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The Torah · Old Testament

Leviticus 27

Vows, valuations and limits on redemption

General context

The final chapter gives rules for vows and property dedicated to the Lord. Valuations of persons vary by age and sex, with the priest adjusting an assessment for someone whose means fall short. Animal offerings cannot simply be exchanged; unclean animals and houses receive valuations, with an added fifth when redeemed. Dedicated fields are given valuations tied to a stated measure of barley seed and the years remaining until Jubilee, and inherited land is distinguished from purchased land. Firstborn animals already belong to the Lord. A separate category of devoted things cannot be sold or redeemed; verse 29 prescribes death for persons under that designation. Tithes of produce and livestock also belong to the Lord, with different rules for redemption and substitution. The book closes by identifying the commandments as given to Moses for Israel at Sinai.

Cited passages: Leviticus 27:1, Leviticus 27:2, Leviticus 27:3, Leviticus 27:4, Leviticus 27:5, Leviticus 27:6, Leviticus 27:7, Leviticus 27:8, Leviticus 27:9, Leviticus 27:10, Leviticus 27:11, Leviticus 27:12, Leviticus 27:13, Leviticus 27:14, Leviticus 27:15, Leviticus 27:16, Leviticus 27:17, Leviticus 27:18, Leviticus 27:19, Leviticus 27:20, Leviticus 27:21, Leviticus 27:22, Leviticus 27:23, Leviticus 27:24, Leviticus 27:25, Leviticus 27:26, Leviticus 27:27, Leviticus 27:28, Leviticus 27:29, Leviticus 27:30, Leviticus 27:31, Leviticus 27:32, Leviticus 27:33, Leviticus 27:34

Leviticus 27 (KJV)

1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation.

3And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

4And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

5And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

6And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

7And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

8But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.

9And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy.

10He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.

11And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the Lord, then he shall present the beast before the priest:

12And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.

13But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.

14And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.

15And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.

16And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.

18But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.

19And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.

20And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.

21But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.

22And if a man sanctify unto the Lord a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;

23Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the Lord.

24In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.

25And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.

26Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the Lord’s firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the Lord’s.

27And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.

28Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the Lord.

29None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.

31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.

33He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

34These are the commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

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Historical context

The monetary scale concerns the vows described in verses 2-8; the chapter gives no rationale for the different amounts assigned by age and sex. The sanctuary shekel is the stated standard. The rules for an inherited field and a purchased field have different outcomes at Jubilee. The devoted-person provision in verse 29 must be kept distinct from the valued vows at the opening. No person is named under that provision, and the passage does not explain here how a person comes under it or narrate an execution.

Cited passages: Leviticus 27:2, Leviticus 27:3, Leviticus 27:4, Leviticus 27:5, Leviticus 27:6, Leviticus 27:7, Leviticus 27:8, Leviticus 27:16, Leviticus 27:17, Leviticus 27:18, Leviticus 27:19, Leviticus 27:20, Leviticus 27:21, Leviticus 27:22, Leviticus 27:23, Leviticus 27:24, Leviticus 27:25, Leviticus 27:26, Leviticus 27:27, Leviticus 27:28, Leviticus 27:29

Literary context

The chapter repeatedly distinguishes what may be assessed and redeemed from what must remain holy. The recurring added fifth applies to specified cases rather than every dedicated object. Its sequence moves from voluntary vows to things already belonging to the Lord, then to devoted things and tithes. The final Sinai statement brings the book's instructions to a close.

Cited passages: Leviticus 27:2, Leviticus 27:9, Leviticus 27:10, Leviticus 27:11, Leviticus 27:12, Leviticus 27:13, Leviticus 27:14, Leviticus 27:15, Leviticus 27:16, Leviticus 27:17, Leviticus 27:18, Leviticus 27:19, Leviticus 27:20, Leviticus 27:21, Leviticus 27:22, Leviticus 27:23, Leviticus 27:24, Leviticus 27:25, Leviticus 27:26, Leviticus 27:27, Leviticus 27:28, Leviticus 27:29, Leviticus 27:30, Leviticus 27:31, Leviticus 27:32, Leviticus 27:33, Leviticus 27:34

Key moments

  1. An assessment according to means (Leviticus 27:8). The priest adjusts the valuation for a person unable to meet the stated amount.
  2. Purchased land returns at Jubilee (Leviticus 27:24). A purchased field that has been dedicated returns at Jubilee to the person whose possession it was.
  3. The tenth animal is holy (Leviticus 27:32). The livestock tithe marks every tenth animal passing under the rod as holy to the Lord.

For reflection

Which distinctions must be kept in view before deciding whether something in this chapter can be redeemed or exchanged?

People in this chapter