(KJV) Leviticus 271

<< Leviticus 26 Numbers 1 >>

⥃Rules about Valuations

[1] And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, [2] Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When2 a man shall make a singular vow3, the persons [shall be] for the Lord by thy estimation. [3] And thy estimation4 shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels5 of silver, after the6 shekel of the sanctuary. [4] And if it [be] a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels7. [5] And if [it be] from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels8, and for the female ten shekels9. [6] And if [it be] from10 a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male11 five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation [shall be] three shekels of silver. [7] And if [it be] from12 sixty years old and above; if [it be] a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen13 shekels, and for the female ten shekels. [8] But if he be poorer14 than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according15 to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him. [9] And if [it be] a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord, all16 that [any man] giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy. [10] 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 it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.17 [11] And 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:18 [12] And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, [who art] the priest19, so shall it be. [13] But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth [part] thereof unto thy estimation.20

[14] And when a man shall sanctify21 his house [to be] holy unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest22 shall estimate it, so shall it stand. [15] And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add23 the fifth [part] of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his. [16] And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord [some part24] of a field25 of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer26 of barley seed [shall be valued] at fifty shekels of silver. [17] If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand. [18] But if he sanctify his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubilee, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.27 [19] And 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.28 [20] And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. [21] But the field, when29 it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted30; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s31. [22] And if [a man] sanctify unto the Lord a field which he hath bought, which [is] not of the fields of his possession32; [23] Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, [even] unto the year of the jubilee: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, [as] a holy thing unto the Lord.33 [24] In the year of the jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, [even] to him to whom the possession of the land [did belong].34 [25] And all35 thy estimations shall be according to the shekel36 of the sanctuary: twenty37 gerahs shall be the shekel.

[26] Only the firstling38 of the beasts, which39 should be the Lord’s firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether [it be] ox, or sheep: it [is] the Lord’s. [27] And if [it be] of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem [it] according to thine estimation, and shall add40 a fifth [part] of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation. [28] Notwithstanding no devoted41 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. [29] None42 devoted, which shall be devoted43 of men, shall be redeemed; [but] shall surely be put to death.

⥃Instruction on Tithes [ Deuteronomy 14:22–29 † Deuteronomy 26:1–15 † Nehemiah 13:10–14 ]

[30] And 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.44 [31] And if a man will at all redeem [ought] of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth [part] thereof.45 [32] And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, [even] of whatsoever passeth under the rod46, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. [33] 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 the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.47 [34] These [are] the commandments48, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount49 Sinai.

<< Leviticus 26 Numbers 1 >>

  1. Lev 27:1, He that makes a singular vow must be the Lord’s; Lev 27:3, The estimation of the person; Lev 27:9, of a beast given by vow; Lev 27:14, of a house; Lev 27:16, of a field, and the redemption thereof; Lev 27:28, No devoted thing may be redeemed; Lev 27:30, The tithe may not be changed. ↩

  2. Gen 28:20-22; Num 6:2, Num 21:2; Deut 23:21-23; Judg 11:30-31, Judg 11:39; 1Sam 1:11, 1Sam 1:28 ↩

  3. A vow is a religious promise made to God, for the most part with prayer, and paid with thanksgiving. Vows were either of abstinence (Num 6:1-27 and Num 30:1-16), or the devoting of something to the Lord, as sacrifices (Lev 7:16), or the value of persons, beasts, houses, or lands, concerning which the law is here given. A man might vow or devote himself, his children, his domestics, his cattle, his goods, etc.; and respecting the redemption of all these, rules are laid down in this chapter. But if, after consecrating these things, he refused to redeem them, they then became the Lord's property forever. The persons continued all their lives devoted to the sanctuary, the goods were sold for the profit of the temple, or the priests; and the animals, if clean, were offered in sacrifice; and if not proper for sacrifice, were sold, and the proceeds devoted to sacred uses. This is a general view of the different laws relative to vows, mentioned in this chapter. Eccl 5:4-5 ↩

  4. Lev 27:14, Lev 5:15, Lev 6:6; Num 18:16; 2Kgs 12:4 *marg. ↩

  5. i.e, At three shillings each, 7£. 10s. sterling. ↩

  6. Lev 27:25; Exod 30:13 ↩

  7. i.e., 4£. 10s. sterling, A little more than one-half the value of a man; for this obvious reason, that a woman, if employed, would not be of so much use in the sanctuary as the man. Zech 11:12-13; Matt 26:15, Matt 27:9-10 ↩

  8. i.e. 3£, sterling ↩

  9. i.e. 1£, 10s. sterling Lev 27:5 ↩

  10. Num 3:40-43, Num 18:14-16 ↩

  11. The male five shekels, 15s., the female three shekels, 9s. Being both in infancy they were nearly of an equal value. ↩

  12. Ps 90:10 ↩

  13. The old man and the old woman, being almost past labour, were nearly of an equal value; the former being estimated at 15 shekels, and the latter at 10. ↩

  14. Lev 5:7, Lev 12:8, Lev 14:21-22; Mark 14:7; Luke 21:1-4; 2Cor 8:12 ↩

  15. Jer 5:7 ↩

  16. is holy, i.e. separated and devoted; it cannot be redeemed like a human being, a house, or a field (Young), Lev 27:9 ↩

  17. Lev 27:15-33; Jas 1:8 ↩

  18. Deut 23:18; Mal 1:14 ↩

  19. Heb. according to thy estimation, O priest, etc. Lev 27:14 ↩

  20. Lev 27:10, Lev 27:15, Lev 27:19, Lev 5:16, Lev 6:4-5, Lev 22:14 ↩

  21. Lev 27:21, Lev 25:29-31; Num 18:14; Ps 101:2-7 ↩

  22. Lev 27:12 ↩

  23. Lev 27:13 ↩

  24. Though the words "some part" are not expressed, yet it is generally allowed that they should be supplied here; as it was not lawful for a man to alienate in this manner his whole patrimony. He might express his good will for the house of God but he must not impoverish his own family. ↩

  25. Acts 4:34-37, Acts 5:4 ↩

  26. or, the land of an homer, etc. i.e. as much land as required a homer of barley to sow it, The homer was very different from the omer; the latter held about three quarts, the former seventy-five gallons three pints. Isa 5:10; Ezek 45:11-14; Hos 3:2 ↩

  27. Lev 25:15-16, Lev 25:27, Lev 25:51-52 ↩

  28. Lev 27:13 ↩

  29. Lev 25:10, Lev 25:28, Lev 25:31 ↩

  30. It is cherem, a thing so devoted to God, as never more to be capable of being redeemed. Lev 27:28-29; Deut 13:17; Josh 6:17; Ezra 10:8; Ezek 44:29 *marg. ↩

  31. Num 18:14; Ezek 44:29 ↩

  32. Lev 25:10, Lev 25:25 ↩

  33. Lev 27:12, Lev 27:18 ↩

  34. Lev 27:20, Lev 25:28 ↩

  35. Lev 27:3 ↩

  36. A standard shekel; the standard being kept in the sanctuary, to try and regulate all the weights in the land by. ↩

  37. Exod 30:13; Num 3:47, Num 18:16; Ezek 45:12 ↩

  38. Heb. first born, etc. As these firstlings were the Lord's before, it would have been a solemn mockery to pretend to make them a matter of a singular vow; for they were already appointed, if clean, to be sacrificed. ↩

  39. Exod 13:2, Exod 13:12-13, Exod 22:30; Num 18:17; Deut 15:19 ↩

  40. This was probably intended to prevent rash vows and covetous redemptions. The priest alone was to value the thing; and to whatever his valuation was, a fifth part must be added by him who wished to redeem it. Lev 27:11-13 ↩

  41. This is the cherem, the absolute, irredeemable grant to God. Lev 27:21; Exod 22:20; Num 21:2-3; Deut 7:1-2, Deut 13:15-16, Deut 20:16-17, Deut 25:19; Josh 6:17-19, Josh 6:26, Josh 7:1, Josh 7:11-13, Josh 7:25; Judg 11:30-31, Judg 21:5, Judg 21:11, Judg 21:18; 1Sam 14:24-28, 1Sam 14:38-45, 1Sam 15:3, 1Sam 15:18, 1Sam 15:32-33; Matt 25:41; Acts 23:12-14; Rom 9:3; 1Cor 16:22; Gal 3:10, Gal 3:13 ↩

  42. Num 21:2-3; 1Sam 15:18-23 ↩

  43. That is, either that every person devoted to the service of God shall not be redeemed, but die in that devoted state, or, that such as were devoted to death by appointment and law of God, as the Canaanites were, shall be put to death. ↩

  44. Gen 14:20, Gen 28:22; Num 18:21-24; Deut 12:5-6, Deut 14:22-23; 2Chr 31:5-6, 2Chr 31:12; Neh 10:37-38, Neh 12:44, Neh 13:5, Neh 13:12; Mal 3:8-10; Matt 23:23; Luke 11:42, Luke 18:12; Heb 7:5-9 ↩

  45. Lev 27:13 ↩

  46. The Rabbins say, that when a man gave the tithe of his sheep or calves, he shut them in one fold, in which was a narrow door, to let out but one at a time. He then stood by the door, with a rod dipped in vermilion in his hand, and as they passed he counted them with the rod; and when the tenth came he touched it, by which it was distinguished as the tithe calf, sheep, etc. Jer 33:13; Ezek 20:37; Mic 7:14 ↩

  47. Lev 27:10 ↩

  48. Lev 26:46; Deut 4:45; John 1:17 ↩

  49. Num 1:1; Gal 4:24-25; Heb 12:18-25 ↩