Hebrew word · H6237

עָשַׂר

'aser

to tithe

This verb, built from the word for 'ten', means 'to deal in tenths'. In Deuteronomy 14:22 and Genesis 28:22 it means to give a tenth. In 1 Samuel 8:15–17 and here it means to take a tenth.

Appears 9 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to tithe, take the tenth part of, give a tithe, take a tithe

1a) (Qal) to tithe

1b) (Piel) to give a tithe

1c) (Hiphil) to take a tithe

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Nehemiah 10:37

Range of meaning

This verb, built from the word for 'ten', means 'to deal in tenths'. In Deuteronomy 14:22 and Genesis 28:22 it means to give a tenth. In 1 Samuel 8:15–17 and here it means to take a tenth.

Against the English

KJV turns it into a purpose clause ('that the same Levites might have the tithes'). WEB has 'take the tithes'. BSB has 'receive tithes'. The Hebrew is a plain statement with the Levites as active collectors: 'they are the ones who tithe', meaning collect.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Samuel 8:15 a king 'will take a tenth' of seed and vineyards. The same verb is used for collecting as a ruler would.

From the study of Genesis 28:22

Range of meaning

The verb is built from ʿeśer, 'ten.' In this stem it means 'to give a tenth' or 'to take a tenth' (Deut 14:22; 26:12; Neh 10:37–38). The related noun is maʿăśēr, 'tithe.' Here the bare infinitive is followed by the finite verb, a normal Hebrew way of adding emphasis: 'I will surely, certainly tithe it.'

Against the English

Most versions turn the emphasis into 'surely' (KJV, BSB, WEB) or 'certainly' (NASB). The ESV uses 'a full tenth' instead. YLT keeps the doubling as 'tithing I tithe.' NIV drops the emphasis altogether ('I will give you a tenth').

How it drifted

Modern 'tithe' calls up regular giving of 10% of income to a church. Here it is a tenth of everything Jacob will acquire (flocks, produce, goods), pledged under oath to God's sanctuary.

Used elsewhere in the period

Before Sinai the Bible mentions a tenth only here and at Gen 14:20, where Abram gives Melchizedek a tenth. Tithes paid to temples and kings were common across the ancient Near East: Ugaritic texts use maʿšaru for a tenth-levy, and Neo-Babylonian temple archives record ešrû/ešrētu tithes. In 1 Sam 8:15–17 the king takes 'a tenth' as a tax. Amos 4:4 mocks people for bringing 'your tithes every three days' at Bethel, so tithing was a well-known practice at that sanctuary.

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 28:22 עַשֵּׂ֖ר אֲעַשְּׂרֶ֥נּוּ fully <tithe>, I will tithe it

    And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”

    Here: The verb 'to tithe' in its bare infinitive form, put in front of the same verb for emphasis: 'tithing I will tithe,' that is, 'I will certainly give a tenth.'

Deuteronomy · 3

  1. Deuteronomy 14:22 עַשֵּׂ֣ר תְּעַשֵּׂ֔ר fully <tithe>, you will tithe

    You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields.

  2. Deuteronomy 26:12 לַ֠עְשֵׂר to tithe

    When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 8:15 יַעְשֹׂ֑ר he will take a tenth

    He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants.

  2. 1 Samuel 8:17 יַעְשֹׂ֑ר he will take a tenth

    He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 10:37 הַֽמְעַשְּׂרִ֔ים [are] the [ones who] collect tithes

    Moreover, we will bring to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God the firstfruits of our dough, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees, and of our new wine and oil. A tenth of our produce belongs to the Levites, so that they shall receive tithes in all the towns where we labor.

    Here: This verb means 'deal in tenths'. Elsewhere it means to give a tenth (Deuteronomy 14:22). Here it means to collect it: the Levites go out and gather the tithe.

  2. Nehemiah 10:38 בַּעְשֵׂ֣ר when collect [the] tithes

    A priest of Aaron’s line is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of these tithes to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.