The Third Book of Moses: Leviticus

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- Chapter 27 -

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: The man who will have made a vow and espoused his soul to God shall give the price according to the estimation.

If it is a male from twenty years to sixty years, he shall give fifty shekels of silver, by the measure of the Sanctuary;

if it is a woman, thirty.

But from the fifth year until the twentieth, a male shall give twenty shekels; a female, ten.

From one month until the fifth year, for a male, five shekels shall be given; for a female, three.

At sixty years and beyond, a male shall give fifteen shekels; a female, ten.

If he is poor, and he does not have the means to pay the estimation, he shall stand before the priest, and however much he will value him and see that he is able to pay, so much shall he give.

But an animal which could be immolated to the Lord, if anyone has vowed it, shall be holy,

and it cannot be exchanged, that is, neither better for worse, nor worse for better. And if he has exchanged it, both that which was exchanged, and that for which it was exchanged shall be consecrated to the Lord.

An unclean animal which could not be sacrificed to the Lord, if anyone has vowed it, shall be led before the priest,

who, judging whether it is either good or bad, shall set the price.

But if he who offers it was willing to give, he shall add a fifth part above the estimation.

If a man has vowed his house, and he has sanctified it to the Lord, the priest shall examine it, whether it is good or bad, and it shall be sold according to the price which he will have established.

But if he who vowed it was willing to redeem it, he shall give a fifth part beyond the estimation, and he shall have the house.

But if he has vowed a field of his possession, and has consecrated it to the Lord, the price shall be estimated according to the measure of the seed. If the land would be sown with thirty measures of barley, then let it be sold for fifty shekels of silver.(a)

If he has vowed his field beginning from the current year of Jubilee, as much as it may be worth, so shall it be estimated.

But if, after some amount of time, the priest shall evaluate the money according to the number of years that remain until the Jubilee, then the price shall be reduced.

But if he who had vowed it, was willing to redeem his field, he shall add a fifth part of the money to the estimation, and then he shall possess it.

But if he is not willing to redeem it, then it shall be sold to any other; he who vowed it is no longer able to redeem it.

For when the day of Jubilee arrives, it shall be sanctified to the Lord. And as a possession that has been consecrated, it rightfully belongs to the priest.

If a field has been bought, and it is not from the possession of ancestors, it shall be sanctified to the Lord.

The priest shall evaluate the price according to the number of years until the Jubilee; and the one who had vowed it shall give to the Lord.

Then, in the Jubilee, it shall be returned to the former owner, the one who had sold it and who had held it within the lot of his possession.

All estimation shall be weighed according to the shekel of the Sanctuary. A shekel has twenty obols.

The firstborn, which belong to the Lord, no one is able to sanctify or vow, whether it is an ox, or a sheep, they are for the Lord.

But if it is an unclean animal, whoever offers it shall redeem it, according to your estimation, and he shall add a fifth part to the price. If he is not willing to redeem it, it shall be sold to another for whatever amount it was estimated by you.

All that is consecrated to the Lord, whether it is a man, or an animal, or a field, shall not be sold; neither is it able to be redeemed. Anything, once it has been consecrated, shall be the Holy of holies to the Lord.

And all that has been consecrated, which is offered by man, shall not be redeemed, but shall surely die.

Instruction on Tithes

(Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Deuteronomy 26:1–15; Nehemiah 13:10–14)

All the tithes of the land, whether from the grain, or from the fruits of trees, are for the Lord and are sanctified to him.

But if anyone is willing to redeem his tithes, he shall add a fifth part to them.

Out of all the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and goats, which cross under the rod of the shepherd, every tenth one that arrives shall be sanctified to the Lord.

It shall not be chosen by what is good or bad; neither shall it be exchanged for another. If anyone has exchanged it, both that which was exchanged, and that for which it was exchanged, shall be sanctified to the Lord and shall not be redeemed.

These are the precepts, which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel on mount Sinai.

Footnotes

(a)27:16 The Hebrew unit of dry measure here is called a ‘measure’ and is equivalent to about 2 U.S. gallons.(Conte)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When a man consecrates a person to the LORD in a vow, according to your valuation,

your valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel

(a)

of the sanctuary.

If she is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels.

If the person is from five years old to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

If the person is from a month old to five years old, then your valuation shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver.

If the person is from sixty years old and upward; if he is a male, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall assign a value to him. The priest shall assign a value according to his ability to pay.

“‘If it is an animal of which men offer an offering to the LORD, all that any man gives of such to the LORD becomes holy.

He shall not alter it, nor exchange it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good. If he shall at all exchange animal for animal, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy.

If it is any unclean animal, of which they do not offer as an offering to the LORD, then he shall set the animal before the priest;

and the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest evaluates it, so it shall be.

But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of it to its valuation.

“‘When a man dedicates his house to be holy to the LORD, then the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest evaluates it, so it shall stand.

If he who dedicates it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall be his.

“‘If a man dedicates to the LORD part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. The sowing of a homer

(b)

of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels

(c)

of silver.

If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand.

But if he dedicates his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money according to the years that remain to the Year of Jubilee; and an abatement shall be made from your valuation.

If he who dedicated the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your valuation to it, and it shall remain his.

If he will not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more;

but the field, when it goes out in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the LORD, as a devoted field. It shall be owned by the priests.

“‘If he dedicates a field to the LORD which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession,

then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your valuation up to the Year of Jubilee; and he shall give your valuation on that day, as a holy thing to the LORD.

In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belongs.

All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs

(d)

to the shekel.(e)

“‘However the firstborn among animals, which belongs to the LORD as a firstborn, no man may dedicate, whether an ox or a sheep. It is the LORD’s.

If it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back according to your valuation, and shall add to it the fifth part of it; or if it isn’t redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.

“‘Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Everything that is permanently devoted is most holy to the LORD.

“‘No one devoted to destruction, who shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death.

Instruction on Tithes

(Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Deuteronomy 26:1–15; Nehemiah 13:10–14)

“‘All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.

If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it.

All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the LORD.

He shall not examine whether it is good or bad, neither shall he exchange it. If he exchanges it at all, then both it and that for which it is exchanged shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.’”

These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Footnotes

(a)27:3 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.

(b)27:16 1 homer is about 220 liters or 6 bushels

(d)27:25 A gerah is about 0.5 grams or about 7.7 grains.

(e)27:25 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.