Bible Commentaries

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

(a) As of his son or daughter.

(b) Who art the priest.

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

(c) Read the value of the shekel in (Exodus 30:13).

And if [it be] from a ^d 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.

(d) He speaks of those vows by which the fathers dedicated their children to God who were not of such force; but they might be redeemed from them.

But if he be poorer ^e 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.

(e) If he is not able to pay according to your estimate.

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

(f) Which is clean, (Leviticus 11:2).

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 ^g holy.

(g) That is, consecrate to the Lord.

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 ⁱ homer of barley seed [shall be valued] at fifty shekels of silver.

(i) Homer is a measure containing ten ephahs, read of an ephah in (Exodus 16:16) , (Exodus 16:36).

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

(k) For their own necessity or godly uses.

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

(l) That is, who dedicate to the Lord with a curse to him that turns it to his private use, (Numbers 21:2) ; (Deuteronomy 13:15) ; (Joshua 9:17).

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

(m) The priests evaluation.

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 ⁿ LORD'S.

(n) It was the Lord's already.

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

(o) It shall remain without redemption.

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

(p) Besides the value of the thing itself.

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

(q) All that which is numbered: that is, every tenth as he falls by tale without exception or respect.