The big picture
Leviticus 27 opens in verse 1 with “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,”, reaches its middle movement near verse 17 with “If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall…”, and closes in verse 34 with “These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in…” Repeated or prominent terms include estimation, LORD, field, priest, holy. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Leviticus · King James Version · 34Leviticus 27:1-7
1–7: The LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Leviticus 27:1–7 opens with “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” and reaches “And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Leviticus 27 develops its own movement around estimation, LORD, field, priest, holy, with particular weight carried by estimation, shekels, years.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” Naming Moses keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Leviticus 27:1-7
King James Version1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak 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.
3And 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.
4And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.
5And 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.
6And 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.
7And 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.
Leviticus 27:8-14
8–14: If he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself…
Leviticus 27:8–14 opens with “But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and…” and reaches “And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the LORD , then the priest shall…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Leviticus 27 develops its own movement around estimation, LORD, field, priest, holy, with particular weight carried by priest, beast, good.
Context that brings the passage to life
“But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD , all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“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…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Leviticus 27:8-14
King James Version8But 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.
9And 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.
10He 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.
11And 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:
12And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.
13But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
14And 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.
Leviticus 27:15-21
15–21: If he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the…
Leviticus 27:15–21 opens with “And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the…” and reaches “But the field, when it goeth out in the jubile, shall be holy unto the LORD , as a field…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Leviticus 27 develops its own movement around estimation, LORD, field, priest, holy, with particular weight carried by field, estimation, jubile.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Leviticus 27:15-21
King James Version15And 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.
16And 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.
17If he sanctify his field from the year of jubile, according to thy estimation it shall stand.
18But 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.
19And 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.
20And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.
21But 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.
Leviticus 27:22-28
22–28: If a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is…
Leviticus 27:22–28 opens with “And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of…” and reaches “Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Leviticus 27 develops its own movement around estimation, LORD, field, priest, holy, with particular weight carried by estimation, LORD, field.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;” The line’s distinctive content terms include bought, field, fields. Its relationship to verses 23 shows what work it does in this passage.
“Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubile: and he shall give…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“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 command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Leviticus 27:22-28
King James Version22And if a man sanctify unto the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession;
23Then 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 .
24In 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.
25And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.
26Only 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 .
27And 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.
28Notwithstanding 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 .
Leviticus 27:29-34
29–34: None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but…
Leviticus 27:29–34 opens with “None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to…” and reaches “These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Leviticus 27 develops its own movement around estimation, LORD, field, priest, holy, with particular weight carried by change, holy, LORD.
Context that brings the passage to life
“None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“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…” The line’s distinctive content terms include land, fruit, holy. Its relationship to verses 29 and 31 shows what work it does in this passage.
Leviticus 27:29-34
King James Version29None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.
30And 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 .
31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
32And 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 .
33He 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.
34These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Leviticus 27:1 begins with “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,”
Where the chapter turns
Leviticus 27:18 forms a natural hinge: “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 final note
Leviticus 27:34 leaves the reader with “These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words estimation, LORD, field, priest, holy, shekels help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What makes the deception more than a harmless family trick?
Jacob exploits his father's blindness, impersonates his brother and invokes God while lying.
What does the family lose?
Trust, safety and proximity: Jacob must flee, and Esau carries murderous resentment.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
- hath
- has
- spake
- spoke
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.