Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 18:25
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
25 32. A further payment to the priests. The tithe of the crops belongs so entirely to the Levites that it is considered a source of property from which they in turn must pay a tithe to the priests.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the Lord spake unto Moses,…. And not unto Aaron, because a tithe out of the tithe was to be given to Aaron, as Aben Ezra observes, and it was not so proper that he should have this order to deliver to the Levites, in which he and his sons were so much concerned, and therefore it was given to Moses to acquaint them of it:
saying; as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Appropriation of the Tithe. – Num 18:26. When the Levites took (received) from the people the tithe assigned them by Jehovah, they were to lift off from it a heave-offering for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe for Aaron the priest (i.e., for the priesthood; see at Num 18:20). “ Your heave-offering shall be reckoned to you as the corn of the threshing-floor, and the fulness (see Exo 22:28) of the wine-press, ” i.e., according to Num 18:30, as the revenue of the threshing-floor and wine-press; that is to say, as corn and wine which they had reaped themselves.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 25-32:
The Levites were required to offer the tithes of what the people brought to them, to the sons of Aaron, the priests. The Levites were to regard the tithes they received as though they were the produce of the threshingfloor, the winepress, and the livestock. The tithes were offered as Heave offerings. These were the special portion of the priests, for their service in the Tabernacle.
“Reward,” sakar, hire or wages. There is no thought of a special bonus above and beyond one’s duty.
The priests were to be free to eat of these holy offerings, after they had been offered as Heave Offerings to the Lord, with no fear of displeasing the Lord.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
25. And the Lord spake unto Moses. This is another kind of tithe, i.e., a hundredth part of the whole produce, which the Levites paid to the priests. Some reckon a third kind; but I have given my reasons why I do not agree with this opinion. Assuredly it is not probable that in the same year double tithes were exacted and paid. Let this twofold division, therefore, be enough for us. A larger portion was given to the priests, not only as an honorable distinction, but. because greater holiness and integrity in expending them was expected from them; and also that they might meet many peculiar burdens. Lest then the Levites should be too sordid and niggardly, God declares that their theft would be no less wicked if they dealt dishonestly towards the priests, than as if the people should withhold any part of their own just share; for this is the object of the words, that the tithe of the tithes, which they are commanded to pay, should be as if they paid it from the threshing-floor and the wine-press, (Num 18:27😉 as though it were said that they were no more exempted from the second tithes, than the people from the first. The precept is then still further extended, viz., that they should offer a part of all the offerings. Thirdly, sincere liberality is inculcated upon them, that they should not lay aside as the priests’ portion anything that was lean or out of condition, or in any respect of inferior quality, but that they should rather offer whatever was most choice; for this is what is meant by the word חלב, cheleb, (224) which some translate adeps; the word pinguedo seemed more suitable, in which, however, there is a metaphor contained.
(224) Num 18:30. A.V. “ the best thereof.” Margin, “Heb., fat.” According to Facciolati, adeps, means liquid fat which does not readily become hard; and pinguedo, simply fat, “an oily substance in animals and other things.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) And the Lord spake unto Moses . . . The law respecting the Levitical dues was given to Aaron, and communicated through him to the people. The law respecting the tithe which the Levites were to give to the priests, in which Aarons family were directly concerned, was communicated to Moses, and by him to the Levites.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
REVENUES FROM THE LEVITES TO THE PRIESTS, Num 18:25-32.
As a discipline to their moral natures, the tithe is imposed on the Levites as it is laid on the other tribes. To exempt any body of men from the law of benevolence is to intensify their selfishness and to harden their hearts.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Priests to Receive a Tithe of the Tithes For Their Service at the Sanctuary and the Altar And The Remainder To Go To The Levites ( Num 18:25-29 ).
The tithe was therefore to go to the Levites who were to ensure that one tenth of the tithe, and the very best of the tithe, went in turn to the priests.
Analysis.
a The Levites to set aside a tithe of their tithe for the priests (Num 18:25-26)
b The contribution to be reckoned as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor and the fullness of the winepress as provided by the Levites (Num 18:27).
c The contribution to be offered to Yahweh and given to Aaron the priest (Num 18:28).
c The contribution offered to Yahweh to be from the best, the most hallowed parts (Num 18:29).
b The remainder to be accounted to the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor and the increase of the winepress (Num 18:30).
a Once they have tithed it the Levites may eat their own tithe in every place which is clean (Num 18:31-32).
The Levites To Set Aside a Tithe of Their Tithe for the Priests ( Num 18:25-27 ).
Num 18:25
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,’
Again we have the emphasis that these were Yahweh’s words to Moses. Note the change from Aaron in verses 1 and 8. It was not fitting that Aaron tell the Levites what he himself was to receive. Such niceties confirm that we are here dealing with the actual situation and not some later invention.
Num 18:26
“ What is more you shall speak to the Levites, and say to them, ‘When you take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a contribution offering (heave-offering) of it for Yahweh, a tithe of the tithe.’ ”
On receiving the tithes from the people the Levites were to offer one tenth of the tithe to Yahweh for the priests, as their contribution to the ministry of the priests. It would be a tithe of the tithe.
Num 18:27
“ And your heave-offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing-floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.”
And as the Levites would not have much to offer that they grew themselves, this tithe to the priests would count as though it came from the grain of their threshing-floor and from the fullness of their winepresses, being their contribution to the ministry of the priests.
Num 18:28
“ Thus you also shall offer a heave-offering to Yahweh of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and of them you (ye) shall give Yahweh’s heave-offering to Aaron the priest.”
In that way the Levites would be making a contribution offering to Yahweh of tithes, in the same way as the other tribes made a contribution offering to Yahweh of tithes. They would make it out of their own tithe inheritance that they received from Yahweh.
Num 18:29
“ Out of all your gifts you shall offer every contribution offering (heave-offering) of Yahweh, of all the best of it, even the hallowed part of it out of it.”
Out of all the gifts that they received they were to make their contribution offering to Yahweh, and for this purpose they were to choose the choicest and the best. That was to form the ‘hallowed part’. That which was made holy to Yahweh and set apart for the priests.
Num 18:30
“ Therefore you shall say to them, When you make a contribution of (heave) the best of it from it, then it shall be reckoned to the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the winepress.”
And that is why Moses could tell the Levites that when they did give the best to Yahweh from their tithes it would be treated as though they had grown it themselves, as though they had grown the grain and threshed it, as though they had grown the grapes and pressed them.
Num 18:31
“ And you (ye) shall eat it in every place, you (ye) and your households. For it is your reward in return for your service in the tent of meeting.”
But the remainder of the tithe they could eat ‘in every place’. That did not have to be brought before Yahweh nor eaten in the precincts of the Tent of meeting. It would need to be in a clean place, but it could be in any of their tents, and later their towns. It was their reward for their service in the Tent of meeting.
Num 18:32
“ And you (ye) shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it. And you (ye) shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, that you die not.”
Thus once they had given to the priests the tithe of the tithe, as their contribution offering to Yahweh, they would be free from blame for their use of the remainder of them. By partaking of them and utilising them as they wished they would not be profaning them. This provision was very necessary. Otherwise it could have been argued that as the Levites’ share of the tithe was ‘given to Yahweh’ it had to be treated as ‘most holy’ and therefore not to be eaten outside the Sanctuary precincts.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
It is sweet to observe, that the Levites were expected to give as well as receive. The LORD hereby manifested his right and property in all things. But is there not a spiritual illustration in this heave-offering of the ministry? The apostle Paul hath made one general observation to this amount, in relation to our great High Priest, when he tells us, that the Levitical priesthood payed tithes to the unchangeable everlasting priesthood of JESUS, Heb 7:9-10 . A precious instruction this, to teach us that all things bend and give way to Him, who is not made a priest after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. Heb 7:16 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Num 18:25-32. The Dues to be Received by the Priests from the Levites.These consisted of a tenth of the tithe paid to the Levites by the people.
Num 18:29. every heave offering: better, the whole contribution. The tithe of the tithe is to be of the best.
Num 18:30. it shall be counted, etc.: the pronoun refers to the nine-tenths of the tithe which the Levites are to have for themselves. As soon as they have paid their sacred dues to the priests, they will be as free to enjoy the rest as the husbandmen are, who have discharged their obligations to them.
Num 18:32. ye shall not profane the holy things: the Levites, by possessing the tithes, will have no temptation to take, and so profane, the offerings which are reserved for the priests.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The Levites were to give a tithe of the tithe they received from the people to the priests. This tithe was to include the best of what the other Israelites gave to them (Num 18:30; Num 18:32).
"Whereas in heathen states, where there was an hereditary priestly caste, that caste was generally a rich one, and held a firm possession in the soil (in Egypt, for example; see at Gen. xlvii. 22), the Levites received no hereditary landed property in the land of Israel, but only towns to dwell in among the other tribes, with pasturage for their cattle (chap. xxxv.), because Jehovah, the God of Israel, would be their inheritance." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 3:119.]
Had the Israelites been faithful in their tithing the Levites would have received about five times as much as ordinary Israelites (cf. Gen 43:34). Unfortunately the Jews were not completely obedient to these laws.
"What is to be made of the writer’s exclusion of Moses in these matters that relate so closely to the duties of the priests? Why is Moses so conspicuously left out of the picture [until Num 18:25]? The answer perhaps lies in the author’s desire to tell us something about the role of Moses as leader of God’s people. His role is not limited to the work of a priest. Aaron is shown here assuming most of that responsibility. In the view of the writer, then, it appears that the role of Moses was becoming more distinct from the office of priest. Thus the writer attempts to show that Moses’ role as mediator of the covenant, already well established throughout these narratives, was not merely a priestly one. There is a concern to show that he also functioned in the role of prophet as well as king, two themes that will receive further development in the book of Deuteronomy (Deu 18:15; Deu 33:5). Hence as the picture of Moses develops within the Pentateuch, it more closely resembles the future messianic ruler, who is anticipated already in the Pentateuch as a prophet, a priest, and a king." [Note: Sailhamer, p. 393.]