Numbers 18:26
in Numbers 18“Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the LORD—a tithe of the tithe.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moreover thou shalt speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for Jehovah, a tithe of the tithe.
KJV
Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe.
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This verse in Numbers 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAssuredly 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.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses
on Numbers 18:25-32
This word goes to Moses rather than to Aaron, and John Gill records the reason Aben Ezra gives, that the order concerned a payment into Aaron's own house. The Levites hand over a tenth of the tithe they receive, and verses 27 and 30 say it is reckoned to them as though it were the corn of their own threshingfloor and the fulness of their own winepress, so men with no fields are credited with a harvest. What they give up is the best of it, the standard verse 12 had already set for Israel. The last verse warns them against polluting the holy things, and calls what they eat a reward for their service in the tabernacle.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
This (says God) shall be reckoned to you as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor; that is, though it was not the fruit of their ground, nor of their own labour, as the tithes of other Israelites were, yet being of such as they had it should be accepted, to the sanctifying of all the rest. (2.) This was to be given to Aaron the priest (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Ye shall offer up an heave-offering - They who are employed in assisting the devotions of others, must be sure to pay their own as an heave-offering. Prayers and praises, or rather the heart lifted up in them, are now our heave-offerings.
Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the Levites . . . offer . . . a tenth of the tithe--Out of their own they were to pay tithes to the priests equally as the people gave to them. The best of their tithes was to be assigned to the priests, and afterwards they enjoyed the same liberty to make use of the remainder that other Israelites had of the produce of their threshing-floors and wine-presses.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַלְוִיִּ֣ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| תְּדַבֵּר֮ | tedaber | you will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֒ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִ֠קְחוּ | tikchu | you will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מֵאֵ֨ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַֽמַּעֲשֵׂ֗ר | hamaaser | the tithe | H4643 → | 32 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֧תִּי | natati | I give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| מֵאִתָּ֖ם | meitam | from with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּנַחֲלַתְכֶ֑ם | benachalatkhem | <in> inheritance your | H5159 → | 222 times |
| וַהֲרֵמֹתֶ֤ם | vaharemotem | and you will offer up | H7311 → | 190 times |
| מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙ | mimenu | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| תְּרוּמַ֣ת | terumat | [the] contribution of | H8641 → | 76 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֖ר | maaser | a tithe | H4643 → | 32 times |
| מִן־ | min- | of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַֽמַּעֲשֵֽׂר׃ | hamaaser | the tithe | H4643 → | 32 times |
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
הַלְוִיִּ֣םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
תְּדַבֵּר֮you will speak
tedaberH1696 →1141 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶם֒to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תִ֠קְחוּyou will take
tikchuH3947 →966 times
מֵאֵ֨תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַֽמַּעֲשֵׂ֗רthe tithe
hamaaserH4643 →32 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֧תִּיI give
natatiH5414 →2011 times
לָכֶ֛םto <the> you
lakhem
מֵאִתָּ֖םfrom with them
meitamH854 →929 times
בְּנַחֲלַתְכֶ֑ם<in> inheritance your
benachalatkhemH5159 →222 times
וַהֲרֵמֹתֶ֤םand you will offer up
vaharemotemH7311 →190 times
מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙from it
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
תְּרוּמַ֣ת[the] contribution of
terumatH8641 →76 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֖רa tithe
maaserH4643 →32 times
מִן־of
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַֽמַּעֲשֵֽׂר׃the tithe
hamaaserH4643 →32 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Nehemiah 10:38A 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…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 13:12–13
and all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storerooms.
- Numbers 18:26–28
“Speak to the Levites and tell them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you as your inheritance, you must present part of it as an offering to the…
- 2 Chronicles 31:11–12
Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare storerooms in the house of the LORD, and they did so.
- 1 Chronicles 9:26
But the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God.
- Nehemiah 13:12–13
Through
Numbers 18:21Behold, I have given to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work they do, the service of the Tent of Meeting.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 12:44
And on that same day men were appointed over the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tithes. The portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites were gathered into these…
- Deuteronomy 14:22–29
You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields.
- Nehemiah 10:37
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…
- Numbers 18:6
Behold, I Myself have selected your fellow Levites from the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to perform the service for the Tent of Meeting.
- Nehemiah 12:44
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Numbers

This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
