Bible Study Leviticus 27
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Leviticus 27 · WEB

Vows and Dedications to Yahweh

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Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, 'When a man makes a special vow, the persons shall be for Yahweh by your valuation.
3Your valuation of a male from twenty years old even to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
4If she is a female, your valuation shall be thirty shekels.
5If the person is from five years old even to twenty years old, your valuation shall be for the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
6If the person is from a month old even to five years old, your valuation shall be for the male five shekels of silver, and for the female three shekels of silver.
7If the person is from sixty years old and upward; if it is a male, your valuation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
8But if he is poorer than your valuation, then he shall be set before the priest, and the priest shall value him. The priest shall value him according to what the man who vowed can afford.
9"'If the vow is an animal, of which men offer an offering to Yahweh, all that he gives of such to Yahweh shall be holy.
10He shall not alter it nor change it, a good for a bad or a bad for a good. If he shall at all change animal for animal, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy.
11If it is any unclean animal, of which they do not offer as an offering to Yahweh, then he shall set the animal before the priest;
12and the priest shall value it, whether it is good or bad. As you the priest values it, so shall it be.
13But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of it to its valuation.
14"'When a man dedicates his house as holy to Yahweh, then the priest shall evaluate it, whether it is good or bad. As the priest shall evaluate it, so shall it stand.
15If he who dedicated 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.
16"'If a man dedicates to Yahweh part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to its seed. The sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
17If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand.
18But 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 a deduction shall be made from your valuation.
19If he who dedicated the field will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of the valuation to it, and it shall remain his.
20If he will not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more;
21but the field, when it goes out in the Jubilee, shall be holy to Yahweh, as a devoted field. It shall be the priest's possession.
22"'If he dedicates to Yahweh a field which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession,
23then 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 Yahweh.
24In 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.
25All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26"'However the firstborn among animals, which is made the firstborn to Yahweh, no man shall dedicate it; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is Yahweh's.
27If 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 is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation.
28"'Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man shall devote to Yahweh of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Every devoted thing is most holy to Yahweh.
29"'No one devoted, who shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death.
30"'All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh.
31If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it.
32All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Yahweh.
33He shall not examine whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it. If he changes it at all, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed.'"
34These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.
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Summary

Chapter 27 closes Leviticus with the laws governing voluntary vows and dedications to God. When someone vows a person to God (promising their service), a monetary valuation is assigned — varying by age and gender — which can be paid to redeem the person. Animals, houses, and fields dedicated to God can similarly be redeemed by adding twenty percent. Some things — the firstborn of livestock (already God's) and things "devoted" (*cherem*) — cannot be redeemed at all. The chapter closes with the law of the tithe: a tenth of all produce and livestock is holy to Yahweh, and if redeemed, a twenty percent surcharge applies. The final verse confirms that all these laws were given at Mount Sinai.

Themes

  • Vows are serious covenant commitments — God takes them at their word
  • Everything belongs to God; the tithe is an acknowledgment of his ownership
  • Dedication to God cannot simply be reversed or cheapened — it requires a formal process and a premium
  • The closing verse anchors all of Leviticus in God's revelation at Sinai

Key verses

  • Lev 27:28 — “No devoted thing that a man shall devote to Yahweh of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. Every devoted thing is most holy to Yahweh.”
  • Lev 27:30 — “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh.”
  • Lev 27:34 — “These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.”

Context & background

This chapter closes Leviticus with laws that may seem anticlimactic after the grand covenant sanctions of chapter 26, but they ground the book's principles in the practical details of daily life. Vows were a common feature of ancient Near Eastern religion and Israelite life (e.g., Hannah's vow in 1 Samuel 1, Jephthah's vow in Judges 11). The twenty percent surcharge for redeeming vowed items discouraged casual or manipulative vowing. The tithe laws here complement those in Numbers 18 and Deuteronomy 14. The final verse — "These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai" — provides a formal closing doxology for the entire book, situating all of Leviticus's priestly legislation at Sinai (modern Sinai Peninsula, Egypt). Malachi 3:10 ("Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse") draws directly from this chapter's tithe theology.

Cross-references

  • 1 Sam 1:11 — Hannah's vow to dedicate Samuel to God, a real-life example of this chapter's laws
  • Deut 14:22-29 — The tithe law adapted for life in the Promised Land
  • Mal 3:10 — "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse" — directly applies Lev 27:30
  • Matt 23:23 — Jesus affirms tithing ("you should have done these") while critiquing neglect of justice, mercy, and faithfulness
  • Num 18:21-32 — Further law on tithes for the support of the Levites

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What was the standard surcharge for redeeming a vowed item (vv. 13, 15, 19, 31)?

  2. Observe

    What proportion of produce and livestock was designated as the tithe (vv. 30-32)?

  3. Interpret

    Why was a 20% premium required for redeeming things dedicated to God?

  4. Interpret

    What does describing the tithe as "holy to Yahweh" (v. 30) — already belonging to God — change about generosity?

  5. Apply

    Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 warns about unfulfilled vows. Have you made promises to God that remain unfulfilled?

  6. Apply

    Leviticus closes at Sinai with God speaking to Moses. What is the most significant insight from Leviticus, and how will you apply it?

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