OF THE VOWING OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS
"And if it be a beast, whereof men offer an oblation unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy. He 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 both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. And if it be any unclean beast of which they do not offer an oblation unto the Lord, then lie shall set the beast before the priest: and the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou the priest valuest it, so shall it be. But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof unto thy estimation."
This next section concerns the vowing to the Lord of domestic animals (Leviticus 27:9-13). If the animal thus dedicated to the Lord were such as could be used in sacrifice, then the animal itself was taken for the sanctuary, service, and the vow was unalterable and irrevocable. If, however, the animal vowed was "any unclean beast," then the priest (Leviticus 27:12) was to set a price upon it, according to its value; for which, we may infer, it was to be sold and the proceeds devoted to the sanctuary.
In this case, the person who had vowed the animal was allowed to redeem it to himself again (Leviticus 27:13) by payment of this estimated price and one-fifth additional, a provision which was evidently intended to be of the nature of a fine, and to be a check upon the making of rash vows.