John Wesley (NT Notes)

“Sanctify his house - By a vow, for of that way and manner of sanctification he speaks in this whole chapter.”

“From the year of jubilee - That is, immediately after the year of jubilee is past. According to thy estimation - Now mentioned, of fifty shekels for an omer of barley seed. It shall stand - That is, that price shall be paid without diminution.”

“After the jubilee - That is, some considerable time after. The defalcation from the full price of fifty shekels shall be more or less as the years are more or fewer.”

“If he will not redeem it - When the priest shall set a price upon it, and offer it to him in the first place to redeem it: or, rather and, for this seems to be added by way of accumulation, if he, that is, the priest, of whom he might have redeemed it, upon hi…”

“When it goeth out - That is, out of the possession of the other man to whom the priest sold it. The possession shall be the priests - For their maintenance.”

“Thy estimation - That is, the price which thou, O Moses, by my direction hast set in such cases. To the jubilee - As much as it is worth, for that space of time between the making of the vow and the year of jubilee: for he had no right to it for any longer tim…”

“No man shall sanctify it - By vow; because it is not his own, but the Lord's already, and therefore to vow such a thing to God is a tacit derogation from, and an usurpation of the Lord's right, and a mocking of God by pretending to give what we cannot withhold…”

“An unclean beast - That is, if it be the first-born of an unclean beast, as appears from ver. 26, which could not be vowed, because it was a first-born, nor offered, because it was unclean, and therefore is here commanded to be redeemed or sold.”

“No devoted thing - That is, nothing which is absolutely devoted to God with a curse upon themselves or others, if they disposed not of it according to their vow; as the Hebrew word implies.”

“But this is not to be generally understood, as some have taken it, as if a Jew might by virtue of this Text, devote his child or his servant to the Lord, and thereby oblige himself to put them to death. For this is expressly limited to all that a man hath, or …”

“The tithe - There are divers sorts of tithes, but this seems to be understood only of the ordinary and yearly tithes belonging to the Levites, as the very expression intimates, and the addition of the fifth part in case of redemption thereof implies.”

“Under the rod - Either, 1. The tither's rod, it being the manner of the Jews in tithing to cause all their cattle to pass through some gate or narrow passage, where the tenth was marked by a person appointed for that purpose and reserved for the priest.”

“Upon the whole, we have cause to bless God, that we are not come to Mount Sinai, that we are not under the dark shadows of the law, but enjoy the clear light of the gospel. The doctrine of our reconciliation to God by a Mediator, is not clouded with the smoke …”