Rules about Valuations
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons, if the valuation concerns a male from twenty to sixty years of age, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. Or if it is a female, then your valuation shall be thirty shekels. And if the person is from five to twenty years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
Now if the person is from one month to five years of age, then your valuation for the male shall be five shekels of silver, and for the female three shekels of silver. And if the person is sixty years of age or older, then your valuation shall be fifteen shekels for the male and ten shekels for the female. But if he is poorer than your valuation, he is to present the person before the priest, who shall set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
(50 shekels is approximately 1.26 pounds or 569.8 grams of silver; also in verse 16. A shekel weighed approximately 0.4 ounce or 11.4 grams; also in verse 25. 30 shekels is approximately 12 ounces or 342 grams of silver. 20 shekels is approximately 8 ounces or 228 grams of silver. 10 shekels is approximately 4 ounces or 114 grams of silver; also in verse 7. 5 shekels is approximately 2 ounces or 57 grams of silver. 3 shekels is approximately 1.2 ounces or 34.2 grams of silver. 15 shekels is approximately 6 ounces or 171 grams of silver.)
If he vows an animal that may be brought as an offering to the LORD, any such animal given to the LORD shall be holy. He must not replace it or exchange it, either good for bad or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy. But if the vow involves any of the unclean animals that may not be brought as an offering to the LORD, the animal must be presented before the priest. The priest shall set its value, whether high or low; as the priest values it, the price will be set. If, however, the owner decides to redeem the animal, he must add a fifth to its value. (paying 120% of the animal’s value.) Now if a man consecrates his house as holy to the LORD, then the priest shall value it either as good or bad. The price will stand just as the priest values it. But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him. (paying 120% of the value of the house)
If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportionate to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed. If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your valuation. (A homer is a dry measure of approximately 6.24 bushels or 220 liters (probably about 291 pounds or 132 kilograms of barley seed.)
But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest is to calculate the price in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your valuation will be reduced. And if the one who consecrated the field decides to redeem it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it shall belong to him. If, however, he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold it to another man, it may no longer be redeemed. When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests.
This chapter is complicated, so we are considering it in two sections. There are good reasons for all these details. David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary, explains as follows: “This chapter deals with things that are given to God by a vow. That means they were not required by a command of the law, but the vow was a freely promised and given gift to God. In this case, it deals with persons that were promised to the LORD in a vow. “A vow is a promise made to God voluntarily and not in obedience to any divine requirement.” (Morgan) For example, a man from the tribe of Judah, in a time of distress, out of gratitude, or out of a sense of calling, might want to consecrate his son to the LORD. He could not give his son to the service of the tabernacle, because he was not a priestly family. So, to consecrate his son, he would follow the procedures in the following verses.
“According to Judges 11:29–40 and 1 Samuel 1:11, it was possible for a person to dedicate another human being to God…. it was expected that the person so dedicated would serve in the sanctuary. But this passage shows that such a person could be set free by the payment of money.” (Peter-Contesse)
b. When a man consecrates by a vow , certain persons to the LORD: The beauty of these commands is that it gave the one making a vow of consecration something definite to do. The vow of consecration was therefore far more than mere words, it had a definite action associated with it – and prevented people from making empty vows to God.
“It was not a sin to refrain from making a vow (Deuteronomy 23:22), but once a vow was made, it had to be kept (Deuteronomy 23:21–23; Numbers 30:2; Ecclesiastes 5:4–6). Substitutions could be made, however, and it was this possibility of making a substitution that distinguished the vow from the sacrificial offering made on the altar.” (Rooker)
“The prices (values) of the individuals should be understood as representing either the wage of a worker (which was a shekel a month in the biblical period) or the relative worth of the value of the person’s services in the tabernacle. If the services included heavy manual labor in working with sacrificial animals or in transporting the tabernacle, it is easy to see why young men would be given higher value.” (Rooker)
- Again, if one simply wanted to give their unclean animal (a donkey, for example) to the LORD, he could give it to a priest, who would use it or sell it, giving the money to the tabernacle treasury; but if they desired to keep the animal, while still consecrating it with a vow to the LORD, they had to pay the price of the animal plus 20%. You could give your donkey and use him too, but it would cost you the value of the donkey plus 20%.
- a. Every devoted offering is most holy to the LORD: To devote something to the LORD was a further step than consecration by a vow; it often had the meaning of destroying the item (or executing the person) so that it could not be used by anyone else, and all of its value was given to God. Therefore if something was already declared a devoted offering, it could not be given in a vow. It already belonged to God and was most holy to the LORD.
- i. Joshua 6:17, among other passages, translates this word devoted with the word accursed – because that thing devoted to God would be destroyed, being used for no other purpose.
- b. Nevertheless no devoted offering that a man may devote to the LORD of all that he has: For these reasons, an item devoted to God could not be redeemed for a price. It already belonged to the LORD and had to be given to Him.”
(c) 2021 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – ewm@enduringword.com
APPLICATION: The fundamental principle is that vows are to be made freely but then to be fulfilled. God gives specific instructions regarding anything that might be dedicated to Him because without specific guidelines, the Israelites will wind up giving God leftovers.
Do we give God leftovers? Do we work as if we are working for God, or do we simply put in our time, waiting for the end of the work day? If we give food to charity, do we take thought for the needs of the recipients, or do we simply dump whatever is left in our kitchen cabinets? Do we donate clothing that is still serviceable, or are we donating dust rags? May God help us, so that we share our best!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to give You our best. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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