Category:Tithe

Tithe, n. Etym: [oe. tithe, tethe, properly an adj., tenth, as. teó The tenth; akin to tién, t, ten, ten, g. zehnte, adj., tenth, n., a Tithe, icel. tiund the tenth; tithe, goth. taíhunda tenth. See ten, And cf. Tenth, teind.]

1. A tenth; the tenth part of anything; specifically, the tenthpart Of the increase arising from the profits of land and stock, allotted To the clergy for their support, as in england, or devoted to Religious or charitable uses. Almost all the tithes of england and Wales are commuted by law into rent charges. The tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil. Neh. xiii. 5.

Note: tithes are called personal when accuring from labor, art, Trade, and navigation; predial, when issuing from the earth, as hay, Wood, and fruit; and mixed, when accuring from beaste fed from the Ground. Blackstone.

2. Hence, a small part or proportion. Bacon. Great tithes, tithes of Corn, hay, and wood. -- mixed tithes, tithes of wool, milk, pigs, etc. -- small tithes, personal and mixed tithes. -- tithe commissioner, one of a board of officers appointed by the Government for arranging propositions for commuting, or compounding For, tithes. [eng.] Simmonds.

Tithe Tithe, a.

Defn: tenth. [obs.] Every tithe soul, 'mongst many thousand. Shak.

Tithe Tithe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tithed; p. pr. & vb. n. Tithing.] Etym: [as. teó.]

Defn: to levy a tenth part on; to tax to the amount of a tenth; to Pay tithes on. Ye tithe mint and rue. Luke xi. 42.

Tithe Tithe, v. i.

Defn: tp pay tithes. [r.] Tusser.

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---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Tithe - A tenth of the produce of the earth consecrated and set apart for special purposes. The dedication of a tenth to God was recognized as a duty before the time of Moses. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:6); and Jacob vowed unto the Lord and said, "Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." The first Mosaic law on this subject is recorded in Leviticus 27:30. Subsequent legislation regulated the destination of the tithes (Numbers 18:21, Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 12:5, Deuteronomy 12:6, Deuteronomy 12:11, Deuteronomy 12:17; Deuteronomy 14:22, Deuteronomy 14:23). The paying of the tithes was an important part of the Jewish religious worship. In the days of Hezekiah one of the first results of the reformation of religion was the eagerness with which the people brought in their tithes (2 Chronicles 31:5, 2 Chronicles 31:6). The neglect of this duty was sternly rebuked by the prophets (Amos 4:4; Malachi 3:8). It cannot be affirmed that the Old Testament law of tithes is binding on the Christian Church, nevertheless the principle of this law remains, and is incorporated in the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:13, 1 Corinthians 9:14); and if, as is the case, the motive that ought to prompt to liberality in the cause of religion and of the service of God be greater now than in Old Testament times, then Christians ought to go beyond the ancient Hebrew in consecrating both themselves and their substance to God. Every Jew was required by the Levitical law to pay three tithes of his property (1.) one tithe for the Levites; (2.) one for the use of the temple and the great feasts; and (3.) one for the poor of the land.