maʿăśēr

Semantic range

1. 1a tenth part
2. 2the offering of a tenth

Simply the ordinal "tenth" used as a noun. The practice appears before the Law: Abram gives tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20; JST Genesis 14:37–40 expands the account considerably), and Jacob vows a tenth at Bethel (Genesis 28:22).

Malachi 3:8–12 is the passage that binds tithing to the windows of heaven; Christ quotes Malachi 3 to the Nephites in 3 Nephi 24. The modern law was given in D&C 119 in 1838, and Church teaching consistently frames it as a law of faith and a covenant rather than a fee.

See also

• מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶקmalkî-ṣedeq
• בְּרִיתbərît