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offering unto the Lord, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace
offerings” (Lev. 7:13-14). Part of the animal sacrifices was also designated as a
$
for the priests: “And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for a heave offering
of the sacrifices of your peace offerings” (Lev. 7:32; cf. Lev. 10:14-15; Num. 6:20). Such
contributions to the priests obviously were given to provide the needed foodstuffs for the
priests and their families since their tribe, Levi, was given no land on which to raise their
own food.
While all the priests had to be from the tribe of Levi, inheriting their office through
their fathers, not all Levites could function as priests. For one thing, there were too many
of them. Also, some were needed to work in the tabernacle, and later the temple, as
maintenance and cleanup people, something that is readily understandable when one
thinks of all that was involved in the sacrificial system. The Levites actually lived in
various parts of Israel, and they were the welfare responsibility of the Israelites among
whom they lived. They, like the widow, the orphan, and the resident alien, were to be
given the tithe of all farm produce every third year (Deut. 14:28-29). The Levites, then,
were to tithe the tithe they received, giving their own tithe from what they received from
the people to the Lord. Part of that tithe was to be a
$
or “heave offering” to the
priests, the descendants of Aaron (see Num. 18:25-32).
In order to provide for the materials necessary for the construction of the wilderness
tabernacle, Moses was instructed to receive an “offering” or
$
!
The “offering” was
to consist of all kinds of precious metals and stones, as well as the usual building
materials such as wood and skins (Exod. 25:3-9). When Moses announced this to the
people of Israel, he said: “Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord; whosoever
is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord …” (Exod. 35:5), following
this with a list of the needed materials (Exod. 35:6-8). The implication here is twofold:
the
$
is really the Lord’s, and it is best given freely, willingly, from a generous
heart. In the Second Temple Period, following the Exile, the silver and gold and the
vessels for the temple are called “the offering for the house of our God” (Ezra 8:25), also
signifying a contribution.
The
$
sometimes was an “offering” which had the meaning of a tax, an
obligatory assessment which was made against every Israelite male who was twenty
years old or older, to be paid for the support of the tabernacle and later, the temple (Exod.
30:11-16). This tax was levied on all males without any allowance for their financial
situation: “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a
shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls”
(Exod. 30:15). This tax actually had its basis in the census or count of the male
population, the tax then being required as a ransom or atonement from the wrath of God
because such a census was taken (2 Sam. 24:1). The practical aspect of it was that it
provided needed financial support for the sanctuary. Another example of
$
in the
sense of taxes may be seen in Prov. 29:4: “The king by judgment establisheth the land;
but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.” Solomon’s heavy taxation which led to the
split of the kingdom may be a case in point (1 Kings 12).
A very different use of
$
is found in Ezek. 45:1; 48:9, 20-21, where it refers to
an “oblation” which was that portion of land on which the post-exilic temple was to be