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Leviticus 27: Vows and Dedications

God gives careful instructions for valuing the persons, animals, houses, and fields that his people freely dedicate to him.

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Leviticus 27 (WEB)

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When a man consecrates a person to Yahweh in a vow, according to your valuation,

3 your 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.

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

5 If the person is from five years old even to twenty years old, then your valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

6 If the person is from a month old even 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.

7 If 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.

8 But 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.

9 “‘If it is an animal, of which men offer an offering to Yahweh, all that any man gives of such to Yahweh becomes 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 animal for animal, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy.

11 If 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;

12 and the priest shall value it, whether it is good or bad. As you the priest values it, so shall it be.

13 But 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 to be 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.

15 If 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.

16 “‘If a man dedicates to Yahweh 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.

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

18 But 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.

19 If 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.

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

21 but the field, when it goes out in the Jubilee, shall be holy to Yahweh, as a devoted field. It shall be owned by the priests.

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

23 then 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.

24 In 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.

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

26 “‘Only the firstborn among animals, which is made a firstborn to Yahweh, no man may dedicate it; whether an ox or sheep. It is Yahweh’s.

27 If 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.

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 trees, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh.

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

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

33 He shall not search 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.’”

34 These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Summary

The book of Leviticus closes with laws governing vows, the voluntary dedication of persons or property to the LORD. When someone consecrates a person by a vow, the priest assigns a valuation according to age and sex, and provision is made for the poor who cannot afford the standard amount. Animals fit for sacrifice become holy once dedicated and cannot be exchanged; unclean animals are valued and may be redeemed by adding a fifth to the price. The same principle applies to a house dedicated to the LORD and to a field, whose value is reckoned in relation to the Year of Jubilee. Some things, however, may not be dedicated because they already belong to God: the firstborn of clean animals is already the LORD's, and a thing wholly devoted to destruction cannot be redeemed. Finally, God declares that all the tithe of the land and the herds is holy to him, the tenth that belongs to the LORD. Throughout the chapter runs the theme that what is given to God becomes holy and must be treated with reverence and integrity. Vows were free, but once made they were binding. The chapter teaches that devotion to God, while voluntary, is to be wholehearted and trustworthy. It is a fitting close to a book about holiness: even our freely given gifts are received into God's holy keeping.

Key Themes

  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The God to whom vows and dedications are made, who receives what is given as holy and claims the tithe as his own.
  • The priest — The one who assigns fair valuations to persons, animals, houses, and fields dedicated to the LORD.
  • The one who vows — The worshiper who freely dedicates persons or property to God and is held to the integrity of the vow.

Key Verse

Leviticus 27:30 (WEB)

“‘All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh.

Lessons Learned

  • Devotion to God is freely given, yet once vowed it is binding and must be kept with integrity.
  • What is dedicated to God becomes holy and is to be treated with reverence, not casually reclaimed.
  • God makes gracious provision for the poor, valuing them according to their ability to give.
  • The tithe and the firstborn already belong to God, reminding us that all we have is first his gift.
  • Vows are voluntary but binding. Once a person “consecrates a person to Yahweh in a vow,” a valuation is set and honored (Leviticus 27:2, WEB).
  • God makes room for the poor. If someone is “poorer than your valuation,” the priest assigns a value “according to his ability to pay” (Leviticus 27:8, WEB).
  • What is devoted becomes holy. “Every devoted thing is most holy to Yahweh” and may not be sold or redeemed (Leviticus 27:28, WEB).
  • The tithe belongs to the LORD. “All the tithe of the land… is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh” (Leviticus 27:30, WEB), already his before we give.
  1. What does it mean that a vow is voluntary, yet once made it becomes binding?
  2. How does the provision for those “poorer than your valuation” reveal God's character?
  3. Why can the firstborn and the tithe not be dedicated as if they were ours to give?
  4. What does this closing chapter add to the whole book's theme of holiness?
  5. Is there a commitment or promise to God you have left unkept? What would it look like to honor your word to him?
  1. A vow was never required, but once made it became a sacred obligation. This guarded the integrity of our word before God; we are not to make promises lightly. The freedom to vow came with the responsibility to follow through, reflecting the truthfulness of the God to whom we speak.
  2. By scaling the valuation to a person's ability to pay (27:8), God ensured that the poor were not shut out of dedicating themselves or their gifts. His provision shows a God who welcomes the devotion of all, rich and poor alike, and never measures worship by wealth.
  3. The firstborn and the tithe were already God's by his prior claim (27:26, 30). They could not be given as a special gift because they were never ours to begin with. This reminds us that everything we have is first God's gift, and our giving is really returning to him what is his.
  4. It rounds out the book's vision of holiness by extending it to our voluntary devotion: even freely given gifts become holy to the LORD. Holiness is not only about avoiding defilement but about offering ourselves and our possessions wholeheartedly and with integrity to God.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Gently invite members to reflect on promises made to God—perhaps in a hard moment or a season of zeal—that have gone unkept. Encourage them to renew their devotion honestly, trusting the grace of God who keeps every promise to us.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.