Hebrews 7:5 explains that the priests descended from Levi were commanded by the Law of Moses to collect tithes from the people, even though those people were their own relatives, all descended from Abraham. The writer of Hebrews, traditionally thought to be the apostle Paul though the authorship is debated, says this to a Jewish Christian audience familiar with the temple system and its regulations.
They indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers, though these have come out of the body of Abraham…
Hebrews 7:5 (WEB)
What Hebrews 7:5 Means
The verse begins by naming the sons of Levi who “receive the priest’s office.” These men were set apart to serve in the tabernacle and later the temple, and the Law gave them the right to receive tithes, a tenth of the produce and income of the nation. The writer is describing an arrangement that was ordered by God through Moses and was therefore legitimate and binding under that covenant.
The phrase “according to the law, that is, of their brothers” is the heart of the verse. The people from whom the Levites collected tithes were fellow Israelites, the Levites’ own brothers in the wider family of Abraham’s descendants. Everyone involved shared one ancestry, so the arrangement was an internal system within one people rather than a payment to an outsider.
The verse does not claim that the Levitical system was wrong or that tithes were improper. It sets up a contrast that the author will develop in the verses that follow, namely that a priest named Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham himself, which points to a priesthood greater than the Levitical one. The verse describes the existing order accurately so that the later argument has something to measure against.
The Context of Hebrews 7:5
The letter to the Hebrews is written to Christians who were likely of Jewish background and who were tempted to measure their faith by the familiar structures of temple worship. Chapter 7 takes up the figure of Melchizedek, the mysterious king of Salem mentioned in Genesis 14, who blessed Abraham and received a tenth of the spoils from him. The writer uses this episode to show that priesthood existed before Levi and that it could be ordered differently than the Levitical line.
Verse 5 sits between two steps in that argument. Just before it, verses 2 through 4 emphasize how great Melchizedek was, since even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth. Just after it, verses 6 through 8 observe that Melchizedek, whose genealogy is not traced back to Levi, accepted tithes from Abraham and blessed him, and that the lesser is blessed by the greater. Read in this setting, verse 5 is the background that makes Melchizedek’s superiority visible.
Key Phrases in Hebrews 7:5
Genesis 14:18-20
18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. 19 He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.
(WEB)
This passage introduces Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, who brings bread and wine to Abraham and receives a tenth of all the spoils. It is the Old Testament account that the writer of Hebrews expands on, and reading it alongside Hebrews 7:5 shows the contrast between the Levitical tithe and the tithe Abraham gave to Melchizedek.
Numbers 18:21-24
21 “To the children of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting. 22 Henceforth the children of Israel shall not come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Among the children of Israel, they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’”
(WEB)
This passage describes God giving the Levites the tithes of Israel as their inheritance in return for their service at the tent of meeting. It shows the original basis for the arrangement mentioned in Hebrews 7:5 and helps explain why the writer speaks of a commandment to take tithes according to the law.
A Short Prayer From Hebrews 7:5
Lord, thank you that you have ordered the life of your people with care, from the priests who served in the tabernacle to the family ties that bind us together. Help me to honor the ways you have provided for those who serve, and to give with a willing heart. Show me, through this passage, that your priesthood is greater than anything I have known, and let that truth steady my faith today. Amen.
