Leviticus 27:1-34

Leviticus

*Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness

Leviticus

Gordon Churchyard

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Words in boxes are from the Bible, except for the words in brackets (…).

Chapter 27

Laws about *tithes and *offerings

v1 The *LORD said (this) to Moses.

v2 ‘Speak to the *Israelites. Say this to them. “Someone might make a special promise to give a person to the *LORD. You must say what the value (of that person) is.

v3 The value of a male person whose age is between 20 and 60 years is 50 *shekels of silver. You must use *shekels (that match the standard of the *shekel) in my house.

v4 The value of a female person is 30 *shekels.

v5 If the male person is between the ages of 5 and 20 years, (his) value is 20 *shekels. (The value of) a female person is 10 *shekels.

v6 If the male person is between one month and 5 years old, (his) value is 5 *shekels of silver. (The value of) a female person is 3 *shekels of silver.

v7 If the male person is 60 years of age or older, (his) value is 15 *shekels. (The value of) a female person is 10 *shekels.

v8 But someone who made such a promise may be too poor to pay the price. He must make the person stand in front of the priest. The priest will work out how much the poor man will have to pay. It is what the poor man can afford.

v9 Someone may promise to give an animal to the *LORD. The animal may be a type of animal that (the priest) can offer (to the *LORD). Then the animal that the person gives to the *LORD becomes holy.

v10 He must not exchange it for another animal. He must not change a good animal for a bad animal, or a bad animal for a good one. If he does exchange one animal for another (animal), then both animals become holy.

v11 Someone may promise to give an animal that is not *clean. It is not an animal that (the priest) can offer to the *LORD. That animal must stand in front of the priest.

v12 The priest will work out what its value is, either high or low. It is the priest who will work out its value.

v13 If the man wants to buy (the animal) back, he must add 20% (per cent) of its value.

v14 A person may want to *dedicate his house as holy for the *LORD. The priest must work out what its value is, either high or low. Whatever the priest says will be its value.

v15 If the person wants to buy his house back, he must add 20% (per cent) to the price. Then (the house) will become his (house again).

v16 A person may want to *dedicate land to the *LORD. (That is,) part of his family’s (land). (The priest) must work out its value from the amount of seeds that someone would sow there. The rate is 50 *shekels of silver for 50 gallons (220 litres) of grain seeds.

v17 If he *dedicates his field during the *Jubilee Year, then that is its value.

v18 But if he *dedicates his field after the *Jubilee Year, the priest must work out its value. He will count how many years there will be until the (next) *Jubilee Year. He will reduce its value in proportion (to the number of years).

v19 The person who *dedicates (the field) may wish to buy it back. He must add 20% (per cent) of its value and then (the field) will be legally his (field again).

v20 If he does not buy back the field, nobody else can buy it back. (The same is true) if he sells the field to somebody else.

v21 When the field is free again in the *Jubilee Year, it will belong to the priests. It will be holy to the *LORD, like a field that belongs completely (to him).

v22 A man may *dedicate to the *LORD a field which he has bought. It is not part of his family’s land.

v23 The priest will work out the value of the field. It will depend on how long it is to the next *Jubilee Year. The man must pay its value on that day. It is holy for the *LORD.

v24 In the *Jubilee Year, the field will belong again to the person from whom the man bought it. It is part of the land that belongs to that person’s family.

v25 (The priest) will say (what) the value (of the land is) in *shekels. The *shekel will be as it is in the house of God. (It weighs 0.4 of an ounce (12 grams).) 20 *gerahs make one *shekel.

v26 Nobody may *dedicate a *first-born animal to the *LORD. This is because all *first-born animals already belong to him. (The animal) belongs to the *LORD, whether it is a cow or a sheep.

v27 But the animal may be an *unclean animal. Then the owner may buy it back for its value plus 20% (per cent). If he does not buy it back, (the priest) must sell it for its value.

v28 A person must not sell anything that he *devotes to the *LORD. He must not buy it back either. This is (the rule) for every such thing that he has. It may be a human person, an animal or one of his family’s fields. Everything that he *devotes belongs to the *LORD. It is most holy.

v29 But a human person whom (a judge) has *devoted (to the *LORD) must die. Someone must kill that person if it is proper to *devote that person. Nobody can buy back that person.

v30 A *tithe of everything from the land belongs to the *LORD. This includes grain from the land and fruit from trees. (The *tithe) is holy for the *LORD.

v31 If someone buys back any of his *tithe, he must add 20% (per cent) (to its price).

v32 (People must also give) a *tithe of their cows and sheep. A tenth of all that come under a farmer’s *rod will be holy for the *LORD.

v33 (The farmer) may not choose the good (animal) from the bad (animal). He may not put one animal in place of another (animal). If he does, then both animals become holy. He cannot buy back either of them.” ’

v34 These are the laws which the *LORD gave to Moses on the mountain called Sinai. (These rules) were for the *Israelites.

Notes

Verse 2 A person can make a special promise to the *LORD. That promise may be to give someone else (for example, a son or daughter) to the *LORD. Then, that other person would serve the *LORD in a special way.

Bible students do not agree about the purpose of the payment in verses 2-8. There are two main ideas:

(1) Perhaps this payment was to buy back the person from the *LORD. Bible students who think this give the example of Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11:34-40. Jephthah gave his daughter to the *LORD. Afterwards, he wanted to change his mind. If these Bible students are right, then Jephthah had to pay this money instead. But the Book of Judges seems not to describe the mere payment of money.

(2) Perhaps the person who gave the gift had to pay money too. The other person would work for God for his whole life. This is what happened to Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:21-28. If these Bible students are right, then it was not possible to buy back a person from the *LORD.

Verses 3-7 A *shekel is a weight. It is 0.4 of an ounce (12 grams). Women had a lower value because they were not as strong as men. The people whom someone promised to give to the *LORD would help the priests in God’s house. The priests would train the children how to help them. In countries near to *Israel, people *sacrificed children to their false gods. The *LORD did not allow this in *Israel.

Verse 8 Here ‘the person’ means the person whom someone is *offering to the *LORD. This person must stand in front of the priest. The priest will decide how much the poor man can afford to pay.

Verses 9-10 When someone promises to give something to God, God accepts that gift immediately. It belongs to God even before the giver hands it over to the priest. So the giver cannot change his mind before he hands the animal over. He cannot give a different animal instead. If he tries to do that, then both animals belong to God.

The gift may be an animal that God accepts as a *sacrifice. Then the giver cannot ever buy that animal back. When he promised it, God accepted it. When God accepted it, the animal became holy. So the man must give that particular animal as a *sacrifice. God will not accept any payment or any other animal instead of it.

Verses 11-13 This man gave an animal that God does not accept as a *sacrifice. For example, the man may have given a *donkey or a horse. So the priest cannot *sacrifice it. Usually the priest would sell it for its proper value. The money would be for God’s house.

But perhaps the giver was sorry that he promised to give that animal. For example, perhaps it was his favourite horse. God allows the giver to buy back his animal. But the giver must know that he has done something wrong. He has taken back the animal that he gave to God. So he must pay an extra 20% (per cent), that is, one fifth. This is like the rules for the *guilt offering (see Leviticus 5:16 and Leviticus 6:5).

Verses 14-15 *Dedicate means ‘to put away from daily use and to make holy’. Probably the priests would use such a house to live or to work in. Again, a man must add an extra 20% (per cent) to the price if he wants to buy his house back. He has to pay the extra money because he has done something wrong. He has taken back a gift that he gave to God.

Verses 16-21 A person could give some of his family’s land to the *LORD. Usually, the family would own again any land that they sold. It would become their land again in the *Jubilee Year (chapter 25). But if someone gave land to the *LORD, it would become permanently the *LORD’s, in the *Jubilee Year. However, until the *Jubilee Year, the giver could buy back the land. He had to pay an extra 20% (per cent) because he has done something wrong. He has taken back something that he gave to God.

The *Hebrew word for ‘50 gallons’ is ‘homer’. It is close to 50 gallons (220 litres) in size. ‘Homer’ means ‘*donkey’. A *donkey is a small horse. A homer of seed is what a *donkey can carry. Two things are not clear and they are a puzzle to Bible students.

• Who does work on the field that the man has *dedicated to the *LORD? Does the man who *dedicated the field work on it? Then perhaps, he gives the harvest to the priests. Or do the priests work on the field? Bible students are not sure about the answers.

• Who sells the field to somebody else in verse 20? Is it the man or the priests? Again, Bible students are not sure about the answers. Perhaps this is about land that the man has already sold. Usually, he would own the land again in the *Jubilee Year. But the man has given his rights over the land to the *LORD, so he cannot buy the land back. So in the *Jubilee Year, the land will become the *LORD’s.

Verses 22-25 These are the rules for a temporary gift of land to the *LORD. When someone had bought land, he only owned it until the next *Jubilee Year. Then the land went back to the original owner in the *Jubilee Year. So if the buyer gave this land to the *LORD, his gift was a temporary gift. He gave only the use of the land (or its harvests) until the *Jubilee Year.

Verses 26-27 The first young animal that a cow or a sheep has belongs to the *LORD, Exodus 13:2 and Exodus 34:19-20. That animal is the ‘*first-born’ of its parent. So nobody can give that animal to the *LORD; it is already his.

If the *first-born animal is *unclean, for example, a *donkey, the owner can buy it back from the *LORD at birth. Exodus 34:20 says that the owner must give a *lamb to the *LORD. That is the price to buy back the *first-born *donkey. If the owner does not want to buy back the *donkey, he must kill it.

Afterwards, the owner may decide to give again that *first-born *donkey to the *LORD. The owner would not be giving the *donkey for *sacrifice. The only animals that the priests *sacrificed were cows, *bulls, sheep and goats. The priests could sell the *donkey to someone else. Or, perhaps the owner might want to buy it back again. He must pay the extra 20% (per cent), because it is wrong to take back a gift from the *LORD.

Verses 28-29 The word ‘*devote’ means more than ‘*dedicate’. To *devote something to the *LORD is a very serious matter. Sometimes a person could buy back something that he had *dedicated to the *LORD. But nobody can buy back the things that someone *devotes to the *LORD. Such things belong wholly and completely to the *LORD. They are not only holy, they are most holy for the *LORD.

It seems that often, the people destroyed these things completely in order to hand them over to the *LORD. (See Joshua 6:17-19). This happened at certain battles (see 1 Samuel 15:17-23).

*Jewish Bible students think that verse 29 is about a judge’s decision. A judge could decide that a person must die because of his crime. So the judge would *devote that person to the *LORD, so that the person must die. And nobody could pay for the person to go free.

When the judge made that decision, he handed the person over to the *LORD. A judge would only make that decision for the worst crimes. For example, perhaps the person had killed someone on purpose. Or perhaps the person had decided on purpose that he would fight against the *LORD. (See Leviticus 24:13-17.)

Verses 30-33 A *tithe is one tenth, or 10% (per cent). The farmer’s *rod was a stick. He used it to guide and to protect his animals. Verse 32 seems to describe how he might count his animals. He would cause them to pass, under his *rod, through a narrow place. Then he could count each one in turn. And every tenth animal belonged to the *LORD. That animal was holy. So it was not possible to give another animal instead of it. But it was possible for a person to buy back some of his *tithe of grain or fruit. When someone did that, he was taking back a gift from the *LORD. So he had to pay the extra 20% (per cent) in addition to the value of the gift.

Verse 34 God gave these rules to the *Israelites because he wanted to have a relationship with them. He wanted to forgive their *sins so that they could have *fellowship with him. God wanted his people to be able to *worship him in the beauty of *holiness.

Something to do

1. Read 1 Samuel 1:11 and 1 Samuel 1:21-28. That passage is about Hannah, who *dedicated her son Samuel to the *LORD.

2. Read the stories in Joshua 6:17; Joshua 7:1-15; Deuteronomy 13:13-19; and 1 Samuel chapter 15. They are about things and people that someone *devoted to the *LORD.

3. Look for the farmer’s *rod in Psalms 23.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.

holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
tithe ~ one tenth or 10%25 (per cent).
offering ~ gift.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
shekel ~ a weight that is 0.4 of an ounce (12 grams).
clean ~ suitable for God or for God’s people. A clean person could go to God’s house to worship him.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
dedicate ~ to put something away from daily use and to make it holy or special.'Jubilee Year ~ a special year that happened once at the end of each period of 50 years.
gerah ~ a measurement that is 1/20th (5%25) of a shekel.

shekel ~ a weight that is 0.4 of an ounce (12 grams).

'first-born ~ the first baby that is born in a human family. Or, the first young animal to be born to its mother.
unclean ~ unsuitable for God or for God’s people. When someone was unclean, that person was unable to worship at God’s house.

worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
devote ~ to give something completely and permanently to God. This word means more than ‘dedicate’; it is a much more serious promise. Often when people devoted something to the LORD, they destroyed that thing completely.

dedicate ~ to put something away from daily use and to make it holy or special.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
rod ~ a stick that farmers used to protect and to guide their animals.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
donkey ~ an animal that is like a small horse.'guilt offering ~ an offering by someone who is responsible for certain wrong acts. See the explanation in the note called ‘The 5 sacrifices’ near the beginning of this commentary.

offering ~ gift.

sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.

incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
dedicate ~ to put something away from daily use and to make it holy or special.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
lamb ~ a young sheep.
bull ~ the male animal of the same kind as a cow.
Jewish ~ a word that describes Jews and what they do.

Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.

Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.

LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.

Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.

Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
sin ~ to do wrong things; not to obey God’s rules. Or, the things we do when we sin. Evil thoughts, words and deeds are all sin, whether we do them on purpose or not.
fellowship ~ a special type of friendship between God and his people. Or, the special type of friendship that God’s people have with each other.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.

holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.