14 And when a man H376 shall sanctify H6942 his house H1004 to be holy H6944 unto the LORD, H3068 then the priest H3548 shall estimate H6186 it, whether it be good H2896 or bad: H7451 as the priest H3548 shall estimate H6186 it, so shall it stand. H6965
And if a man H376 sell H4376 a dwelling H4186 house H1004 in a walled H2346 city, H5892 then he may redeem H1353 it within a whole H8552 year H8141 after it is sold; H4465 within a full year H3117 may he redeem H1353 it. And if it be not redeemed H1350 within the space H4390 of a full H8549 year, H8141 then the house H1004 that is in the walled H2346 city H5892 shall be established H6965 for ever H6783 to him that bought H7069 it throughout his generations: H1755 it shall not go out H3318 in the jubile. H3104 But the houses H1004 of the villages H2691 which have no wall H2346 round about H5439 them shall be counted H2803 as the fields H7704 of the country: H776 they may be redeemed, H1353 and they shall go out H3318 in the jubile. H3104
I will behave myself wisely H7919 in a perfect H8549 way. H1870 O when wilt thou come H935 unto me? I will walk H1980 within H7130 my house H1004 with a perfect H8537 heart. H3824 I will set H7896 no wicked H1100 thing H1697 before mine eyes: H5869 I hate H8130 the work H6213 of them that turn aside; H7750 it shall not cleave H1692 to me. A froward H6141 heart H3824 shall depart H5493 from me: I will not know H3045 a wicked H7451 person. Whoso privily H5643 slandereth H3960 H3960 his neighbour, H7453 him will I cut off: H6789 him that hath an high H1362 look H5869 and a proud H7342 heart H3824 will not I suffer. H3201 Mine eyes H5869 shall be upon the faithful H539 of the land, H776 that they may dwell H3427 with me: he that walketh H1980 in a perfect H8549 way, H1870 he shall serve H8334 me. He that worketh H6213 deceit H7423 shall not dwell H3427 within H7130 my house: H1004 he that telleth H1696 lies H8267 shall not tarry H3559 in my sight. H5869
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Leviticus 27
Commentary on Leviticus 27 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 27
Le 27:1-18. Concerning Vows.
2-8. 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. And Moses was empowered, by divine authority, to prescribe the conditions of this voluntary duty.
the persons shall be for the Lord, &c.—better rendered thus:—"According to thy estimation, the persons shall be for the Lord." Persons might consecrate themselves or their children to the divine service, in some inferior or servile kind of work about the sanctuary (1Sa 3:1). In the event of any change, the persons so devoted had the privilege in their power of redeeming themselves; and this chapter specifies the amount of the redemption money, which the priest had the discretionary power of reducing, as circumstances might seem to require. Those of mature age, between twenty and sixty, being capable of the greatest service, were rated highest; young people, from five till twenty, less, because not so serviceable; infants, though devotable by their parents before birth (1Sa 1:11), could not be offered nor redeemed till a month after birth; old people were valued below the young, but above children; and the poor—in no case freed from payment, in order to prevent the rash formation of vows—were rated according to their means.
9-13. if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord—a clean beast. After it had been vowed, it could neither be employed in common purposes nor exchanged for an equivalent—it must be sacrificed—or if, through some discovered blemish, it was unsuitable for the altar, it might be sold, and the money applied for the sacred service. If an unclean beast—such as an ass or camel, for instance, had been vowed, it was to be appropriated to the use of the priest at the estimated value, or it might be redeemed by the person vowing on payment of that value, and the additional fine of a fifth more.
14, 15. when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the Lord, &c.—In this case, the house having been valued by the priest and sold, the proceeds of the sale were to be dedicated to the sanctuary. But if the owner wished, on second thought, to redeem it, he might have it by adding a fifth part to the price.
16-24. 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. The reason for this remarkable difference was to lay every man under an obligation to redeem the property, or stimulate his nearest kinsman to do it, in order to prevent a patrimonial inheritance going out from any family in Israel.
26, 27. Only the firstling of the beasts—These, in the case of clean beasts, being consecrated to God by a universal and standing law (Ex 13:12; 34:19), could not be devoted; and in that of unclean beasts, were subject to the rule mentioned (Le 27:11, 12).
28, 29. no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, … shall be sold or redeemed—This relates to vows of the most solemn kind—the devotee accompanying his vow with a solemn imprecation on himself not to fail in accomplishing his declared purpose.
29. shall surely be put to death—This announcement imported not that the person was to be sacrificed or doomed to a violent death; but only that he should remain till death unalterably in the devoted condition. The preceding regulations were evidently designed to prevent rashness in vowing (Ec 5:4) and to encourage serious and considerate reflection in all matters between God and the soul (Lu 21:4).
30-33. all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land—This law gave the sanction of divine authority to an ancient usage (Ge 14:20; 28:22). The whole produce of the land was subjected to the tithe tribute—it was a yearly rent which the Israelites, as tenants, paid to God, the owner of the land, and a thank offering they rendered to Him for the bounties of His providence. (See Pr 3:9; 1Co 9:11; Ga 6:6).
32. whatsoever passeth under the rod, &c.—This alludes to the mode of taking the tithe of cattle, which were made to pass singly through a narrow gateway, where a person with a rod, dipped in ochre, stood, and counting them, marked the back of every tenth beast, whether male or female, sound or unsound.
34. These are the commandments, &c.—The laws contained in this book, for the most part ceremonial, had an important spiritual bearing, the study of which is highly instructive (Ro 10:4; Heb 4:2; 12:18). They imposed a burdensome yoke (Ac 15:10), but yet in the infantine age of the Church formed the necessary discipline of "a schoolmaster to Christ" [Ga 3:24].