Tithes, or Tenths. A form of tax known long before the time of Moses, Genesis 14:20; Genesis 28:22, and practised under the civil and religious government of heathen nations. It required a fixed proportion of the produce of the earth and of herds, for the service of God. One-tenth of this produce went to the use of the Levites, who had no part in the soil, and of course were dependent on their brethren for the means of subsistence. One-tenth of their tenth they paid in their turn to the priests. Numbers 18:21-32. The nine parts were tithed again, and of this second tithe a feast was made in the court of the sanctuary, or in some apartment connected with it. If, however, the Jew could not with convenience carry his tithe thither, he was permitted to sell it and to take the money, adding one-fifth of the amount-that is, if he sold the tithe for a dollar, he should bring, in money, a dollar and twenty cents—and to purchase therewith what was required at the feast after he came to the sanctuary. Leviticus 27:31; Deuteronomy 12:17-18; Deuteronomy 14:22-27. See for full account, Bissell's Biblical Antiquities.