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Leviticus 27:1 open_in_new
This Is The Word Of Yahweh (Leviticus 27:1). .
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,'
It is once more stressed that we have here a word from Yahweh through Moses.
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Leviticus 27:2-8 open_in_new
The Price of Redemption from a Vow (Leviticus 27:2-8).
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the persons shall be for Yahweh by your estimation.”
When anyone comes to the end of their vow a price must be paid for their release. They have been dedicated to the service of Yahweh. They cannot therefore just withdraw. The purpose of this was in order that people might recognise the seriousness of such a vow. It involved a physical cost. This redemption price must be estimated by the priests in accordance with the following rules. Thus when any person made such a vow they were declaring their readiness to meet that cost. They were making a sacrificial gift to Yahweh. But because of that it was necessary for them to know exactly how much it was going to cost.
We make our vows to God so easily, for we feel that we can forget them at any time. But this section warns us that God does not forget and a price has to be paid, although we may be unaware of it at the time.
“And your estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, even your estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.”
The redemption price of a male between twenty and sixty was fifty shekels of silver. That was a considerable price, much higher than that for a slave at this time, which was about twenty shekels. Only the relatively wealthy could so dedicate themselves or their offspring to Yahweh. But they would feel the cost was worth it for the special position it had put them in before him.
“And if it be a female, then your estimation shall be thirty shekels.”
For a female between these ages the redemption price was considerably lower. Women performed services at the door of the tent of meeting (Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 2:22), but they could not fulfil the heavy work which the men would do. Nevertheless they too delighted in seeking to serve Yahweh, and fulfilling a voluntary time of service for Him, from which they could be released with a sense of joy in having served so close to His presence and having contributed to His worship.
“And if it be from five years old even to twenty years old, then your estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.”
Others would dedicate their children to that service for a time. However to redeem someone between five years old and twenty years old the price was twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. The service from which they were being redeemed was considerably less than that for an adult person. But they had known the joy of Yahweh's service.
“And if it be from a month old even to five years old, then your estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female your estimation shall be three shekels of silver.”
For those between a month old and five years old the redemption prices was five shekels for a male and three for a female. The service that they could perform was minimal, but parents clearly thought that it would benefit their children in knowing God more closely.
“And if it be from sixty years old and upward; if it be a male, then your estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.”
But in the case of someone over sixty the redemption price was fifteen shekels for a male and ten for a female. Their ability to serve was limited. But they too would rejoice in having been able to be so close to God.
“But if he be poorer than your estimation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to the ability of him that vowed shall the priest value him.”
However, God did not want men to miss blessing because they were too poor. If the man, or the person who vowed him, was too poor to pay these redemption prices then the priest could value him at a lower figure in accordance with their ability to pay. Thus no one was to be kept from making a vow because he could not afford it, and no one had to continue a vow unwillingly, for a price was payable for release.
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Leviticus 27:9-13 open_in_new
The Price For Redemption of a Beast (Leviticus 27:9-13).
“And if it be a beast, of which men offer an oblation to Yahweh, all that any man gives of such to Yahweh 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.”
Any clean and sacrificial beast vowed to Yahweh was holy. Once offered it could not be changed, whether for better of for worse. If one was replaced then both became holy to Yahweh. This being the case we would assume that the purpose of replacing it was in order to offer something more worthy of Yahweh. Yahweh will receive two offerings instead of one. But neither can be redeemed. One example of such would be a whole burnt offering.
“And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer an oblation to Yahweh, then he shall set the beast before the priest; and the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as you the priest value it, so shall it be. But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of it to your estimation.”
Where the beast that is vowed to Yahweh is an unclean beast, possibly an ass or a camel, it can be redeemed at a price put on it by the priest. And he must add one fifth of the valuation as recompense. He has offered to Yahweh in his vow something which was of great importance to him. He wanted to give something that he treasured. Now he gladly pays a higher price to the Sanctuary in order to receive it back and in order to demonstrate his love for God. This is a somewhat similar case to the first born of an ass which must be redeemed, or its neck broken as a gift to Yahweh (Exodus 13:2; Exodus 13:13) although there the price of redemption was a lamb and it was always required.
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Leviticus 27:14,15 open_in_new
The Price For Redemption of a House (Leviticus 27:14-15).
“And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy to Yahweh, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad. As the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. And if he who sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your estimation to it, and it shall be his.”
This is the case where a man vows a house to Yahweh, setting it apart to be holy to Yahweh. He wants Yahweh's special blessing on his house. He wants to be able to say, this house has been dedicated to Yahweh. Then its value will be assessed by the priest. And if the man wishes it back he must pay that price plus one fifth. Then it will be his again with the joy of knowing that it has been dedicated to Yahweh. But the vow is real. If he does not pay the cost the house goes to the priests for them to sell.
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Leviticus 27:16-21 open_in_new
The Price For The Redemption of a Field Of His Possession Dedicated To Yahweh (Leviticus 27:16-21).
A field of his possession refers to one the possession of which is given to him when the first share out is made in Canaan, a field which if sold would normally come back to him at the year of Yubile. To vow such a field was to seek to enter into something of the blessing of the Levite whose possession was Yahweh Himself (Joshua 13:33).
“And if a man shall sanctify to Yahweh part of the field of his possession, then your estimation shall be according to its sowing, the sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.”
If the vow affects part of the field of his possession then the cost of redemption is assessed by how much grain or fruit that part of the field would produce. The assumption will be that a homer of barley would be worth fifty shekels of silver. Thus the quantity of homers of barley it might produce must be estimated in order to value the field.
“If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to your estimation it shall stand.”
If the vow is made at the beginning of the forty nine year period to the next yubile, then the assessment is made on that basis, depending on what barley could be produced in that time.
“But if he sanctify his field after the yubile, then the priest shall reckon to him the money according to the years that remain to the year of yubile; and an abatement shall be made from your estimation.”
However if the assessment is made after the year of Yubile then the proportion of time remaining is the amount which has to be taken into account.
“And if he who sanctified the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your estimation to it, and it shall be assured to him.”
In the end the price that must be paid for its redemption so that it again belongs to the man whose inheritance it first was is the estimated price plus one fifth redemption offering. If that is paid then the field is again his. But now in his sight it is a blessed field, for it has belonged to Yahweh.
“And if he will not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more, but the field, when it goes out in the jubilee, shall be holy to Yahweh, as a field devoted. The possession of it shall be the priest's.”
But if a man has vowed the field and will not redeem it, or if he has vowed it and sold it to someone else (and therefore cannot redeem it), then at the year of Yubile it will be holy to Yahweh and will not be able to be redeemed. From then on it is the possession of the priests.
This would seem to be the only way by which the family fields could permanently be lost. In this case they had been given back to Yahweh and were therefore irrecoverable. The man had to consider the full consequences of his vow.
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Leviticus 27:22-25 open_in_new
The Redemption Price Of Other Fields (Leviticus 27:22-25).
“And if he sanctify to Yahweh a field which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession, then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your estimation to the year of jubilee, and he shall give your estimation in that day, as a holy thing to Yahweh. In the year of jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs.”
But if a man vows and sets apart as holy for Yahweh a field which is not of the land of his possession, at the year of Yubile it returns to the man whose possession it is. Meanwhile the man who vowed it must pay a redemption price equal to its value to the year of Yubile plus one fifth so that he may again use the field.
“And all your estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.”
The shekel used in these estimations is to be the shekel of the sanctuary as quoted.
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Leviticus 27:26,27 open_in_new
Firstlings (Leviticus 27:26-27).
“Only the firstling among beasts, which is made a firstling to Yahweh, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox or sheep, it is Yahweh's.”
A firstling cannot be set apart as holy to Yahweh. It is already Yahweh's. See Exodus 13:2. Such a vow would be meaningless.
“And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall ransom it according to your estimation, and shall add to it the fifth part of it: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your estimation.”
Where, however, the firstling is an unclean beast it can be redeemed at its estimated value plus one fifth. This presumably does not apply to an ass which has to be redeemed at the price of a lamb because an ass was especially valuable (Exodus 13:13).
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Leviticus 27:28,29 open_in_new
Devoted Things (Leviticus 27:28-29).
Up to this point if something was not redeemed it could be either used by or sold by the priests. But ‘devoted' things would seem to indicate things irrevocably devoted to Yahweh. This was seemingly the most serious of vows and the devoted thing became most holy to Yahweh and could neither be sold nor redeemed. Either it was kept permanently within the tabernacle or it was burned. Normally such things would be such as for some special reason were to be seen as sacred, possibly with the hope of making the vow more effective.
“Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote to Yahweh of all that he has, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to Yahweh.”
If a man ‘devotes' something to Yahweh in this way, then whatever it is, whether man, beast, or field of permanent possession, it is most holy to Yahweh and unredeemable.
“No one devoted, that shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.”
In the case of a man such a person devoted to Yahweh must be put to death. They are ‘most holy' to Yahweh. This would apply to those who were seen as deserving of the death penalty such as murderers, adulterers, idolaters, blasphemers and so on. They were devoted to Yahweh. They could not then be redeemed. They must be put to death. Compare Achan in Joshua 7.
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Leviticus 27:30-34 open_in_new
The Law Concerning Tithes (Leviticus 27:30-34).
“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh.”
That part of the produce of the land which is a tithe is holy to Yahweh. The tithe was one tenth which had originally, while it was relatively sparse in the wilderness, to be set aside for the Levites and priests (see Numbers 18:21; Numbers 18:24). It was their inheritance from Yahweh. Later, in view of the abundance that the land would produce, while still sanctified to Yahweh, the tithe could both be used for a celebratory feast by the producing family as well as in order to provide for the Levites (Deuteronomy 14:22-27; Deuteronomy 15:19-20). Every third year, in ‘the year of tithing', the poor were also to receive a share (Deuteronomy 14:28). A one tenth share of all the produce in the land would amply provide for all three, with the Levites receiving the major part left over after the feasting
“And if a man will redeem aught of his tithe, he shall add to it the fifth part of it.”
But if for some reason a man wished to retain part of what he would normally give as a tithe he must redeem it by paying its value plus one fifth.
“And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Yahweh.”
This does not, however, apply to the tithe of the herd or the flock. The Levites would be present to ensure that proper tithes were being paid, and in the case of herd and flock would pass them under a rod, taking aside every tenth one. That was then holy to Yahweh.
“He 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 that for which it is changed shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”
Once this was done a man could not change any of these animals for another. He cannot check whether the ones set aside for celebratory feasts or for the Levites are better or worse than the others. The choice was irrevocable. If in fact he does seek to change one then both the one being changed, and the one changed for it are both holy to Yahweh, and so he loses out financially. This may for example have been done in order to ensure that at the family feast at the Central Sanctuary the best was available for them to eat.
“These are the commandments, which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.”
This colophon sums up all the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai. The content - the commandments listed. The author - Moses from Yahweh. The place - in Mount Sinai. It possibly sums up the whole book. It may, however, just refer to this last chapter.