seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Leviticus 27:1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, 3 set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels[a] of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel(b); 4 for a female, set her value at thirty shekels[c]; 5 for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels[d] and of a female at ten shekels[e]; 6 for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels[f] of silver and that of a female at three shekels[g] of silver; 7 for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels[h] and of a female at ten shekels. 8 If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
a. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams; also in verse 16
b. Leviticus 27:3 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verse 25
c. Leviticus 27:4 That is, about 12 ounces or about 345 grams
d. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
e. Leviticus 27:5 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams; also in verse 7
f. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams
g. Leviticus 27:6 That is, about 1 1/4 ounces or about 35 grams
h. Leviticus 27:7 That is, about 6 ounces or about 175 grams
OK... I have to admit... I must have skimmed over this without reading it. I knew that people got consecrated.... but I always assumed it was the pouring of the oil on the head.... look at this.... people paid to be consecrated... and once again, women were valued less than most men. On top of that.... the commentaries don't agree on what it is!
OK... easy English commentary first...
A person can make a special promise to the LORD. That promise may be to give someone else (for example, a son or daughter) to the LORD. Then, that other person would serve the LORD in a special way.
Bible students do not agree about the purpose of the payment in verses 2-8. There are two main ideas:
(1) Perhaps this payment was to buy back the person from the LORD. Bible students who think this give the example of Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11:34-40. Jephthah gave his daughter to the LORD. Afterwards, he wanted to change his mind. If these Bible students are right, then Jephthah had to pay this money instead. But the Book of Judges seems not to describe the mere payment of money.
(2) Perhaps the person who gave the gift had to pay money too. The other person would work for God for his whole life. This is what happened to Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:21-28. If these Bible students are right, then it was not possible to buy back a person from the LORD.
A shekel is a weight. It is 0.4 of an ounce (12 grams). Women had a lower value because they were not as strong as men. The people whom someone promised to give to the LORD would help the priests in God’s house. The priests would train the children how to help them. In countries near to Israel, people sacrificed children to their false gods. The LORD did not allow this in Israel.
Here ‘the person’ means the person whom someone is offering to the LORD. This person must stand in front of the priest. The priest will decide how much the poor man can afford to pay.
Bible students do not agree about the purpose of the payment in verses 2-8. There are two main ideas:
(1) Perhaps this payment was to buy back the person from the LORD. Bible students who think this give the example of Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11:34-40. Jephthah gave his daughter to the LORD. Afterwards, he wanted to change his mind. If these Bible students are right, then Jephthah had to pay this money instead. But the Book of Judges seems not to describe the mere payment of money.
(2) Perhaps the person who gave the gift had to pay money too. The other person would work for God for his whole life. This is what happened to Samuel in 1 Samuel 1:21-28. If these Bible students are right, then it was not possible to buy back a person from the LORD.
A shekel is a weight. It is 0.4 of an ounce (12 grams). Women had a lower value because they were not as strong as men. The people whom someone promised to give to the LORD would help the priests in God’s house. The priests would train the children how to help them. In countries near to Israel, people sacrificed children to their false gods. The LORD did not allow this in Israel.
Here ‘the person’ means the person whom someone is offering to the LORD. This person must stand in front of the priest. The priest will decide how much the poor man can afford to pay.
None of the commentaries would help because they wouldn't agree. So I read the verses they refer to. The story in the first example is about Jephthah and his daughter. He offered his daughter up to keep from having to sacrifice her on the alter. The second example is the story of how Samuel came to live in the temple.
Judges 11 tells of Jephthah and his daughter. I won't post the whole story here. Instead I'm going to post a link to the chapter and then I'll post the verses concerning his daughter's part in the story.
Judges 11:1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.
Judges 11: 29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
Judges 11:34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”
So in this case.... Jephthah took his daughter to the tabernacle and offered the consecration fee to protect her.
Now... the site Bible.org seems to describe the mechanics of this vow.
The key to the structure of chapter 27 is to be found by the categories of things which are vowed as offerings to God:
In a very systematic and thorough fashion, the chapter deals with the various kinds of things which men may promise to dedicate to God. Regulations appropriate to each are then specified.
- Vows of people—vv. 1-8
- Vows of animals—vv. 9-13
- Vowed houses—vv. 14-15
- Vowed inheritance (family land) vv. 16-21
- Vowed (non-family) land—vv. 22-25
- Illicit vows—vv. 26-33
- Conclusion—v. 34
In a very systematic and thorough fashion, the chapter deals with the various kinds of things which men may promise to dedicate to God. Regulations appropriate to each are then specified.
Simply viewed, offering a vow is practicing a kind of “credit card” act of worship. It is a promise to worship God with a certain offering in the future, motivated by gratitude for God’s grace in the life of the offerer. The reason for the delay in making the offering was that the offerer was not able, at that moment to make the offering. The vow was made, promising to offer something to God if God would intervene on behalf of the individual, making the offering possible. In many instances, the vow was made in a time of great danger or need. The Rabbis believed that the gifts which were vowed in Leviticus 27 were to be used for the maintenance of the Temple.
Numerous examples of vows similar to those of Leviticus 27 can be found in the Bible. Jacob vowed to pay a tithe if God would bless and keep him (Gen. 28:20-22). The Nazarite vow is defined in Numbers chapter 6 and Samson (Judg. 13) is the most famous Old Testament example. When the Israelites fought the Canaanite king of Arad, they vowed to utterly destroy their cities if God gave them victory (Num. 21:1-3). The most tragic vow is that of Jephthah, who vowed to offer to God the first thing to come from his tent to greet him, which proved to be his only daughter (Judges 11:29-40). Hannah vowed that if God gave her a son she would give him to the Lord all his life (1 Sam. 1:10-11). Jonah’s vow was made from the belly of the great fish that had swallowed him (Jonah 2:9). Vows were also made by the heathen (Jonah 1:16). In the New Testament, we find that Paul continued to make vows and fulfill them (Acts 18:18; cf. 21:23).
The vows of Leviticus chapter 27 were voluntary promises to offer a particular gift to God. Specifically in mind in our text are those vows which God knew men did not wish to keep. God anticipates that the vows which are made at one moment in time may be regretted later, and thus the offerer will attempt, in one way or another, to renege on them, to replace one offering for another, or to somehow reduce what was offered.
The vows of Leviticus chapter 27 were voluntary promises to offer a particular gift to God. Specifically in mind in our text are those vows which God knew men did not wish to keep. God anticipates that the vows which are made at one moment in time may be regretted later, and thus the offerer will attempt, in one way or another, to renege on them, to replace one offering for another, or to somehow reduce what was offered.
Just so you know.... I didn't vow to do a Bible Study posting every morning if God got rid of my cancer. I was posting them before I found out about the cancer.... I post them because it keeps me in the Word. When I go back into the forum every morning, I see there are people who have clicked on them.... and if even one of those clicks is someone who is reading.... then it compels me to keep going.... know what I mean?