Leviticus Chapter 27

At a Glance

  • Leviticus 27 centers on vows and dedicatory offerings, placing a framework around the sacred value of persons, animals, and property set apart to the Lord.
  • The core idea is sacred economy: everything—human life, livestock, property—belongs to the Lord and is to be treated with reverence, even in terms of price and redemption.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Leviticus is a priestly handbook shaping sacred life for Israel.
  • - Sacred valuation and sacred economy: How life and things are valued for devotion to God.

Chapter Overview

Leviticus 27 centers on vows and dedicatory offerings, placing a framework around the sacred value of persons, animals, and property set apart to the Lord. The chapter begins with the Lord’s instructions through Moses about how individuals might vow a person, animal, or house to the Lord, and how the value or price (the “estimation”) is to be determined. The price structure is carefully tiered by age and gender, and the text emphasizes fairness and integrity: the priest’s valuation must be honored; changes or substitutions must remain sacred. If someone cannot meet the valuation, they may present themselves before the priest for a compassionate assessment based on ability. The ownership of unclean or different offerings is handled with similar care, with the priest maintaining sovereignty over the valuation and sanctification processes.

The core idea is sacred economy: everything—human life, livestock, property—belongs to the Lord and is to be treated with reverence, even in terms of price and redemption. The chapter culminates with rules about redeeming things dedicated to the sanctuary, ensuring there remains a pathway to reclaim what was vowed, reflecting God’s desire for mercy and practical accessibility within worship. In short, Leviticus 27 governs the sacred accounting of vows, ensuring that devotion to the Lord remains serious yet accessible for all generations and situations.

Historical & Literary Context

Leviticus is a priestly handbook shaping sacred life for Israel. Chapter 27 belongs to the concluding segment of the book where vows, consecrations, and sanctifications are layered into the law. The genre is legal-ethical instruction with hortatory elements—rules intended to sustain holiness and communal order. The priestly voice emphasizes sacred measure and accountability, ensuring that vows to God are honored with sincerity and justice. The chapter fits within Leviticus’s larger concern to regulate not only ritual purity but also the economy of devotion—how people assign value to lives, animals, and property in service of the sanctuary. The vocational and temple-centered lens of the priestly editor underscores the seriousness of commitments made before the Lord.

Key Themes

- Sacred valuation and sacred economy: How life and things are valued for devotion to God.

- Accessibility of devotion: Provisions to redeem or adjust vows guard against exclusion or hardship.

- Holiness through fair practice: The priest’s role ensures fairness and integrity in the valuation process.

- Redemption and mercy within sanctification: A path to redeem what is vowed, preserving grace within strict ritual life.

- The centrality of the sanctuary’s authority: The priestly system governs the relationships between people, vows, and divine service.

Modern Application

Leviticus 27 resonates with modern questions of commitments, stewardship, and cost. For individuals and congregations, the chapter invites reflection on what it costs to dedicate aspects of life to God—whether time, resources, or vocations—and how to navigate limitations with integrity and mercy. The redeemability principle offers practical wisdom for donors, charitable giving, and ethical budgeting within faith communities: ensure that sacrifice remains sustainable and just for all participants. The emphasis on the priestly mediation also invites humility about spiritual authority and the need for wise stewardship in church life, ensuring that vows and dedications align with gospel-centered aims rather than mere ritual compliance.

Cross-References (3-5 related passages)

- Leviticus 22 (purity in offerings and sanctification)

- Leviticus 8–10 (consecration of priests as a model for sacred use)

- Numbers 30 (vows and conditions among individuals)

- Deuteronomy 23 (regulation of vows and holy commitments)

Recommended Personas

- Moses (lawgiver and mediator of vows)

- Priests (Levitical officials who execute the valuations)

- Jesus (fulfillment of true devotion and the call to devote life to the Father)

Chapter Text

1

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation.

3

And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

4

And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

5

And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

6

And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver.

7

And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

8

But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.

9

And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.

10

He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.

11

And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest:

12

And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.

13

But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.

14

And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand.

15

And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his.

16

And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

17

If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.

18

But if he sanctify his field after the jubile, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubile, and it shall be abated from thy estimation.

19

And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him.

20

And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.

21

But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.

22

And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;

23

Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the LORD.

24

In the year of the jubile the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.

25

And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.

26

Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’s firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD’s.

27

And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.

28

Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.

29

None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

30

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD.

31

And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.

32

And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

33

He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.

34

These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

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