Leviticuschapter 27
34 verses · Moses, by tradition · 15th to 13th century BC · The Law
Key verse
Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
It stands in The tithe is holy to the LORD, verses 30 to 34.
The chapter
Chapter summary
Vows and dedications. The book's appendix. A person vowed to the LORD is redeemed by a graduated valuation (age and sex). A beast may be changed only with a penalty. A house vowed to the LORD is valued and redeemed with a fifth added. Land vowed is valued by the years to the Jubilee. The firstborn of clean beasts is already the LORD's and cannot be vowed. Devoted things (cherem) are most holy; a man devoted cannot be redeemed but must die. The tithe of the land belongs to the LORD; redeemed by adding a fifth. ‘These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.’ The book ends where it began. At the mount.
Context
Law · Moses · Leviticus overview
The world behind this chapter
Leviticus 27The history
The chapter follows the formal signature already written at 26:46 and reads as an appendix. Verse 34 repeats the Sinai formula. The dating follows the book's own setting.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
The vow this chapter governs is the one act in Leviticus nobody is commanded to perform. Deuteronomy 23:22 leaves a man free to forbear it altogether, so every case here begins with something a person chose to promise.
A first hearer knew what a shekel of the sanctuary was. Verse 25 fixes it at twenty gerahs, the weight Exodus 30:13 had already set, so every figure in the chapter is tied to one standard rather than to local scales.
A first hearer also knew that a field was valued by the seed it took to sow it. Verse 16 prices land at fifty shekels for every homer of barley seed, which measures a field by its capacity rather than by its boundaries.
The valuations were not a slave price. A man who vowed a person was paying the sum the table set for that age and sex. Verse 8 lets a man too poor for the figure be valued by the priest according to what he could afford.
What it meant to them
The chapter gave a way to keep a promise a person could no longer keep in kind. A man who had vowed himself, his house or his field could pay the assessed value instead.
It also put a price on changing one's mind. The added fifth that falls five times here is the same surcharge the book lays on a man making restitution for a trespass, so taking back what was given to God cost what damage cost.
Sources cited
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch , 1864 to 1870
- Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus (NICOT), 1979
Where the chapter sits
Leviticus 27 falls in Vows and dedications (chapters 27). Appendix on redemption of vows, tithes, and devoted things.
Before it: The Holiness Code, chapters 17–26.
The whole shape of Leviticus→The structure of this chapter
People1
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. Putting a price on a vowed personvv. 1-8
Chapter 26 closed the laws with a formal signature at 26:46, and this chapter follows it with a schedule of prices. The vow it governs is the one act in Leviticus that no man is commanded to perform, and Deuteronomy 23:22 leaves a man free to forbear it. The figures run by age and by sex, fifty shekels down to three, and the text gives no reason for any of them. Verse 8 bends the whole table for a man poorer than the estimation, since the priest values him according to his ability, so the price follows what the man actually has.
Leviticus 27:2
“When a man shall make a singular vow - The verse is short and obscure, and may be translated thus: A man who shall have separated a vow, according to thy estimation, of souls unto the Lord; which may be paraphrased thus: He who shall have vowed or consecrated a soul, i. e., a living creature, whether man or beast, if he wish to redeem what he has thus vowed or consecrated, he shall ransom or redeem it according to the priest’s estimation; for the priest shall judge of the properties, qualifications, and age of the person or beast, and the circumstances of the person who has vowed it, and shall regulate the value accordingly; and the money shall be put into his hands for the service of the sanctuary.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 27:3
“From twenty years old even unto sixty-fifty shekels - A man from twenty to sixty years of age, if consecrated to the Lord by a vow, might be redeemed for fifty shekels, which, at 3s. each, amounted to 7£. 10s. sterling.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:3
“The females were then less esteemed, but not so in Christ; for in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female, Gal. iii. Note, Those that are in the prime of their time must look upon themselves as obliged to do more in the service of God and their generation than can be expected either from minors, that have not yet arrived to their usefulness, or from the aged, that have survived it.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Leviticus 27:4
“And if it be a female,.... That is, of the same age, full twenty years of age, and not more than sixty: then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels; about three pounds ten shillings of our money, the price of a servant, Exo 21:32; the reason of this difference of estimation between a man and a woman is, because the woman is the weaker vessel, and her labour and service of less importance and worth, such as spinning, washing, &c.”
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:4
“And if it be a female - The woman, at the same age, vowed unto the Lord, might be redeemed for thirty shekels, 4£. 10s. sterling, a little more than one half of the value of the man; for this obvious reason, that a woman, if employed, could not be of so much use in the service of the sanctuary as the man, and was therefore of much less value.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 27:5
“From five years old - The boy that was vowed might be redeemed for twenty shekels, 3£. sterling; the girl, for ten shekels, just one half, 1£. 10s.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:5
“Five years old - At which age they might be vowed by their parents, as appears from 1 Sam. i, 11-28, tho' not by themselves; and the children were obliged by their parents vow, which is not strange considering the parents right to dispose of their children so far as is not contrary to the mind of God.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:6
“A month old - The male child, five shekels, 15s., the female, three shekels, 9s. Being both in comparative infancy, they were nearly of an equal value. None were vowed under a month old: the first-born being always considered as the Lord’s property, could not be vowed, see Lev 27:26.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:6
“Samuel, who was thus vowed to God, was not redeemed, because he was a Levite, and a particular favourite, and therefore was employed in his childhood in the service of the tabernacle.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Leviticus 27:7
“Sixty years old - The old man and the old woman, being nearly past labor, were nearly of an equal value; hence the one was estimated at fifteen shekels, 2£. 5s., the other at ten shekels, 1£. 10s. This was about the same ratio as that of the children, Lev 27:5, and for the same reason.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:7
“And the Hebrews observe that the rate of an aged woman is two parts of three to that of an aged man, so that in that age the female came nearest to the value of the male, which occasioned (as bishop Patrick quotes it here) this saying among them, That an old woman in a house is a treasure in a house.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
B. Beasts clean and uncleanvv. 9-13
A clean beast once vowed is holy and stays that animal, and swapping it for another makes both of them holy, so the attempt to trade doubles the gift. An unclean beast is brought to the priest, who sets its worth, and an owner who wants it back pays that worth plus a fifth. The added fifth falls five times in this chapter, at verses 13, 15, 19, 27 and 31, and it is the same surcharge Leviticus 5:16 and 6:5 lay on a man making restitution for a trespass. Taking back what was given to God is priced the way damage is priced.
Leviticus 27:9
“This teaches caution in making vows and constancy in keeping them when they are made; for it is a snare to a man to devour that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry, Prov. xx.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Leviticus 27:10
“He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, etc. - Whatever was consecrated to God by a vow, or purpose of heart, was considered from that moment as the Lord’s property; to change which was impiety; to withhold it, sacrilege. Reader, hast thou ever dedicated thyself, or any part of thy property, to the service of thy Maker? If so, hast thou paid thy vows? Or hast thou altered thy purpose, or changed thy offering? Has he received from thy hands a bad for a good?”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:10
“It and the exchange - That is, both the thing first vowed, and the thing offered or given in exchange. This was inflicted upon him as a just penalty for his levity in such weighty matters.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:11
“And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the Lord,....”
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:11
“Any unclean beast - See on Lev 27:2 (note).”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 27:12
“And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad,.... Put a price upon it according to its worth, as it shall appear to him: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be; that shall be the price at which it shall be sold, not to the owner or devoter of it, for he must give more, as appears from Lev 27:13; but, as Jarchi observes, to all other men who come to purchase it.”
Leviticus 27:13
“Shall add a fifth part - 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 the consecrated thing. Thus, if the priest valued it at forty shekels, if the former owner redeemed it he was obliged to give forty-eight.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
C. Houses, fields, and the jubilee reckoning
1. (vv. 14-21)
Leviticus 27:14
“Shall sanctify his house - The yearly rent of which, when thus consecrated, went towards the repairs of the tabernacle, which was the house of the Lord.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 27:15
“And if he that sanctifieth it will redeem his house,....”
Leviticus 27:16
“Some part of a field - Though the preceding words are not in the text, yet it is generally allowed they should be supplied here, as it was not lawful for a man to vow his whole estate, and thus make his family beggars, in order to enrich the Lord’s sanctuary: this God would not permit. The rabbins teach that the land or field, whether good or bad, was valued at forty-eight shekels, for all the years of the jubilee, provided the field was large enough to sow a homer of barley.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 27:17
“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.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:18
“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.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:18
“But if he sanctify his field after the jubilee,....”
Leviticus 27:20
“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 his refusal, offers it to sale, and have sold the field to another man - He shall forever lose the benefit of redemption.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:21
“As a field devoted - It is חרם cherem, a thing so devoted to God as never more to be capable of being redeemed. See on Lev 27:29 (note).”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:21
“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.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
A house is valued by the priest and bought back with a fifth added, and a field of a man's inheritance is valued by the seed it takes, an homer of barley seed at fifty shekels. The price is reckoned against the jubilee clock, standing full when the vow falls at the jubilee and abated by the years already spent. Verses 20 and 21 give the one route by which inherited land leaves a family for good, since a field left unredeemed becomes the priest's possession at the jubilee. Leviticus 25:13 sends every man back to his possession in that year, and here the same year takes a field away.
2. (vv. 22-25)
Leviticus 27:22
“It was supposed that those who, by the blessing of God, had grown so rich as to become purchasers would think themselves obliged in gratitude to sanctify some part of their purchase, at least (and here they are not limited, but they might, if they pleased, sanctify the whole), to the service of God.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Leviticus 27:23
“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 time, as the next verse tells us.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:24
“In the year of jubilee, the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought,....”
Leviticus 27:25
“Shekel of the sanctuary - A standard shekel; the standard being kept in the sanctuary to try and regulate all the weights in the land by. See Gen 20:16; Gen 23:15.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
A field a man bought is handled on different terms from a field he inherited. He pays its worth up to the jubilee on the day he vows it, and at the jubilee the land goes back to the family it came from, so he gives away only the years he actually holds. Verse 25 fastens every figure in the chapter to one weight, the shekel of the sanctuary at twenty gerahs, which Exodus 30:13 had already fixed.
D. Firstborn and things wholly devotedvv. 26-29
A firstling already belongs to the LORD, so no man may vow it, and the rule shuts the door on offering God what is His already. Verse 28 marks off the devoted thing, the Hebrew cherem, which stands outside sale and outside redemption at any price. Verse 29 then says that none devoted of men shall be redeemed but shall surely be put to death, and it explains itself nowhere. Adam Clarke reads it of persons already under a judicial ban, Matthew Henry raises Jephthah's daughter at Judges 11 as a case of the law being misread, and John Wesley limits it to what a man has lawful power over, while the verse gives one sentence and no case.
Leviticus 27:26
“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 from him.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:27
“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.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:28
“No devoted thing - shall be sold or redeemed - This is the חרם cherem, which always meant an absolute unredeemable grant to God.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Leviticus 27:28
“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.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:28
“They were of the same nature with those sacrifices which were called most holy, which none might touch but only the priests themselves. The difference between these and other sanctified things arose from the different expression of the vow.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Leviticus 27:29
“Which shall be devoted of men - Every man who is devoted shall surely be put to death; or, as some understand it, be the Lord’s property, or be employed in his service, till death. The law mentioned in these two verses has been appealed to by the enemies of Divine revelation as a proof, that under the Mosaic dispensation human sacrifices were offered to God; but this can never be conceded.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Leviticus 27:29
“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 which is his, that is, which he hath a power over.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Leviticus 27:29
“Some think it was for want of being rightly informed of the true intent and meaning of this law that Jephtha sacrificed his daughter as one devoted, who might not be redeemed. A law concerning tithes, which were paid for the service of God before the law, as appears by Abraham's payment of them, ( Gen. xiv. 20 ), and Jacob's promise of them, Gen. xxviii.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
E. The tithe is holy to the LORD
1. (vv. 30-33)
Leviticus 27:30
“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.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:30
“For whatever is said through the law is less than what is commanded through the Lord. For the law commands that tithes be given, but our Redeemer commands that everything be given up by those who follow perfection.”
Gregory the Dialogist· written before 604· Homily 40 (Forty Gospel Homilies)patristic
Leviticus 27:31
“And if a man, will redeem ought of his tithes,.... Of his own, and not his neighbour's, as Jarchi observes; for if he redeemed the tithes of his neighbour, but did not add a fifth part, which he was obliged to do if he redeemed his own, as follows: he shall add thereunto the fifth part thereof; besides giving the value for what part of his tithes he redeemed, he gave a fifth part of that sum over and above; as, supposing the tithe was worth fifty shillings, then he gave that, and ten shillings more, and so in proportion.”
Leviticus 27:32
“Whatsoever passeth under the rod - The signification of this verse is well given by the rabbins: “When a man was to give the tithe of his sheep or calves to God, he was to shut up the whole flock in one fold, in which there was one narrow door capable of letting out one at a time. The owner, about to give the tenth to the Lord, stood by the door with a rod in his hand, the end of which was dipped in vermilion or red ochre.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Leviticus 27:33
“He shall not search whether it be good or bad,....”
The tithe is described as the LORD's before anybody hands it over, so the tenth is acknowledged rather than given. A man may buy back part of his crop tithe by adding the fifth, and the tithe of the herd carries no such clause. Verse 33 forbids searching the flock for a better animal and makes both the beast and its replacement holy if he swaps, so the tenth is whatever passes under the rod when the count reaches ten. Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek at Genesis 14:20 and Jacob vowed them at Genesis 28:22, so the practice reaches this book already formed.
2. (v. 34)
Leviticus 27:34
“These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses,.... Meaning either what are contained in this chapter, or rather in the whole book, which he delivered to Moses: for the children of Israel; to be observed by them, priests and people: and these were given to him in Mount Sinai; either when upon it, or rather when near it, in the wilderness of it, after the tabernacle was set up, and the Lord spake to him out of that; see Lev 1:1.”
1 more voice on this verse
Leviticus 27:34
“These are the commandments - This conclusion is very similar to that at the end of the preceding chapter. I have already supposed that this chapter should have followed the 25th, and that the 26th originally terminated the book.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
One sentence signs off the whole book, and it names Sinai as the place the commandments were given. Leviticus opened with the LORD calling to Moses out of the tent at 1:1, and it ends by putting every word of it back on the mountain. A book about how a man comes near to God closes on a table of what a promise costs, and the last thing it prices is the offering a man brings of his own will.
This page carries no textual note on Leviticus 27. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.