Leviticus 27:2, commentary and pictures

It opens the law of vows made to God, setting out the valuation of what is vowed as part of the laws of redemption by which persons dedicated by vow could be redeemed. It provides for a special vow by which a person is devoted to the Lord according to the priest's set estimation, with a man from twenty to sixty years valued at fifty shekels of silver and a woman at thirty, and with other values according to age. One so vowed was not to be sacrificed or otherwise used, but the assessed value could be paid into the sanctuary treasury, dedicating the person to the Lord's service rather than offering the person as a burnt offering. Where a vow involved what was unlawful to sacrifice, its estimated value could be given instead, so Jephthah could not lawfully burn his daughter but could dedicate her to the Lord as a perpetual virgin. The tithe treated in the same chapter is the Lord's own property, bearing His image like worship and the Sabbath, and belongs to God and not to civil government.

Words and Vow Procedure

Leviticus 27:2 begins the law of vows made to God and the valuation of what is vowed, as part of a record of laws concerning redemption, including how persons dedicated by vow may be redeemed by valuation. A promise dedicating something to God makes it sacred, and it cannot afterward be used for another purpose without robbing God. If someone wished to keep vowed land or a house, the priest valued it and the person added a fifth to the value as payment, and this upheld the vow and reminded of the sacredness of what had been consecrated. The Hebrew word neh-phesh translated “persons” means a person or individual, in a rule about a person making a special vow with the person valued for the LORD according to the priest’s estimation. The verse concerns a singular or special vow by which a person, including a person in a household, is devoted to the Lord according to an appointed priestly estimation or set valuation.

For a male aged twenty to sixty the assessed value was fifty shekels of silver and for a female thirty shekels, with the value varying according to age for people of other ages. A person so vowed was not to be sacrificed or otherwise used; instead the assessed value could be paid into the sanctuary treasury in place of giving the person. The vow redeemed or dedicated the person to the Lord’s service rather than offering the person as a burnt offering, and the person devoted according to the priest’s estimation might be redeemed under the law. The closing part of the chapter explains how tithing was carried out in Israel, though the law of tithing itself was already known to Abraham and Jacob.

Related Doctrines and Applications

When a vow involved something unlawful to offer as a sacrifice, its estimated value could be given instead. Leviticus 27:2-8 provides for estimating the value of a person included in a vow, so an unlawful human sacrifice could be replaced by its assessed value. Thus Jephthah could not lawfully burn his daughter as a burnt offering, which would have been sinful, but could dedicate her to the Lord as a perpetual virgin. The chapter's provision for release from vows is relevant to his vow.

The chapter connects with anathema as something set apart, separated, or devoted, including devotion to destruction, meaning a curse or ban. A person could be devoted to the Lord by a special vow with the person's value determined by an appointed valuation and set estimation. Something devoted to the Lord in this sense could be irrevocably given over to destruction, involving the extirpation and annihilation of a person, animal, city, or thing.

The tithe treated in the chapter is the Lord's own property, bearing His image and superscription. Like worship itself, the Sabbath, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and all other Christian ordinances and rites, it belongs to God and not to civil government. Caesar has no right to exact it, modify it, direct it, lay any claim upon it whatsoever, or touch it in any way.