And the Lord spake unto Moses ,.... After he had delivered the body of laws in the preceding chapter, which by the close of the last seem to have been finished; but here some rules and instructions concerning vows are given, which a man was not obliged to make, but which he did of his own freewill and good pleasure: saying; as follows. read more
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them ,.... This being an affair which only concerned them; for the Jewish writers say F8 Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Eracin, c. 1. sect. 2. , by this phrase, the children of Israel, Gentiles are excluded: when a man shall make a singular vow ; an unusual, an uncommon one, a very distinguished one, and even what is wonderful, as the word signifies; as when a man, through uncommon zeal for God and his service, devotes himself, or... read more
And thy estimation shall be ,.... The estimation of the man himself that vowed, or of the priest for him, was not left to be made by either of them at their pleasure, but was to be made according to the following rules, in proportion to the age a person was of to be estimated: of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old : the account begins with these, because men of an age from the one to the other are fittest for labour, and therefore to be set at the highest price, as... read more
And if it be a female ,.... That is, of the same age, full twenty years of age, and not more than sixty: then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels ; about three pounds ten shillings of our money, the price of a servant, Exodus 21:32 ; the reason of this difference of estimation between a man and a woman is, because the woman is the weaker vessel, and her labour and service of less importance and worth, such as spinning, washing, &c.; read more
And if it be from five years old, even unto to twenty years old ,.... Not that one of five years old is supposed to vow or to make an estimation, but one grown up, that says, the estimation of this little one, who is five years of age, be upon me; and such an one was bound to pay the value of him, which is as follows: then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels ; which were for the one above two pounds, and for the other more than one pound;... read more
And if it be from a month old even unto five years old ,.... That is, if a man devotes his child to the Lord within such an age, and says, the estimation of this my son or my daughter be upon me, then he was to pay the value, as next directed; for one under a month old no estimation was to be made: the Jews say,"one less than a mouth old may be vowed, but not estimated F15 Misn. Eracin, c. 1. sect. 1. :" then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver ; somewhat... read more
And if it be from sixty years old and above ,.... When man is almost past his labour, and it is high time to leave off business: if it be a male, then thy estimation shall between shekels ; about one pound fifteen shillings: and for the female ten shekels ; about one pound three shillings; it may be observed that there is not the disproportion between a man and a woman in old age as in youth, with respect to the estimation of them; the reason of which is, because there is but... read more
When a man shall make a singular vow - The verse is short and obscure, and may be translated thus: A man who shall have separated a vow, according to thy estimation, of souls unto the Lord; which may be paraphrased thus: He who shall have vowed or consecrated a soul, i. e., a living creature, whether man or beast, if he wish to redeem what he has thus vowed or consecrated, he shall ransom or redeem it according to the priest's estimation; for the priest shall judge of the properties,... read more
From twenty years old even unto sixty-fifty shekels - A man from twenty to sixty years of age, if consecrated to the Lord by a vow, might be redeemed for fifty shekels, which, at 3s. each, amounted to 7£. 10s. sterling. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Leviticus 27:1-13
This is part of the law concerning singular vows, extraordinary ones, which though God did not expressly insist on, yet, if they were consistent with and conformable to the general precepts, he would be well pleased with. Note, We should not only ask, What must we do, but, What may we do, for the glory and honour of God? As the liberal devises liberal things (Isa. 32:8), so the pious devises pious things, and the enlarged heart would willingly do something extraordinary in the service of so... read more