Numbers 18:21

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

²⁰Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites. 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.²²No longer may the Israelites come near the Tent of Meeting, or they will incur guilt and die. ²³The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come. The Levites will not receive an inheritance among the Israelites. ²⁴For I have given the Levites as their inheritance the tenth that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution. That is why I told them that they would not receive an inheritance among the Israelites." ²⁵And the LORD instructed Moses, ²⁶"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 tenth of the tenth. ²⁷Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. ²⁸So you are to present an offering to the LORD from every tenth you receive from the Israelites, and from it give the LORD's offering to Aaron the priest. ²⁹You must present the offering due the LORD from all the best of every gift, the holiest part of it.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the tenth: Numbers 18:24-26, Leviticus 27:30-32, Deuteronomy 12:17-19, Deuteronomy 14:22-29, 2 Chronicles 31:5, 2 Chronicles 31:6, 2 Chronicles 31:12, Nehemiah 10:37-39, Nehemiah 12:44, Nehemiah 13:12

even the service: Numbers 18:6, Numbers 3:7, Numbers 3:8, 1 Corinthians 9:13, 1 Corinthians 9:14, Galatians 6:6

Reciprocal: Numbers 31:47 - the Levites 2 Chronicles 11:14 - their possession Nehemiah 12:47 - and they Nehemiah 13:5 - which was commanded to be given to the Malachi 3:8 - In Hebrews 7:2 - a tenth Hebrews 7:5 - who

Cross-References

Genesis 11:5
Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.

Genesis 11:7
Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

Genesis 18:1
Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent.

Genesis 18:24
What if there are fifty righteous ones in the city? Will You really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones who are there?

Exodus 3:8
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey-the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Exodus 33:5
For the LORD had said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, 'You are a stiff-necked people. If I should go with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.'"

Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.

Deuteronomy 13:3
you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Joshua 22:22
"The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! He knows, and may Israel also know. If this was in rebellion or breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today.

Job 34:22
There is no darkness or deep shadow where the workers of iniquity can hide.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance,.... The tenth part of the produce of the land; of the wheat, barley, oil, and wine; the tenth part of their harvest and vintage; so that though they were the least of the tribes, they had the greatest share of the increase of the land, and that without any labour or expense; the other having but nine parts among them all, and at the charge and labour of manuring, cultivating, c. and this they were to have

for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation see Numbers 18:3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek: Jacob had promised the tithe of all wherewith God blessed him if he should return in peace to his father’s house. But now first the Lord’s tithes are assigned to the Levites for their support (compare Leviticus 27:30). The payment of tithes to them is recognized in Nehemiah 10:37; Nehemiah 12:44; Tobit 1:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 18:21. Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth —

First, the Levites had the tenth of all the productions of the land.

2. They had forty-eight cities, each forming a square of 4,000 cubits.

3. They had 2,000 cubits of ground round each city.

Total of the land they possessed, 53,000 acres.

4. They had the first-fruits and certain parts of all the animals killed in the land.

Canaan contained about 11,264,000 acres; therefore the portion possessed by the Levites was rather less than as one to two hundred and twelve; for 11,264,000 divided by 53,000, quotes only 212 28/53. - See Lowman, Dodd, c. But though this was a very small proportion for a whole tribe that had consented to annihilate its political existence, that it might wait upon the service of God, and labour for the people's souls yet let it be considered that what they possessed was the best of the land: and while it was a slender remuneration for their services, yet their portion was such as rendered them independent, and kept them comfortable; so that they could wait on the Lord's work without distraction. This is a proper pattern for the maintenance of the ministers of God: let them have a sufficiency for themselves and families, that there may be no distracting cares; and let them not be encumbered with riches or worldly possessions, that they may not be prevented from taking care of souls.