Does tithing before the Law of Moses (Abraham in Genesis 14:18-20, Jacob's vow in Genesis 28:20-22, Hebrews 7:1-10) make tithing binding on Christians?
InferredNo single verse settles it; the conclusion is assembled across texts and leans one way.
The pre-law tithe examples (Abraham, Jacob) and Hebrews 7 do not, by themselves, make tithing binding on believers, but the question of whether the Mosaic tithe command still applies, and in what form, is not settled by a single verse and leans toward "not binding as a fixed tenth" for those outside the Levitical system, based on how Hebrews 7 itself frames the priesthood-law connection.
No text directly commands Christians or the nations to tithe a tenth. The pre-law narratives record events, not commands. Hebrews 7 uses Abraham's tithe to argue for Christ's superior priesthood, and explicitly states that the priesthood change entails a law change (Hebrews 7:12). The Mosaic tithe commands are Tier 5 but tied by their own stated purpose to the Levitical priesthood and Israel's land system. The conclusion that pre-law practice makes tithing universally binding requires an unstated step, that narrative precedent equals perpetual command, which the text does not supply.
What scripture leaves unaddressed: The text is silent on whether a specific percentage (ten percent or any other) is required of believers in the called-out community after the Levitical system. It is also silent on whether the Mosaic tithe commands bind the nations who were never under the Sinai covenant, a distinct question from whether they bind Israel.
…and 15 more verses weighed in the full analysis.
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