Leviticus 27:16
in Leviticus 27If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportional to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if a man shall sanctify unto Jehovah part of the field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the sowing thereof: the sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
KJV
And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
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This verse in Leviticus 27
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSome 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.
This site's exposition
sanctify his house to be holy
on Leviticus 27:14-21
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.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And in that case, (1.) The land was to be valued (as our countrymen commonly compute land) by so many measures' sowing of barley. So much land as would take a homer, or chomer, of barley, which contained ten ephahs, Ezek. xlv. 11 (not, as some have here mistaken it, an omer, which was but a tenth part of an ephah, Exod. xvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Of his possession - That is, which is his by inheritance, because particular direction is given about purchased lands, ver. 22. And he saith, part of it, for it was unlawful to vow away all his possessions, because thereby he disabled himself from the performance of divers duties, and made himself burdensome to his brethren.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-22-anchored-16-16
And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field of his possession,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some aprt of a field of his possession, &c.--In the case of acquired property in land, if not redeemed, it returned to the donor at the Jubilee; whereas the part of a hereditary estate, which had been vowed, did not revert to the owner, but remained attached in perpetuity to the sanctuary.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Some part of a field of his possession - Rather, a part of the land of his inheritance. The seed thereof - i. e. the quantity of seed required to sow it properly. Thus the value of about 5 1/2 bushels (an homer) was about 6 pounds, 9 shillings, 2d. (50 shekels. See Exo 38:24.)
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֣ם׀ | veim | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| מִשְּׂדֵ֣ה | misedeh | some of [the] field of | H7704 → | 334 times |
| אֲחֻזָּת֗וֹ | ʾachuzato | possession his | H272 → | 66 times |
| יַקְדִּ֥ישׁ | yakdish | he will set apart as holy | H6942 → | 171 times |
| אִישׁ֙ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לַֽיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְהָיָ֥ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֶרְכְּךָ֖ | ʾerkekha | valuation your | H6187 → | 33 times |
| לְפִ֣י | lefi | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| זַרְע֑וֹ | zaro | seed its | H2233 → | 229 times |
| זֶ֚רַע | zera' | seed of | H2233 → | 229 times |
| חֹ֣מֶר | chomer | a homer of | H2563 → | |
| שְׂעֹרִ֔ים | seorim | barley<s> | H8184 → | |
| בַּחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים | bachamishim | for fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| שֶׁ֥קֶל | shekel | shekel[s] of | H8255 → | 88 times |
| כָּֽסֶף׃ | kasef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
וְאִ֣ם׀and if
veimH518 →1069 times
מִשְּׂדֵ֣הsome of [the] field of
misedehH7704 →334 times
אֲחֻזָּת֗וֹpossession his
ʾachuzatoH272 →66 times
יַקְדִּ֥ישׁhe will set apart as holy
yakdishH6942 →171 times
אִישׁ֙anyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לַֽיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְהָיָ֥הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
עֶרְכְּךָ֖valuation your
ʾerkekhaH6187 →33 times
לְפִ֣יto [the] mouth of
lefiH6310 →498 times
זַרְע֑וֹseed its
zaroH2233 →229 times
זֶ֚רַעseed of
zera'H2233 →229 times
חֹ֣מֶרa homer of
chomerH2563 →
שְׂעֹרִ֔יםbarley<s>
seorimH8184 →
בַּחֲמִשִּׁ֖יםfor fifty
bachamishimH2572 →163 times
שֶׁ֥קֶלshekel[s] of
shekelH8255 →88 times
כָּֽסֶף׃silver
kasefH3701 →403 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 5:4Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not…
it leads to
- Acts 5:3
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land?
- 2 Kings 5:25–27
When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied.
- Joshua 7:25–26
“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
- 1 Chronicles 29:3
Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give for it my personal treasures of gold and silver, over and above all that I have provided for this holy…
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8
Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
- Acts 5:3
Through
Isaiah 5:10For ten acres of vineyard will yield but a bath of wine, and a homer of seed only an ephah of grain.”
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:26
When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
- Haggai 1:6
You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into…
- Haggai 2:16
from that time, when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty.
- Leviticus 26:26
About Leviticus

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
