, were dispersed throughout the whole land; either then their residence must have been fixed at Jerusalem, or they must not be deprived of their subsistence, wherever they might dwell. The command, therefore, appears to be absurd, that all the tithes of the whole land should be brought to Jerusalem, for that would have amounted to nothing less than to destroy the poor Levites by famine. This absurdity has compelled the commentators to fabricate a doubtful conjecture; viz., that the people voluntarily set apart certain tithes, which they might carry to Jerusalem at the festivals; but it is not probable that so heavy a burden was imposed upon them, (110) as that they should only keep at home what remained of the fifth part. But a nearer approach to probability would be, that the tithes of the neighboring country, as convenience offered, were carried to Jerusalem; whilst those which were collected in more distant places were set aside there; but that they were accounted for at Jerusalem, so that upon a calculation of the number of their families, an equal distribution might be made to the Levites. Certainly it is by no means probable that the respective tillers of the soil carried up to Jerusalem what the Levites, having received there, were compelled to take back again for the maintenance of their families; for what would have been the advantage of all this expense and trouble of carrying them backwards and forwards? Besides, it would have been useless to command the Levites, and that too with the addition of severe threats, to pay the priests faithfully, if the tithes had been first deposited with the priests themselves, who might easily have provided against all deception, since they had the whole quantity of corn in their own hands. I have, therefore, no doubt but that the Levites collected the tithes each in their own neighborhood, but that another tithing, of which mention will be made presently, was carried up to the sanctuary as a sacred offering, and a profession of service to God. For we have lately seen, that after that part had been withdrawn, the nine parts which remained were assigned to the Levites, as if they had been grown on their own ground. But because it was a subject which might cause complaints, that the first-fruits and other tithes should be collected into one place, God would anticipate this by showing the advantage of it to the whole people, in that there might be food enough for all who should come to the celebration of the festivals; for this is the meaning of the words, “thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God;” as if it had been said, that the place should be sacred to God, to which the worshippers of God might come from the whole land. Yet He commands, in the meanwhile, the pure observation of His worship; lest a diversity of places might draw away the people in various directions to false superstitions.
(110) “ De redoubler ainsi les dismes les unes sur les autres;” thus to redouble their tithes one upon another. — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy Godi.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 Deu. 14:28). In the seventh year, which was Sabbatical, there would probably be no tithe, for there was to be no harvest. The profit of the earth was for all, and every one was free to eat at pleasure.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Ver. 23. That thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always That is, that thou mayest be accustomed to the worship of the only true God; for that is sometimes the meaning of the word to learn. Thus the design of this and their other annual feasts was, to preserve them steadfast in their religion; for, by this solemn rite of eating and drinking together, in the presence of Jehovah, at the place of his public worship, they professed their adherence to the service of the true God, in opposition to all false deities.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Deu 14:23 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.
Ver. 23. That thou mayest learn, ] A man cannot converse with God, but he shall learn something. Semper a te doctior redeo, said he to his friend. Moses came from the mount with his face shining. Compare Ecc 8:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
eat. Tithes were eaten. Amo 4:4.
to place = to make a habitation.
wine. Hebrew. tirosh. See App-27.
firstlings. Compare Gen 4:4. Exo 13:11-15; Exo 23:19. Lev 27:26. Num 18:15-17, and Neh 10:36.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
fear
(See Scofield “Psa 19:9”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
eat before: Deu 12:5-7, Deu 12:17, Deu 12:18
the firstlings: Deu 15:19, Deu 15:20
Reciprocal: Gen 14:20 – tithes Gen 28:22 – I will Exo 20:24 – in all places Lev 27:30 – General Num 18:31 – in every Deu 12:7 – And there Deu 12:11 – a place Deu 12:21 – to put Neh 10:39 – For the children Isa 62:9 – shall eat Joh 2:14 – General