Malachi 3:10

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,.... Or "treasury" e; for there were places in the temple where the tithe was put, and from thence distributed to the priests and Levites, for the support of their families, as they wanted. There were the tithe or tenth part of all eatable things paid to the Levites, and out of this another tithe was paid by the Levites to the priests; and there was another tithe, which some years the owners ate themselves at Jerusalem, and in others gave them to the poor; and these were called the first tithe, the tithe out of the tithe, the second tithe, and the poor's tithe; though they are commonly reduced to three, and are called first, and second, and third, as they are by Maimonides; who says f,

"after they have separated the first tithe every year, they separate the second tithe, as it is said "thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed", c. Deuteronomy 14:22 and in the third year, and in the sixth, they separate the poor's tithe, instead of the second tithe.''

So Tobit says Tobit 1:7

"the first tithe I gave to the Levites, who stand before the Lord to minister to him, and to bless in his name the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the second tithe I sold (as he might, according to the law in Deuteronomy 14:24), and took the money, and went up to Jerusalem, and bought with it what I pleased; and the third tithe I gave to the repair of the temple;''

so Fagius reads: but according to Munster's edition it is, the second and third tithes I gave to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow; see Deuteronomy 26:12. It appears from hence that the sin of the people was, that they did not bring in "all" their tithes; they kept back a part of them: wherefore they are called upon to bring in the whole, and which they did in Nehemiah's time; see Ne 10:38 where mention is made of the treasuries for the tithe, which were certain chambers adjoining to the temple; and besides those that were built by Solomon, there were other chambers prepared by Hezekiah in his times, when the tithes were brought in, in such plenty, that there was not room enough for them, 2 Chronicles 31:11 and besides those in the second temple, that were in the court of the priests, there were others in the court of the people, as L'Empereur thinks g, where what the others could not contain might be put; and into which court the priests might come; and there were also receptacles underground, as well as upper rooms, where much might be laid up; add to all this, that Dr. Lightfoot h suggests, that these tithes were treasured up in the chambers by the gates of the temple, and were at least a part of the treasuries of the house of God, which the porters at the gates had the care of, 1 Chronicles 9:26 and particularly that the house of Asuppim, at which were four porters, was a large piece of building, containing divers rooms for the treasuring up things for the use of the temple; in the Apocrypha:

" And are resolved to spend the firstfruits of the the tenths of wine and oil, which they had sanctified, and reserved for the priests that serve in Jerusalem before the face of our God; the which things it is not lawful for any of the people so much as to touch with their hands.'' Judith 11:13

that there may be food in mine house; in the temple, for the sustenance of the priests and Levites: so the Targum,

"the prophet said, bring all the tithes into the treasury, that there may be food for them that minister in the house of my sanctuary:''

and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts; by bringing in all their tithes; when they would find, by making this experiment or trial, that the curse would be removed from them, and blessings be largely and liberally bestowed upon them by him, who is the Lord of hosts, and so able to perform any promise he makes; and here one is implied, and is as follows:

if I will not open you the windows of heaven; which had been shut and stopped up, and let down no rain upon their land, which brought a scarcity of provisions among them; but now, upon a change in their conduct it is suggested that these windows or floodgates should be opened, and rain let down plentifully upon them, which only could be done by the Lord himself; for the key of rain is one of the three keys, the Jews say i, which God has reserved for himself, and never puts into the hands of a minister:

and pour you out a blessing: give abundance of rain to make the earth fruitful, and bring forth its increase in great plenty, which is a blessing; and not destroy the earth, and the fruits of it, as in the times of Noah, when the windows of heaven were opened, and a curse was poured out upon the earth:

that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it]; and so Kimchi says his father interpreted this clause, that there would not be a sufficiency of vessels k and storehouses. Some render the words, as Junius, "so that ye shall not be sufficient"; either to gather in the increase, or to consume it. The Targum is,

"until ye say it is enough;''

and so the Syriac version. The phrase, which is very concise in the original text, and may be literally rendered, "unto not enough" l, denotes great abundance and fulness of good things, so that there should be enough and to spare; and yet, as Gussetius observes, not enough to answer and express the abundance of mercy and goodness in the heart of God.

e אל בית האוצר "thesaurum", Junius Tremellius, Piscator "[vel] in domum thesauri", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Burkius. f Hilchot Maaser Sheni, c. 1. sect. 1. g Not. in Misn. Middot, c. 2. sect. 6. No. 14. h Prospect of the Temple, c. 5. p. 1058. c. 19. p. 1097. i T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 2. 1. Sanhedrin, fol. 113. 1. k עד בלי די "adeo ut non sint vobis sufficientia vasa", Pagninus, Vatablus. So Burkius. l Eousque ut nunquam sit satis, nempe a parte datoris, Gussetius. So De Dieu.