Leviticus 27

Passage overview

Leviticus 27 is the final chapter of Leviticus and deals with vows, valuations, devoted things, and tithes. After the laws of sacrifice, purity, priesthood, feasts, and covenant blessings and warnings, this chapter explains how voluntary dedications to God are to be handled faithfully and responsibly.

1verseThe LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2verse“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,

3verseyour valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

4verseIf she is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels.

5verseIf 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.

6verseIf 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.

7verseIf 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.

8verseBut 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.

9verse“‘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.

10verseHe 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.

11verseIf 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;

12verseand the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest evaluates it, so it shall be.

13verseBut if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of it to its valuation.

14verse“‘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.

15verseIf 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.

16verse“‘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 of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17verseIf he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand.

18verseBut 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.

19verseIf 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.

20verseIf he will not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more;

21versebut 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.

22verse“‘If he dedicates a field to the LORD which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession,

23versethen 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.

24verseIn 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.

25verseAll your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.

26verse“‘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.

27verseIf 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.

28verse“‘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.

29verse“‘No one devoted to destruction, who shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death.

30verse“‘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.

31verseIf a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it.

32verseAll the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the LORD.

33verseHe 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.’”

34verseThese are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Types of Vows and Detailed Regulations

  • Persons vowed to the LORD: When a person is dedicated by vow, a valuation is set according to age and sex, with provision for those who are too poor to pay the stated value.
  • Animals: Clean animals dedicated to the LORD may not be exchanged; unclean animals are valued by the priest and may be redeemed with an additional fifth.
  • Houses and fields: Houses are valued by the priest, and fields are valued according to seed amount and the number of years remaining until the Jubilee.
  • Devoted things and tithes: Certain things devoted to the LORD cannot be redeemed in the ordinary way, and tithes from the land and herd are treated as holy to the LORD.

Purpose and Meaning

The regulations prevent vows from being made or changed carelessly. What is promised to God must be treated seriously, and what is holy must not be handled as though it were ordinary property. The chapter teaches faithful fulfillment, sober speech, and responsible dedication.

Structural Characteristics

  • Valuation: Values are organized by age, sex, type of property, and time remaining until the Jubilee.
  • The role of the priest: The priest assesses value and helps maintain fairness and order.
  • The impact of the Jubilee: The number of years until the Jubilee is a key standard for valuing fields.
  • Holiness of what belongs to God: Vowed, devoted, and tithed things are treated with special seriousness.

Meditation Points

How seriously do I treat the promises, commitments, and resolutions I make before God? This chapter invites us to consider the weight of dedication and the importance of faithful follow-through in a world where promises are often made lightly.

Try Applying It to Yourself

Review the commitments I have made with my words, time, money, and actions. Rather than exaggerating, delaying, or making excuses, practice sincere and concrete faithfulness before God.

This is the last chapter of Leviticus.