Earnest, wrote in reply to my earlier comment on that the ancient Jews did keep track on who paid tithes and how this was mentioned in the Talmud, stating:
The Talmud contains the oral traditions of the Pharisees from the Second Temple period. After the destruction of the temple in 70 it was only rabbinical Judaism that remained to reconstruct the religious system. If we rely on the Bible rather than rabbinical Judaism then there is no indication that the tithe was monitored.
First, I was not stating that the Jews were following the Talmud, but that the Talmud states and goes into detail that the Jews have always kept track of this via a system. A tractate is based on this system, I mentioned, and claiming that this tradition was preserved, it was written first in the Mishnah.
This got later transfered into the Talmud and became the tractate known as Ma'aserot.
Second, Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the Biblical record is historical, and that Solomon's Temple (and even Moses' Tabernacle) existed, including the tithing system of that era. But both history and the Jews say that Solomon's Temple is more legendary than history.
It was more of a shrine in competition during an era when the Hebrews were clearly worshipping various idol deities. Only after the Babylonian Exile did the cult of YHWH survive and did the tithing system to the kohens become the mainstay of Jewish religion at that point in history, with Ezra, a genuine historical figure, directing the rewriting of religious history making the creative changes to what people know today.
While this is not what Jehovah's Witnesses learn (and may be shocking to even some ex-JWs), it is what mainstream Christians read in their study Bibles and the basics you learn in Hebrew school.
So yes, the rabbis did kinda invent the tithing system, because the ancient Jews did not keep account of it in the "Biblical" days.
But in reality, there were no "Biblical" days. The stories before the return from Babylon are all legends, folklore, and myth. There is a bit of history, but most is colored by these type of stories. Think of it like American history, including tales of George Washington chopping the cherry tree down as a kid, Betsy Ross creating the first American flag, Paul Revere making his midnight ride and crying out, "The British are coming! The British are coming!"--all of which never happened in US history...just American myths.
But when the tithes started to get paid--yep, the Jews did indeed keep track of them.
If we rely on the Bible rather than rabbinical Judaism...
I'd be careful about that Bible you are relying on. A bunch of rabbis wrote and edited that thing too.
