Leviticus 27:29-34
27:29 a set apart for destruction (Hebrew kherem): The context here is the war for the conquest of Canaan, when cities, animals, and people deemed holy to some other god were set apart to be destroyed.27:30 b One-tenth (the “tithe”) of the harvest belonged to the Lord (Deut 14:22-26 c; cp. Lev 23:10-14 d). Members of the tribe of Levi, the priests and Levites, received no tribal lands. Accordingly, they were allotted one tenth of all produce from those who did own land (Num 18:21-29 e). This tithe was set aside every year (Deut 14:22 f) and was taken to the sanctuary; part of it was eaten there in a ritual meal (Deut 14:23-26 g). A second tithe was paid locally every third year to the local Levites and the poor (Deut 14:27-29 h; 26:12 i; contrast Amos 4:4 j). The Levites then paid a tithe of what they received to the Tabernacle priests (Num 18:26 k), who used it to support themselves and maintain the sanctuary. Some interpreters think there were three tithes, the first paid to the Levites, the second consumed at the sanctuary, and the third paid every third year for the poor. Others suggest that there was just one tithe, paid at the sanctuary for two years, then paid locally every third year.
27:31 l The penalty to buy back the tithed harvest was the same amount assessed for an individual who had accidentally withheld his tithe (see 5:16 m).
27:32 n Just like the produce of the fields (27:29-34 o), the flocks and herds were also tithed to the Lord.
27:34 p The book closes as it opened (see 1:1 q), clearly noting the divine origin of its contents as mediated through Moses.
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