Tithing on All Financial Gains Including Real Estate Sales
Tithing on All Financial Gains Including Real Estate Sales
The Mosaic law established tithing as a yearly obligation on agricultural produce. Leviticus 27:30 specifies "all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land," which Jamieson-Fausset-Brown describes as "a yearly rent which the Israelites, as tenants, paid to God, the owner of the land" [5]. This foundational text addresses crops and livestock, not real estate transactions or capital gains in the modern sense.
The Scope of Biblical Tithing
Deuteronomy 14:22 commands Israel to "truly tithe all the increase of thy seed," referring to annual agricultural yield [3]. The system involved multiple tithes: a first tithe went to the Levites (Numbers 18:21), and a second tithe was brought to Jerusalem or converted to money for purchasing food there [4]. Every third year, this second tithe was distributed locally among the poor rather than taken to the sanctuary [1, 4]. John Gill notes that Maimonides identified the Passover as the feast when "all tithes are finished" [1], marking the completion of the tithing cycle.
The law permitted monetary conversion when distance made transporting produce impractical. Deuteronomy 14:24-26 allowed Israelites to exchange agricultural yield for money, then purchase food upon reaching Jerusalem [6]. This provision addressed logistics, not the expansion of tithing to non-agricultural income. The principle remained tied to "the increase of thy seed"—the annual harvest cycle.
Theological Rationale and Extension
Aquinas grounds the tithe obligation in the principle that "carnal things are due to those who sow spiritual things," citing 1 Corinthians 9:11 [2]. This establishes tithing as reciprocal support for those providing spiritual ministry. His question "Whether men are bound to pay tithes of all things?" [2] indicates medieval discussion about extending tithing beyond agriculture, though the retrieved excerpt does not provide his full answer.
The distinction between agricultural increase and capital assets matters. Ancient Israel's economy centered on land cultivation; real estate itself was not typically sold, as land remained within tribal and family inheritance structures. When property transactions did occur, they involved usufruct rights rather than permanent alienation of ancestral holdings. The Jubilee provisions (Leviticus 25) ensured land returned to original families, preventing a market in real estate comparable to modern sales.
Application to Non-Agricultural Income
The question of whether tithing extends to real estate sales or other capital gains requires distinguishing between biblical command and theological principle. The Mosaic legislation explicitly addresses agricultural produce—"the increase of thy seed" [3]—not one-time asset liquidations. A real estate sale differs categorically from annual harvest: it represents conversion of existing wealth rather than new productive increase.
Some interpreters apply the underlying principle broadly: if God owns all resources and deserves first-fruits of blessing, then extraordinary financial gains warrant proportional giving. This reasoning extends the spirit of tithing beyond its literal agricultural scope. Others maintain that tithing applied specifically to Israel's agrarian theocracy and that New Testament giving operates on different principles—voluntary, generous, and proportional to income (2 Corinthians 8-9) rather than fixed at ten percent of all transactions.
The Tyndale commentary on 2 Chronicles 31:6 notes that "tithes of the animals" might refer to "proceeds from the sale of animals rather than the animals themselves" [6], suggesting some flexibility in what constituted titheable increase. Yet this still operates within the agricultural framework—livestock sales, not real property.
Contemporary practice varies widely. Some Christians tithe on gross income including capital gains, viewing all financial increase as subject to the ten-percent principle. Others distinguish between regular income (wages, business profits) and asset conversions, tithing only on the former. Still others reject tithing categories entirely for New Testament believers, emphasizing cheerful, sacrificial giving without fixed percentages. The biblical text provides clear guidance for agricultural societies but requires interpretive extension for modern financial instruments and real estate markets.
Sources
- Deuteronomy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Deuteronomy 26:12: When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase,.... Which, according to Maimonides (k), is to be understood of the feast, in which all tithes are finished, which is the feast of the passover: the third year, which is the year of tithing; that is, the third from every seventh, when the land lay fallow. Every year a tithe was paid to the Levites; and besides that a second tithe, which was carried to Jerusalem and eaten there; and every third year it was eaten at home, in their towns and cities in the country instead of it, with the Levite”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Tithes, Art. 2: Article: Whether men are bound to pay tithes of all things? I answer that, In judging about a thing we should look to its principle. Now the principle of the payment of tithes is the debt whereby carnal things are due to those who sow spiritual things, according to the saying of the Apostle (1 Cor. 9:11), "If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we reap your carnal things?" [thus implying that on the contrary "it is no great matter if we reap your carnal things"] [*The ph”
- Deuteronomy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Deuteronomy 14:22: Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed--The dedication of a tenth part of the year's produce in everything was then a religious duty. It was to be brought as an offering to the sanctuary; and, where distance prevented its being taken in kind, it was by this statute convertible into money.”
- Deuteronomy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Deuteronomy 26:12: When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year--Among the Hebrews there were two tithings. The first was appropriated to the Levites (Num 18:21). The second, being the tenth of what remained, was brought to Jerusalem in kind; or it was converted into money, and the owner, on arriving in the capital, purchased sheep, bread, and oil (Deu 14:22-23). This was done for two consecutive years. But this second tithing was eaten at home, and the third year distributed among the poor of the place (Deu 14:28-29).”
- Leviticus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Leviticus 27:30: all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land--This law gave the sanction of divine authority to an ancient usage (Gen 14:20; Gen 28:22). The whole produce of the land was subjected to the tithe tribute--it was a yearly rent which the Israelites, as tenants, paid to God, the owner of the land, and a thank offering they rendered to Him for the bounties of His providence. (See Pro 3:9; Co1 9:11; Gal 6:6).”
- 2 Chronicles (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 2 Chronicles 31:6: 31:6 The tithes of the animals that piled . . . up in great heaps might refer to the proceeds from the sale of animals rather than the animals themselves. The law permitted the people to exchange the yield of the field for money (Deut 14:24-26) and to consume the meat at their homes (Deut 12:15).”