Thirty Bible verses about tithing, in chronological order — from Abraham's tenth to Melchizedek in Genesis 14, through the three Mosaic tithes, the prophets' rebukes, Jesus' careful affirmation, and the New Testament's elevation of giving to a sacrificial level.
This is what Scripture actually teaches about the tithe.
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Pre-Mosaic tithing (before the Law) The tithe is not a Mosaic invention.
It appears four hundred years before Sinai, voluntarily, in worship.
Genesis 14:18-20 — "Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine...
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything." The first tithe in Scripture, given to a priest-king who prefigures Christ ( Hebrews 7:1-10 ).
Genesis 28:20-22 — Jacob's vow at Bethel: "Of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you." Hebrews 7:4-10 — The author argues that Levi tithed to Melchizedek through Abraham — establishing Melchizedek's priesthood (and Christ's, after his order) as superior to the Levitical.
The three Mosaic tithes The Law of Moses describes not one but three tithes — combined, they totaled approximately 23.3 percent of annual increase.
Leviticus 27:30-32 — "Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord." Numbers 18:21-24 — The Levitical tithe: given to support the Levites who had no land inheritance.
Numbers 18:26 — The Levites themselves tithed on what they received — "a tithe of the tithe." Deuteronomy 12:5-7 — The festival tithe: brought to the place God chose, eaten in His presence in worship.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 — "You shall tithe all the yield of your seed... that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always." Deuteronomy 14:28-29 — The poor tithe: every third year, stored locally for the Levite, foreigner, orphan, and widow.
Deuteronomy 26:12-15 — A solemn declaration before God when the third-year tithe was given. 2 Chronicles 31:5-6 — Hezekiah's reforms: the people brought tithes in such abundance that "heaps" filled the chambers of the temple.
Nehemiah 10:37-38 — Israel renewed the covenant after exile, pledging to bring the tithe to the Levites.
Nehemiah 13:10-12 — Nehemiah rebuked the people for letting the tithe lapse, causing the Levites to abandon their service for the fields.
The prophets and the tithe Amos 4:4 — A sarcastic indictment: "Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days." Religious activity without justice.
Malachi 3:8 — "Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me.
But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions." Malachi 3:9 — "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you." Malachi 3:10 — The only verse where God says "test me" : "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse... and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you." Malachi 3:11-12 — The promise attached: God will rebuke the devourer and call them "a land of delight." Jesus and the tithe Jesus mentions tithing only twice — both telling.
Matthew 23:23 — "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.
These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." Jesus did not abolish tithing — He said the Pharisees should have continued it while also pursuing justice.
Luke 18:12 — The Pharisee's prayer: "I give tithes of all that I get." Jesus uses him as the negative example of self-righteous religion.
The tithe was real; the heart was not.
The New Testament principle of giving The apostles never explicitly command the tithe to Gentile believers — but they raise the standard far beyond it. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 — "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper." Regular, proportional, planned giving. 2 Corinthians 8:1-3 — The Macedonians gave "according to their means... and beyond their means, of their own accord." 2 Corinthians 8:7 — "See that you excel in this act of grace also." 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 — "Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully...
God loves a cheerful giver." Acts 4:32-37 — The earliest church voluntarily sold property and laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet.
The early-church standard was not ten percent — it was whatever the need required. 1 Timothy 5:17-18 — Pastors and teachers are to be supported financially: "The laborer deserves his wages." 1 Timothy 6:18 — "Be rich in good works, generous and ready to share." Hebrews 7:8 — "In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives." The tithe ultimately belongs to Christ Himself.
Hebrews 13:16 — "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." 2 Corinthians 8:9 — The motive of all Christian giving: "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." A faithful summary Tithing is older than the Law, taught by Jesus, and never repealed by the apostles.
It is the consistent biblical floor for Christian giving — a tenth of one's increase, given first, joyfully, to support the local church and gospel work.
Under grace, the New Testament does not lower this floor.
It raises the ceiling: Christians are now called to generosity that begins with the tithe and grows toward the Macedonian standard — "beyond their means, of their own accord." The question for the modern Christian is not "Do I have to tithe?" It is: "Has the grace of Christ produced in me a generosity that exceeds even the Old Testament tenth?" All Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.