Leviticus 27:2
in Leviticus 27“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the persons shall be for Jehovah by thy estimation.
KJV
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation.
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This verse in Leviticus 27
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhen 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.
This site's exposition
the LORD spake unto Moses
on Leviticus 27:1-8
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.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And because there might be too great a number of persons thus dedicated, which might be burdensome to the sanctuary, an exchange is allowed, and the priests are directed to receive a tax for their redemption. By thy estimation - Thine, O man that vowest, as appears from ver. 8, where his estimation is opposed to the priest's valuation.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-8-anchored-2-2
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,....
If a man consecrated himself, or a child, to the service of the tabernacle, to be employed there in some inferior office, as sweeping the floor, carrying out ashes, running of errands, or the like, the person so consecrated shall be for the Lord, that is, "God will graciously accept the good-will." Thou didst well that it was in thy heart, 2 Chron. vi.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When a man shall make a singular vow, &c.--Persons have, at all times and in all places, been accustomed to present votive offerings, either from gratitude for benefits received, or in the event of deliverance from apprehended evil.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rather, When a man makes a special vow which concerns thy valuation of persons to Yahweh, if thy estimation shall be of the male, etc. The expression “thy estimation” is addressed either to Moses or to the priest Lev 27:12: it denoted a legal valuation. The vow of a person was perhaps most frequently made in cases of illness or danger, under the impulse of religions feeling, either in the way of thankfulness for blessings received, or of supplication for something desired. A man might dedicate himself, his wife, his child, or his bondservant. This might have been an old custom; but the Law ordained that he who had taken such a vow should pay a sum of money to the sanctuary, determined according to the age and sex of the person.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
AND THE ETERNAL SPOKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING … WHEN A MAN SHALL CLEARLY UTTER A VOW. This section also is joined [to Chapter 25 above] as having been declared on Mount Sinai; 189 See Ramban above,:1.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּ֞ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵ֤י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֔ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִ֕ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יַפְלִ֖א | yafli' | he will make hard | H6381 → | |
| נֶ֑דֶר | neder | a vow | H5088 → | 60 times |
| בְּעֶרְכְּךָ֥ | beerkekha | by valuation of your | H6187 → | 33 times |
| נְפָשֹׁ֖ת | nefashot | persons | H5315 → | 754 times |
| לַֽיהוָֽה׃ | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
דַּבֵּ֞רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵ֤י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֔םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
אִ֕ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
כִּ֥יif
kiH3588 →4482 times
יַפְלִ֖אhe will make hard
yafli'H6381 →
נֶ֑דֶרa vow
nederH5088 →60 times
בְּעֶרְכְּךָ֥by valuation of your
beerkekhaH6187 →33 times
נְפָשֹׁ֖תpersons
nefashotH5315 →754 times
לַֽיהוָֽה׃to Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 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
1 Samuel 1:11And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then…
it leads to
- Judges 13:5
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 6:5
For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let…
- Genesis 29:32
And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:4
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
- Genesis 28:20
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
- Judges 13:5
Through
Numbers 6:2“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
it leads to
- Amos 2:11–12
I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not true, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD.
- Romans 1:1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
- Amos 2:11–12
Through
Judges 11:39After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man. So it has become a custom in Israel
it leads to
- Judges 11:31
then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
- Judges 11:31
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.