TITHES AND OFFERINGS
I. INTRODUCTION
The previous lesson covered service and spiritual gifts. And though it is often difficult to persuade people to put their gift into effect through service, convincing them of their obligation to tithe and give offerings is even more difficult. One of the spiritual gifts we have is studied is giving. A person with this gift gives more than the tithe and normal offerings, but we all have a responsibility to tithe and an exhortation to give offerings. Most people who have been around church life for awhile have a basic understanding of what a tithe and offerings are. For these people this lesson is intended to provide a deeper understanding and new perspective. Those who are less familiar with tithing and offerings have an opportunity to gain a solid, scriptural understanding of these two concepts.
II. SCRIPTURE AND THE TITHE
4643 ma` aser (mah-as-ayr'); or ma` asar (mah-as-ar'); and (in plural) feminine ma` asrah (mah-as-raw'); from 6240; a tenth; especially a tithe: KJV-- tenth (part), tithe (-ing).
God requires us to give a tenth of our income back to Him. Why? It is how He has chosen to maintain the church building and the ministers. As explained in the following verses, it was how the temple was funded and the priests were supported.
Leviticus 27:30
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD.
Leviticus 27:32
And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
Because people were shepherds or farmers, these verses speak to them. The question exists today as to whether we should tithe off the net or gross of our income. It is easy to see that it was every tenth potato or pomegranate. As you counted off your sheep when you put them in the fold, you pulled out every tenth one. As you count your dollars, pull out every tenth one and you will have it down pat.
Numbers 18:26
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.
The priests salary or maintenance was a tenth of the tenth the people offered. They lived on the temple grounds and received parts of the flesh offerings, what we might call room and board. This tenth of the tenth was a type of salary.
This works a little differently than in our churches. Very few pastors could live off a tenth of the tenth of their church's tithes. Then again, many churches do not provide houses and rarely food. So, we have modified the practice a bit, but the principle is the same.
Deuteronomy 12:11
Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
Obviously they had a national temple and one place to give their tithes. The tithe of a nation could support a good size temple and staff. Could you imagine what just one church in our city could do with that kind of income? Better yet, can you imagine what our church could do if everyone tithed? I do not know the ratio of tithers to non-tithers in our church. I do know that statistically twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work and tithing. I trust that our tithing and service are better than the statistics.
I remember speaking with a pulpit committee of a church that once had 350 members, but a spilt had them down to 175. On a positive note, one man told me that though they were down that much in membership their giving had not changed. I remarked that actually they had a church of 175 with 175 visitors. It is hard to conceive a church losing fifty percent of its membership and not having financial issues. I may have offended him, but the truth remains. There is seldom a lack of work to be done, only a lack of workers and funds.
Deuteronomy 12:17-19
17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:
18 But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.
19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
Deuteronomy 14:22,23
22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
As we can see, taking the tithe to the temple was to be a time of rejoicing before God. The whole household would feast with the Levites, and a portion of the tithe was used for this feast. Part of this was obviously to care for and refresh the Levites since we have the injunction to not forsake the Levite/Priest. They could not go up and celebrate this feast without the Levite. To do so would have been as much a sin as to eat the feast at home instead of at the temple. Many congregations forget to care for or refresh their pastor. Is it any wonder that many men leave the ministry in despair?
A modern day counterpart to this might be our fellowship or homecoming banquets. The expense of these banquets is paid by church funds, which would be a portion of the tithes. A dinner for the pastor and his wife or one to honor staff and volunteers may qualify. We are giving thanks unto the Lord for His work and refreshing His workers. These are times of rejoicing of the church family before Him.
In the old days, farmers donated crops as support for a pastor. Animals were given for him to slaughter or sell. He may not have had much money or other material things, but he definitely ate well. This is what was going on with the Israelite tithe as well. However, if they lived a great distance from the temple, and their items might perish or the flocks be injured or wore out by the trip, there was a provision that allowed them to sell their items in their home area and buy new in Jerusalem. (Deuteronomy 14:24-29)
Deuteronomy 14:28
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
Deuteronomy 26:12
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
Every third year, the feast of the tithe was done at their home area. While we speak of a tenth, the way it worked out the land was tithed twice. They actually gave twenty percent. Ten percent went strictly to the Levites for support of the temple. The Levites tithed on that to give to the priests. The other ten-percent was used to provide for the Levites not living at the temple, strangers, the fatherless, and the widow. A type of welfare system, but a far more efficient system than what we have today.
The farmer was also not to go back after he harvested his field to find anything left behind on the first run. These gleanings were left for the poor to harvest. The poor were provided for in this way, but they still had to work for it. It was not delivered to their door like our current welfare system. If they did not work, they did not eat. (Leviticus19:10; Deuteronomy 24:21; II Thessalonians 3:10)
For your own study, here are some other verses dealing with tithes: II Chronicles 31:5, 6, 12; Nehemiah 10:37, 38; 12:44; 13:5.12; Amos 4:4.
Malachi 3:8-10
8 Will a man rob God? Yet, ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. (KJV)
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
I will comment on these three verses because they are the three most used verses when preaching or teaching on tithing. It is our responsibility and duty to tithe. To not tithe is like not paying the rent or the light bill. God takes the tithe very seriously and likens failure to do so as robbing Him. Robbing God puts you under His curse. That is certainly not a place that I would like to be!!! I am greatly appreciative of grace and mercy or I would have no hope at all!!!
How does God work out that curse? Verses 11 and 12 may give us some clue. When we tithe, God promises to pour out a blessing beyond our ability to contain it. He will rebuke the devourer and in this case, farmers will have good crops and prosper. The nation will be called blessed by its neighbors.
If we were under His curse it would seem that He would not rebuke the devourer. Crops would fail and nations would curse us. Haggai paints a good picture of this curse.
Haggai 1:4-11
4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.
8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.
9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.
11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
The problem here was that the house of God was in shambles after the Jews were taken captive. They are now returned and they are building their own houses, but not God's house. God's house was taken care of by the tithes and offerings. They were not doing this, so what was cursed? Their crops, in essence their prosperity, were cursed. Does the last part of verse six sound like your paycheck? Does our economy based upon consumer debt sound like this passage? Have we not had some serious crop problems in the last few years? Is our nation blessed or cursed by our neighbors and the world?
OK, enough of the Old Testament, what about the New Testament?
Matthew 23:23
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Luke 11:42
But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
It is interesting that one of the few things that Jesus said the Pharisees did right was tithing. They had that down pat, but had trouble with weightier or more important matters of the law.
Luke 18:12
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
They were so good at it that they were down right proud of their tithing and their fasting. But the rest of the story tells us this did not make them righteous.
Now there are some that say that we cannot "sneak back into the Old Testament" to teach any church doctrine, especially tithing. We are under grace and not under law. I agree that we are under grace, but I am also told many times that all scripture is of God and profitable for doctrine, learning, and example. (II Timothy 3:16; Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:11) Jesus and the Apostles quoted the Old Testament extensively. The following verse is especially interesting.
I Corinthians 9:9
For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
Paul was quoting this to prove that the Apostles had a right to receive a salary from those they ministered to, though they were choosing not to do so at that time. In a previous lesson we learned that the law was righteous. There is nothing wrong with the law except that no one can keep it perfectly: therefore, we cannot obtain salvation by seeking to keep it. Right is right and wrong is wrong, and it does not matter in which Testament I find it. Truth is eternal.
Genesis 14:18-20
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all
Hebrews 7:5-9
5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
It is significant to say to those who hold tithing as a part of the law are incorrect for tithing preceded the law. It was Moses who received the law and not Abraham.
Galatians 3:15-18
15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Paul uses the fact that the law does not disannul the promise made to Abraham of salvation by faith. Faith is before law. The law's only purpose was to show us our need for faith, grace, and mercy, which culminated in Christ. Tithing was before the law. If faith remains as our means of salvation then why cannot tithing remain as our means of funding the Church? Indeed, it is faith or grace giving and not legalism since it preceded the law.
III. FAITH GIVING OR PROVIDING FOR THE POOR AND
PERSECUTED SAINTS
The verses that are used by the grace giving or faith-giving adherents are really for providing for the poor and persecuted saints. Let us look at a couple of them.
Acts 11:28-30
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
I am going to build up to my point here. Note that these poor folks are in Judaea. Note also how an offering was provided for them. Every man according to his ability sent the money to them by representatives. In this case, Barnabas and Saul/Paul.
Galatians 2:9-10
9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
Paul was exhorted to remember the poor. That was not a problem as they were already on his heart.
Galatians 6:10
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Here we have Paul exhorting the Galatians to care for their poor and their ministers. Note that 6:7 is not dealing with tithing though some would preach that; nor is it speaking to grace giving.
I Corinthians 16:1-3
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
Now we come to the passage that even many Baptists use as their premier text to teach tithing. It sounds good with the first day of the week collection part. However, it is a collection for the saints, not the Church. Paul cared about the poor, and these poor were in Judea/Jerusalem per Acts and this passage. The Galatians 6 passage may be what he is speaking about when commanding them to care for the poor, or it may have been something he told them when he was there and not specifically recorded.
Remember the big show the Jews put on in taking up an offering that is recorded in the story of the widow's mite? (Luke 21:1-6) Since they preached on the first day of the week, Paul wanted to have this love offering for the poor already collected so that there would not be gatherings when he came. Collect it on Sunday and Paul would pick it up whenever he came by, which might be on a Monday. It would be bagged and ready for him to take and go without commotion.
Verse three is almost identical language to Acts 11:29. Paul tells them to pick someone to send it to Jerusalem, as he was chosen in verse 30. Good accountability and wise fiscal management is shown here.
If this was the tithe used for the local church then why are they taking it to Jerusalem? All the tithes went into one warehouse when there was a temple in Jerusalem so that the priests could be supported, but that is gone. We are now in the local church age.
IV. THE TITHE: A RESPONSIBILITY
5485 charis (khar'-ece); from
5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete;
literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude): KJV-- acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).
This is the word liberality in I Corinthians 16:3. A tithe is a responsibility not a love gift, though one should give the tithe in love and gratitude. Again, the tithe would not be taken to Jerusalem, but remain in Corinth.
II Corinthians 9:1-15
1 For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:
2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.
3 Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
4 Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.
5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty,
and not as of covetousness.
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
We use verse 7 in conjunction with I Corinthians 16 when we preach on tithing, but the context here is clearly giving to the poor. (vs.12) It would appear that there was either a problem with getting their gift to Jerusalem or maybe they were reneging, and Paul is being nice and trying to motivate them because he had already bragged on them. They had promised to give and in I Corinthians 16 Paul told them how to go about it. But now he is trying to get them to perform what they promised. (II Corinthians 8:1-24)
Tying this together, these verses show that we should be caring for the poor and giving an offering for them. What was one of the tithes for in the OT? Yes, for the poor. Remember they also gave tribute or tax to the King. Therefore, they were giving at least 30% of their income to the Temple, the poor, and the King. We have given the care of the poor over to the government, so if we are in the 20% tax bracket and giving at least 10% to the Church, we are fairly close to what the Jews were required to give.
V. OFFERINGS
I have included at the end of the lesson a list of the various types of offerings that were made in the temple for your personal study. We have various offerings that we take up in our day. We do love offerings for visiting speakers or special ones for those in need. We do building funds for repairs and things. (Ezra 1:4) These could equate back to the freewill offerings of the Old Testament. We have a faith promise offering to support missionaries. (II Corinthians 11:7,8)
All these are above the tithe. The tithe is just the bare minimum. As we grow to be more content with what we have and see the futility of amassing piles of material things, we give more to the poor. This is giving to eternal things that do not rust, become moth eaten or are stolen. We start looking at our needs instead of our wants or luxuries. In essence, we count the cost and look at the true value of things.
We do not always do this well. I spoke at a church for a couple of weeks where the offerings were $250.00 a week. They had voted the first week that I was there to build an inside stairwell to the basement. They were all in agreement. The next week I looked at the offering board and it showed $125.00 general fund and $125.00 building fund. They had missed the boat. They wanted benefits without sacrifice and that just does not work.
Mr. R. G. LeTourneau understood the concept well of being content and putting God's business first. He started out with tithing 10% and kept increasing the percentage as his earthmoving equipment company grew. At the time of his death, he was giving 90% of his income to God and living well off the remaining 10%. Most people would have just been content with the fact that the 10% became larger because of their larger income. We would do well to seek some small measure of Mr. LeTourneau's example.
Acts 2:44-47
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
VI. GIVE WITH LOVE AND IN OBEDIENCE
The First Church did not quibble about tithing or grace giving. They, like the widow, practiced living giving. Imagine how few poor there would be in the Church, if we lived and loved like these early saints. There would not be a missionary waiting to be on the field. There would be no more deputation for five to seven years. They would just be called and sent. (Acts 13:1-4) That kind of love for one another would lead to the salvation of souls and a vibrant growing church. They also supported widows from church funds. (I Timothy 5:3-16)
Bottom line, should we tithe? Yes, as a bare minimum to support the Church and our ministers. Should we support missionaries and give to the poor? Yes, out of a cheerful heart as the Lord has prospered us. Should we evaluate our lifestyle and see if we are living for this world or the next? Definitely! Should we be happy with giving 10% plus offerings? No. We should be happy when we are giving all that God would have us give, be that 10% or 90%. While you may be exhausted by now, this is no way an exhaustive study of giving. Therefore, break out your Word and a Young's Concordance and study. Enjoy!!
Homework
Do not just answer put the Scripture reference with your answer.
1. Are we to tithe off our gross or net income?
2. Is tithing to be drudgery or a time of joy?
3. There was a tithe, which was used to support the poor and widows. True/False.
4. It was OK to forget the Levite after you reached a certain age. True/False.
5. God was not very concerned about the tithe. True/False.
6. Is it possible that a person's lack of prosperity could be tied to his not tithing?
7. The Pharisees did not understand tithing. True/False
8. To teach tithing is to teach the law. True/False.
9. Paul never used the Old Testament in his epistle/church teaching. True/False
10. Tithing and fasting will make you a righteous person. True/False
11. 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 teaches tithing. True/False
12. When we take care of the poor, we should only do so if they are saved. True/False
13. When we take an offering for the poor, we should make sure all the big givers are standing in front of the church in the $1000 line. True/False
14. Part of our offerings should support missionaries. True/False
15. 10% is all I ever need to give and the other 90% is mine to with as I please. True/False
16. He who dies with the most toys wins. True/False.
17. The early Christians really got upset about preaching on giving. True/False
18. Christians have no problems with materialism. True/False.
APPENDIX C
SACRIFICE, PARTS I-IV
Zebhach: a "slaughtered animal," a "sacrifice," general term for animals used in sacrifice, including burnt offerings, peace offerings, thank offerings, and all sacrifices offered to the Deity and eaten at the festivals. More particularly, it refers to the flesh eaten by the worshippers after the fat parts had been burned on the altar and the priest had received his portion.
`Olah: a "burnt offering," sometimes whole burnt offering. Derived from the verb `alah, "to go up." It may mean "that which goes up to the altar" (Knobel, Wellhausen, Nowack, etc.), or "that which goes up in smoke to the sky" (Bahr, Delitzsch, Dillmann, etc.); sometimes used synonymously with kalil (which see). The term applies to beast or fowl when entirely consumed upon the altar, the hide of the beast being taken by the priest. This was perhaps the most solemn of the sacrifices, and symbolized worship in the full sense, i.e. adoration, devotion, dedication, supplication, and at times expiation.
Chota'ah, chatta'th: a "sin offering," a special kind, first mentioned in the Mosaic legislation. It is essentially expiatory, intended to restore covenant relations with the Deity. The special features were: (1) the blood must be sprinkled before the sanctuary, put upon the horns of the altar of incense and poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering; (2) the flesh was holy, not to be touched by worshipper, but eaten by the priest only. The special ritual of the Day of Atonement centers around the sin offering.
'Asham: "guilt offering," "trespass offering" (King James Version; in <Isa 53:10, the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "an offering for sin," the American Revised Version margin "trespass offering"). A special kind of sin offering introduced in the Mosaic Law and concerned with offences against God and man that could be estimated by a money value and thus covered by compensation or restitution accompanying the offering. A ram of different degrees of value, and worth at least two shekels, was the usual victim, and it must be accompanied by full restitution with an additional fifth of the value of the damage. The leper and Nazirite could offer he-lambs. The guilt toward God was expiated by the blood poured out, and the guilt toward men by the restitution and fine. The calling of the Servant an 'asham <Isa 53:10 shows the value attached to this offering.
Shelem, shelamim: "peace offering," generally used the plural, shelamim, only once shelem <Amos 5:22. These were sacrifices of friendship expressing or promoting peaceful relations with the Deity, and almost invariably accompanied by a meal or feast, an occasion of great joy. They are sometimes called zebhachim, sometimes zebhach shelamim, and were of different kinds, such as zebhach ha-todhah, "thank offerings," which expressed the gratitude of the giver because of some blessings, zebhach nedhabhah, "free-will offerings," bestowed on the Deity out of a full heart, and zebhach nedher, "votive offerings," which were offered in fulfilment of a vow.
Minchah: "meal offering" (the Revised Version), "meat offering" (the King James Version), a gift or presentation, at first applied to both bloody and unbloody offerings <Gen 4:5, but in Moses' time confined to cereals, whether raw or roast, ground to flour or baked and mixed with oil and frankincense. These cereals were the produce of man's labor with the soil, not fruits, etc., and thus represented the necessities and results of life, if not life itself. They were the invariable accompaniment of animal sacrifices, and in one instance could be
(APPENDIX C CONTINUED)
substituted for them (see SIN OFFERING). The term minchah describes a gift or token of friendship <Isa 39:1, an act of homage <1 Sam 10:27; 1 Kin 10:25, tribute (<Judg 3:15,17 f), propitiation to a friend wronged (<Gen 32:13,18 (<14:19 in Heb)), to procure favor or assistance (<Gen 43:11 ff; <Hos 10:6).
Tenuphah: "wave offering," usually the breast, the priest's share of the peace offerings, which was waved before the altar by both offerer and priest together (the exact motion is not certain), symbolic of its presentation to Deity and given back by Him to the offerer to be used in the priests' service.
Terumah: "heave offering," something lifted up, or, properly, separated from the rest and given to the service of the Deity. Usually the right shoulder or thigh was thus separated for the priest. The term is applied to products of the soil, or portion of land separated unto the divine service, etc.
Qorban: "an oblation," or "offering"; another generic term for all kinds of offerings, animal, vegetable, or even gold and silver. Derived from the verb qarabh, "to draw near," it signifies what is drawn or brought near and given to God.
'Ishsheh: "fire offering," applied to offerings made by fire and usually bloody offerings, but at times to the minchah, the sacred bread and frankincense placed on the tables as a memorial, part of which was burned with the frankincense, the bulk, however, going to the priest. The gift was thus presented through fire to the Deity as a sort of etherealized food.
Necekh: "drink offering," or "libation," a liquid offering of wine, rarely water, sometimes of oil, and usually accompanying the `olah, but often with the peace offerings.
Kalil: "whole burnt offering," the entire animal being burned upon the altar. Sometimes used synonymously with `olah. A technical term among the Carthaginians.
Chagh: a "feast," used metaphorically for a sacrificial feast because the meat of the sacrifices constituted the material of the feast.
Lebhonah: "frankincense," "incense," used in combination with the meal offerings and burnt offerings and burned also upon the altar in the holy place. See INCENSE.
Qetorah, qetoreth: "smoke," "odor of sacrifice," or incense ascending as a sweet savor and supposed to be pleasing and acceptable to God.
Melach: "salt," used in all sacrifices because of its purifying and preserving qualities.
Shemen: "oil," generally olive oil, used with the meal offerings of cakes and wafers, etc.
(from International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (C) 1996 by Biblesoft)
