Hi, Steve,
You once commented to me that before the Maccabees period only one tithe was paid. The Pharisees instituted the additional tithes. I recall thAT the information came from the Jewish Encyclopedia or the Encyclopedia Judicia. I have searched both and cannot come up with the information. Perhaps I am looking under the wrong subheading. Can you help??
Thanks Dean
MYREPLY
Dean,
In my tithing article, I discuss several quotes from Jewish reference sources indicating significant historical disagreement among Jewish sources about the subject of tithing. Harper’s Bible Dictionary (1985 Ed. p. 1079) notes that the concept of two tithes originated in the Mishnah, which by inference means it did not originate in the original scriptures. There is no evidence that the original biblical laws of Moses called for more than one tithe, although some have tried to make a case for that viewpoint. The Encyclopedia Judaica (1971 Ed., Vol. 15. pp.1161-1162) comments on the rabbinic origination of the concept of two tithes, but it also notes that later rabbinic thought indicated this was too much of a burden on the people.
It may be that the editions of the sources you looked at worded their explanations of tithing subjects somewhat differently than the editions I reviewed.
Steve
