Preface:    This final chapter of Leviticus appears to be an addendum, picking up a few unaddressed odds and ends at the completion of this book. It deals with vows and dedications and estimations of value.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 27 (in 140 characters or less): If anyone dedicates a person or land to the LORD you shall make a valuation. A tithe of everything from the land belongs to the LORD.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 27, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 27:

Introduction

         vv.     1–8           Vows and Valuation

         vv.     9–13         Animals Offered in a Vow

         vv.    14–29         Things Devoted to God

         vv.    30–33         Tithing

         v.       34           The Closing Out of Leviticus

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 27 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 27 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 27

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 27

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 27

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 27

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 27

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 27

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 27 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 27 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 27)

         Introduction 

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 27 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 27

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 27

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 27

         Summary 

         Addendum          The Doctrine of Tithing (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 27

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 27

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 27

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 27

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An Introduction to Leviticus 27

I ntroduction: Leviticus 27, the final chapter of Leviticus, is rather anti-climatic. However, almost anything after Leviticus 26 would be. It reminds me of running several miles and then, to cool down, you walk a half mile. The NASB Study Bible lists this as an appendix to Leviticus, which seems very apropos. They seem to consider Leviticus 26 as the concluding chapter of Leviticus. We are still very near Mount Sinai. This will be the last time Y^ehowah will command Moses at Mount Sinai. I am not completely comfortable with my explanation as to the nuts and bolts of Leviticus as to where God spoke to Moses. Throughout Exodus, Moses went up to Mount Sinai on two occasions, as it clearly states and received his instructions in (or on) Mount Sinai. The prefixed preposition bêyth denotes proximity only, so it can be used and Mount Sinai can be very near by, as in eyeshot. With the Tabernacle having been built, I would have thought that Moses would have spoken to God from there, but this is never mentioned throughout Leviticus, except once or twice at the beginning. What I might lean toward is that God spoke these things to Moses while he was up on Mount Sinai, but he just did not record them until later or put them in final form until later. In other words, the writings of Leviticus were just not placed in chronological order. Should all of this be in the introduction to the book of Leviticus?

In any case, this particular chapter deals with vows, and things, such as animals, houses and land, dedicated to God and the determination of value of said items given over to God. I would assume that when one paid taxes, they did not always have cash on hand, so that some would set aside their properties and other things to God (which therefore needed a value established for it). What also appears to be the case is that when something is bought back from the Tent of God, an additional 20% charge was generally added. Vows were never commanded in the OT, but they were carefully regulated, as this chapter attests. The NIV Study Bible viewpoint was that a vow was simply an expression of thanksgiving, over and above the normal things offered to God.

We are in the final chapter of Leviticus, which is Leviticus 27. Most of the book has been instructions from God. Most of those instructions have been about ceremonies and laws and regulations. With few exceptions, most of the chapters of Leviticus begin with God speaking to Moses and what God says will become the Law for Israel. Moses will be required to repeat these things to the people.

As has been discussed, Moses did not hear God’s words and then speak them to one million men. That would have been impossible. So Moses would probably have said these things to the elders of each tribe and then they would be responsible to say these things to the people. They no doubt developed a system which is only hinted at in Scripture.

Most of Leviticus could have been made into a book called the laws, regulations, requirements and ceremonies of God for the Hebrew people, and then listed. Moses the human author and God the Holy Spirit decided to present these things as God speaking to Moses and the Moses speaking these things to the people of God (as the Israelites had asked Moses to do in Exodus 20, after God spoke with them all directly).

This is the final chapter of Leviticus. When we go to the book of Numbers, things will be very different. Whereas almost every chapter of Leviticus begins with God spoke to Moses, followed by a chapter of what God said; Numbers will be quite different. Each chapter will begin with God speaking to Moses, but God will only say a few things, and that will be followed by narrative related to what God said.

Whereas all of Leviticus could have taken place over a period of a month or so, Numbers is going to start on a very specific date and pretty much take us from one year out from Egypt to perhaps a month or so prior to the invasion of Canaan by the Israelites (which begins with the book of Joshua). Deuteronomy is going to be a series of Moses’ final words to the people. Unlike Leviticus, which we are studying, the content of Deuteronomy is going to come directly from the soul of Moses. In Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking to the second generation of nation Israel (the generation of promise) and he gives them their final instructions—the final instructions from him and the final instructions before they invade Canaan (Moses will not be going with them).

Regarding Leviticus 27 specifically, Keil and Delitzsch present it as an addendum or an appendix to the law. What is found here is not required by any person at any time, but some people are going to do this anyway. Therefore, there must be some guidelines laid down (like the slavery issue—there needed to be guidelines for slavery).

Keil and Delitzsch give us a definition: ...a vow was a promise made by any one to dedicate and given his own person, or a portion of his property, to the Lord for averting some danger and distress, or for bringing to his possession some desired earthly good.—Besides ordinary vowing or promising to give, there was also vowing away, or the vow of renunciation, as is evident from Num. 30. The chapter before us treats only of ordinary vowing, and gives directions for redeeming the thing vowed, in which it is presupposed that everything vowed to the Lord would fall to His sanctuary as corban, an offering (Mark 7:11); and therefore, that when it was redeemed, the money would also be paid to His sanctuary.

The reason that Keil and Delitzsch give for this position is: vows formed no integral part of the covenant laws, but were a freewill expression of piety common to almost all nations, and belonged to the modes of worship current in all religions, which were not demanded and might be omitted altogether, and which really lay outside the law, though it was necessary to bring them into harmony with the demands of the law upon Israel.

So, in other words, men were going to make vows, so there must be some guidelines for such vows. At the same time, an Israelite could go his entire life with never making a single vow and be no less a Hebrew.

Keil and Delitzsch: ...it was not a sin to refrain from vowing, but that every vow, when once it had been made, was to be conscientiously and inviolably kept (cf. Prov. 20:25, Eccl. 5:3–5), and the neglect to keep it to be atoned for with a sin-offering (Leviticus 5:4).

What I am not yet clear on is, let’s say a person makes a vow and there is a specific valuation attached to it (as in Leviticus 27:3, for example). Is the person promising to do something, and if he does not do it, then he pays his vow? Or is his vow the payment itself?

I have expressed some confusion with regards to what it means when a person makes a vow and how is the money a part of this vow.

Keil and Delitzsch write: Valuation supposes either redemption or purchase. But in the case of men (i.e., Israelites) there could be no purchasing as slaves, and therefore the object of the valuing could only have been for the purpose of redeeming, buying off the person vowed to the Lord, and the fulfilment of the vow could only have consisted in the payment into the sanctuary of the price fixed by the law.

Now, the best I can figure is this: a person would make a vow and this is somehow formalized, perhaps at the Tabernacle. If the person keeps his vow, then it is done and over with. If he is unable to keep his vow, then he owes the amounts stated in this chapter (presumably to the Levites or to the Tabernacle).

What about the vows of children? Perhaps parents will make vows on behalf of their children, and if the vow is performed, then that is the end of it (the child performs the vow as a result of parental training, let’s say). If it is not, then the amount valued is paid to the Levites or to the Tabernacle. Quite frankly, at this point, this is my best guess as to what is taking place here. After going through a few more verses, I may change my mind.

Maybe I am making too much of the concept of a vow. The noun is found only in v. 2 and the verb (in the participle) is only found in v. 8 of this entire chapter.

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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Vows and Valuation

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so speaks Y^ehowah unto Moses to say, “Speak unto sons of Israel, and you have said, ‘A man, when he is doing an extraordinary vow in your estimation, souls to Y^ehowah. And is your estimation, the male from a son of twenty a year and as far as a son of sixty a year, and is your estimation fifty shekels silver in a shekel of the sanctuary.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man that shall have made a vow, and promised his soul to God, shall give the price according to estimation.

If it be a man from twenty years old unto sixty years old, he shall give fifty sicles of silver, after the weight of the sanctuary:...

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah spoke to Mosha, saying,

"Speak to the B'nai Yisrael, and say to them, 'When a man makes a vow, the persons shall be for Mar-Yah by your judgment.

Your judgment shall be of a male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, even your judgment shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, Whosoever shall vow a vow as the valuation of his soul for the Lord,

the valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be — his valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver by the standard of the sanctuary.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, 

Say to the children of Israel, If a man makes a special oath, you will give your decision as to the value of the persons for the Lord. 

And you will put the value of a male from twenty years to sixty years old at fifty shekels of silver, by the scale of the holy place.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: You might promise to give someone to the LORD as a servant. The priest must set a price for that person. The price for a man from 20 to 60 years old is 50 shekels of silver. (You must use the official measure for the silver.)

God’s Word™                         The LORD spoke to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: If any of you makes a special vow to give a person to the LORD, you may give money instead of the person. The amount you must give for a man from 20 to 60 years old is 20 ounces of silver. Use the standard weight of the holy place.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       The LORD told Moses to say to the community of Israel: If you ever want to free someone who has been promised to me, you may do so by paying the following amounts, weighed according to the official standards: fifty pieces of silver for men ages twenty to sixty, and thirty pieces for women; twenty pieces of silver for young men ages five to twenty, and ten pieces for young women; fifteen pieces of silver for men ages sixty and above and ten pieces for women; five pieces of silver for boys ages one month to five years, and three pieces for girls. Vv. 1–7 in the CEV.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    Yahweh also said to Moses, "Tell the Israelite people these things for me: 'If a man solemnly promises to set apart another person to belong only to Yahweh, Yahweh will be willing to set that person free from having to do that if the responsible man pays the priest an amount of money. The priest must calculate the amount of money in terms of the silver pieces that they use in Yahweh's sacred tent. These are the amounts that Yahweh has set for this kind of transaction: fifty pieces of silver for men who are between twenty and sixty years old; thirty pieces of silver for adult women who are between twenty and sixty years old. V. 4 is included for context.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                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 silver shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When a man shall make a distinctive vow, the souls are for Jehovah by your evaluation,

And your evaluation shall be of the male from a son of twenty years to sixty years, even your evaluation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

International Standard V        Special Offerings

The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell the Israelis that when a person [Lit. man, and so throughout the chapter] makes a special vow based on the appropriate value of people who belong to the Lord, if your valuation of the vow [The Heb. lacks of the vow] is for a male from 20 to 60 sixty years old, the valuation is to be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text             Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,  "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, 'If anyone makes a special vow to Yahweh, use the following valuations. Your standard value for a male from twenty to sixty years old must be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When a man makes a wonderful vow, by your valuation the person is YHWH's. And your valuation will be of the male from 20 years old to 60 years old, your valuation will be 50 shekels of silver [1 1/4 lb.], after the shekel of the sanctuary.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, and you said to them:
A man who will tend a vow as you value persons, to Yahweh. And your value will be for the male, from twenty years old until sixty years old, and your value was fifty silver shekels, by the holy standard shekel.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Vows and promises

Yahweh spoke to Moses and said, “Tell the Israelites about the fixed price for those who have to be ransomed because of a vow. V. 3 will be placed with the next passage for context.

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989            .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them, When a man makes an extraordinary difficult vow by your evaluation, the persons shall belong to YAHWEH. And your evaluation shall be of the male from a son of twenty years even until a son of sixty years; then your evaluation shall be fifty shekels of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary.

Kaplan Translation                 . The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 

“Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘When a man separates a vow, by your evaluation of lives unto יהוה, when your evaluation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your evaluation shall be fifty sheqels of silver, according to the sheqel of the set-apart place.

Tree of Life Version                Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael and say to them: When anyone makes a special vow to Adonai involving the valuation of persons, then your valuation of a male from 20 years old to 60 years old should be 50 shekels of silver, after the shekel of the Sanctuary.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND JESUS SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING,

SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND YOU SHALL SAY TO THEM, WHOSOEVER SHALL VOW A VOW AS THE VALUATION OF HIS SOUL FOR JESUS,

THE VALUATION OF A MALE FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD TO SIXTY YEARS OLD SHALL BE HIS VALUATION SHALL BE FIFTY DRACHMAS OF SILVER BY THE STANDARD OF THE SANCTUARY.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to speak to Moses, to the intent:

Be speaking to the sons of Contends-with-he-mighty even is you to have said: Was a man to make an awesome vow, that breather is to be estimated to Sustains To Become

The estimation of the male, even a twenty years old son till a sixty years old son, the estimation is to be fifty shekels of silver, by the shekel of that set apart,

also the estimation of females are to be thirty shekels. V. 4 is included for context.

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:In case anyone makes an extraordinary vow to Yahweh, involving your appraisal of human souls; then your appraisal will be for the male from twenty years old unto sixty years old:your appraisal will be fifty shekels of silver, by the shekel of the holy place;" and if she is a female, then your appraisal will be thirty shekels. V. 4 is included for context.

exeGeses companion Bible   TORAH ON VOWS

And Yah Veh words to Mosheh, saying,

Word to the sons of Yisra El and say to them,

When a man marvels a vow,

the souls are to Yah Veh by your appraisal.

And your appraisal, if a male,

a son of twenty years even to a son of sixty years,

your appraisal, fifty shekels of silver

after the shekel of the holies.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, When a man shall articulate a neder, the nefashot shall be for Hashem by thy evaluation.

And thy evaluation shall be of the zachar from esrim shanim even unto shishim shanah, even thy evaluation shall be fifty shekels kesef, after the shekel HaKodesh.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            Instructions About Vows

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Israelites, [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] and say [Or “and you shall say”] to them, ‘When a man makes a vow according to your [Singular when modifying “proper value” throughout the entire chapter] proper value of persons to Yahweh, if [Or “and”] your proper value is for a male [Hebrew “the male”] from twenty years of age [Literally “a son of twenty years”] up to [Or “and up to”] sixty years of age, [Literally “a son of sixty years”] then [Or “and”] your proper value shall be fifty shekels of money according to the sanctuary’s shekel.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 Endowment Valuations

God spoke to Moses, telling him to speak to the Israelites and say to them:

[This is the law] when a person expresses a vow to donate to God the endowment valuation of a person. The endowment valuation of a 20 to 60 year old male shall be 50 shekels according to the sanctuary standard.

vow

Neder in Hebrew.

endowment valuation

Erkakha in Hebrew (Ibn Ezra). Or, 'your endowment value,' i.e. 'your erekh' (Radak, Sherashim). See Leviticus 27:23.

Some say that this is speaking of a case where a person dedicates himself to God or to the Temple, and then wants to free himself (Josephus, Antiquities 4:4:4; cf. 1 Samuel 1:11,28). See Leviticus 27:9. However, all Talmudic sources state that this is primarily a monetary endowment.

50 shekels

Each shekel is 0.8 oz. silver.

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.                            § 24. Concerning Vows, Things Devoted, and Tithes.

Chapter 27.

And Yahweh spake unto Mosesˎ saying:

Speak unto the sons of Israelˎ and thou shalt say unto them—

<When ||any man|| would consecrate and pay a vow by thine estimate of lives^e unto Yahweh> then shall <thine estimate be ||for the male|| from twenty years of age even to sixty years of age> yea thine estimate shall be—fifty shekels of silverˎ by the shekel of the sanctuary;...

^e Or: “persons.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . judgment

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whoever shalt vow a vow as the price of his life to the Lord, the price shall be; of a male from twenty to sixty years of age, the price shall be fifty didrachms of silver, sanctuary weight; and of a female, the valuation shall be thirty didrachms. V. 4 is included for context.

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, When a man shall accomplish a vow, the lives shall be for YHWH by your estimation. And your estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, even your estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the special place.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When a man will accomplish a vow, the persons will be for Jehovah by your evaluation. And your evaluation will be of the male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, even your evaluation will be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH spoke to Mosheh saying, speak to the sons of Yisra'eyl and you will say to them, a man that will perform a vow, by your valuation souls belong to YHWH, and your valuation will exist, the male, from a son of twenty years and until a son of sixty years, and your valuation will exist, fifty sheqels of silver, by the special sheqel,...

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When a man makes an extraordinary vow of his soul unto Jehovah by valuation, if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

1-3

Translation: And so Y^ehowah speaks unto Moses, saying...

We know that God spoke to Moses. Did this take place on numerous occasions (as often as we read, and God spoke to Moses), or does this reflect a much smaller number of meetings, but these words are given because this was something which God spoke to Moses? And, does it really matter? These are God’s words spoken to Moses, which information was both given to the people of Israel and preserved in written form for us to study today.

Leviticus 27:1–3 And so Y^ehowah speaks unto Moses, saying,.... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

There is a slight change from the other two dozen times God spoke to Moses. Instead of the wâw conjunction, we have the wâw consecutive (formally known as the wâw conversative). Chiefly, the wâw consecutive continues the thought of a previous perfect tense; and the last verb in Leviticus 26 was in the perfect tense where these were the laws that God placed between himself and the people of Israel.

Translation: ...“Speak to the sons of Israel,...

The information spoken to Moses by God was to be made public and a part of the covenant between God and Israel, if you will.

Translation: ...and you have said, ‘When a man does a special vow to Yehowah, in your evaluation of souls;...

The evaluation of souls is the amount of money which was a part of this vow system specific to people by age.

Determination of value is the Hebrew word ʿêrek^e (עֵרֶ) [pronounced ĢĀ-rek^e] and we have seen this same word used for order, row in Exodus 40:23.

Leviticus 27:2 ...saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you have said, ‘When a man does a special vow to Yehowah, in your evaluation of souls;... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This is the title of the next discourse. Making an extraordinary vow is not something which God has commanded man to do; it is just that the demonstrative Jew often felt a need to make a promise to God (as some people are wont to do nowadays). Sometimes this is our bargaining position with God. We want something to stop hurting, we want a material object really bad, so we make a vow to God—"You do this for me and I will promise that I will never do this again." I have nothing against vows; however, they seem to do nothing more than reveal to us that the promises that we make to God are meaningless, and usually entered into from the strength of the flesh (which is weakness).

ZPEB defines a vow as a pledge or oath of a religious character, and a transaction between man and God, in which man dedicates himself or his service or something valuable to God...generally a promise made in expectation of a divine favor eagerly sought. This chapter will cover vows made on one's own behalf and vows a material possession given over to God. See the Doctrine of Vows (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) (also in Numbers 30:15).

Translation: ...and your evaluation is, [for] the male from twenty years old to sixty years old,...

The first evaluation is for a male between the ages of twenty and sixty. This is a man at his prime working age.

Translation: ...and your valuation will be fifty shekels of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Related to this man is a vow of 50 shekels of silver, which is about 20 ounces of silver, worth today around $600 (I write this in 2024, figuring about $30/oz. of silver).

According to the shekel of the sanctuary simply refers to an agreed upon standard as to the weight of the shekel.

Leviticus 27:3 ...and your evaluation is, [for] the male from twenty years old to sixty years old, and your valuation will be fifty shekels of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Fifty shekels of silver is approximately 1¼ lbs. or 0.6 kg. When one makes a vow, an amount had to be paid according to this person's age; all of us were purchased by Jesus Christ for the ultimate price.

Leviticus 27:1–3 And so Y^ehowah speaks unto Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and you have said, ‘When a man does a special vow to Yehowah, in your evaluation of souls; and your evaluation is, [for] the male from twenty years old to sixty years old, and your valuation will be fifty shekels of silver by the shekel of the sanctuary. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 27:1–3 Jehovah then spoke to Moses, saying, “Say these things to the children of Israel: ‘When a man makes a special vow to Jehovah, you will make an estimation of the valuation of persons. Your valuation of a man between twenty and sixty years of age will be 50 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary. (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

When it comes to the valuation of individuals, men were given a higher valuation than women; and men during their prime working years were given the highest valuation of all. On the one hand, this makes sense; on the other hand, to what end?

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And if a female she [is] and was your valuation thirty a shekel. And if a son of five a year and as far as a son of twenty a year and was your valuation the male twenty shekels and to the female, ten shekels. And if from a son of a month and as far as a son of five years, and was your valuation the male five shekels and to the female three shekels silver. And if from a son of sixty a year and higher, if the male was your valuation ten a shekel; and to the female ten shekels.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) If a woman, thirty.

But from the fifth year until the twentieth, a man shall give twenty sicles: a woman ten.

From one month until the fifth year, for a male shall be given five sicles: for a female three.

A man that is sixty years old or upward, shall give fifteen sicles: a woman ten.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        If it is a female, then your judgment shall be thirty shekels.

If the person is from five years old even to twenty years old, then your judgment shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

If the person is from a month old even to five years old, then your judgment shall be for a male five shekels of silver, and for a female your judgment shall be three shekels of silver.

If the person is from sixty years old and upward; if it is a male, then your judgment shall be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the valuation of a female shall be thirty shekels.

And if it be from five years old to twenty, the valuation of a male shall be twenty shekels, and of a female ten shekels.

And from a month old to five years old, the valuation of a male shall be five shekels, and of a female, three shekels of silver.

And if from sixty years old and upward, if it be a male, his valuation shall be fifteen shekels of silver, and if a female, ten shekels.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And if it is a female, the value will be thirty shekels. 

And if the person is from five to twenty years old, the value will be twenty shekels for a male, and ten for a female. 

And if the person is from one month to five years old, then the value for a male will be five shekels of silver, and for a female three shekels. 

And for sixty years old and over, for a male the value will be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The price for a woman who is 20 to 60 years old is 30 shekels. The price for a man from 5 to 20 years old is 20 shekels. For a woman the price is 10 shekels. The price for a boy from one month to five years old is 5 shekels. For a girl, the price is 3 shekels. The price for a man who is 60 years old or older is 15 shekels. The price for a woman is 10 shekels.

God’s Word™                         If it is a woman, give 12 ounces.

For a boy from 5 to 20 years old, give 8 ounces and for a girl give 4 ounces.

For a boy from one month to five years old, give 2 ounces of silver and for a girl give about one ounce.

For a man 60 years or over, give 6 ounces and for a woman give 4 ounces.

Good News Bible (TEV)         .

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD gave Moses the following regulations for the people of Israel. When any of you have been given to the LORD in fulfillment of a special vow, you may be set free by the payment of the following sums of money, according to the official standard: --adult male, twenty to sixty years old: 50 pieces of silver --adult female: 30 pieces of silver --young male, five to twenty years old: 20 pieces of silver --young female: 10 pieces of silver --infant male under five: 5 pieces of silver --infant female: 3 pieces of silver --male above sixty years of age: 15 pieces of silver --female above sixty: 10 pieces of silver. This is vv. 1–7 in the TEV.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       .

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      These are the amounts that Yahweh has set for this kind of transaction: fifty pieces of silver for men who are between twenty and sixty years old; thirty pieces of silver for adult women who are between twenty and sixty years old. Twenty pieces of silver would be paid for young men who are between five and twenty years old; ten pieces of silver for young women who are between five and twenty years old; five pieces of silver for boys who are between one month and five years old; three pieces of silver for girls who are between one month and five years old. Fifteen pieces of silver would be paid for men who are more than sixty years old; ten pieces of silver for women who are more than sixty years old. V. 3 is included for context.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 .

International Standard V        “If she is a female from 20 to 60 years old, then your valuation is to be 30 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

“If a person [Lit. son of] is from five to 20 years, then your valuation for a male is to be 20 shekels and for a female ten shekels.

“If a person is from one month to five years old, then your valuation for a male is to be five shekels of silver, and for a female your valuation is to be three shekels of silver.

“If a person is 60 or more years old, then your valuation for a male is to be fifteen shekels and for a female ten shekels.

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    For a female of the same ages your standard value must be thirty shekels. From five years to twenty years old your standard value for a male must be twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. From one month old to five years your standard value for a male must be five shekels of silver, and for a female three shekels of silver. From sixty years old and up for a male your standard value must be fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels.

Urim-Thummim Version         If it's a female, then your valuation will be 30 shekels [12 ounces]. If the person is from 5 years old to 20 years old, then your valuation will be for the male 20 shekels [8 ounces], and for the female 10 shekels [4 ounces]. If the person is from a month old even to 5 years old, then your valuation will be for the male 5 shekels of silver [2 ounces], and for the female your valuation will be 3 shekels [1 1/4 ounces] of silver. If the person is from 60 years old and above; if he's a male, then your valuation will be 15 shekels [6 ounces], and for the female 10 shekels [4 ounces].

Wikipedia Bible Project          And if she is a female, and her value is thirty shekel. And if from the age of five years until the age of twenty years, and your valuation of the male is twenty shekels, and of the female, ten shekels. And if from a month old up to five years old, and your valuation of the male will be five shekels of silver, and the female you will value at three shekels of silver. And if from sixty years old and up, if a male, and your valuation is fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten shekels.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  A man between twenty and sixty years of age shall be valued at fifty pieces of silver—the official standard; a woman shall be valued at thirty silver coins; between five and twenty years, a boy shall be valued at twenty silver coins, a girl at ten silver coins; 6 between one month and five years, a boy shall be valued at five silver coins, a girl at three silver coins; at sixty years and over, a man shall be valued at fifteen silver coins and a woman at ten silver coins. V. 3 is included for context.

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              ‘And if it is a female, then your evaluation shall be thirty sheqels; and if from five years old up to twenty years old, then your evaluation for a male shall be twenty sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels; and if from a new moon^a old up to five years old, then your evaluation for a male shall be five sheqels of silver, and for a female your evaluation shall be three sheqels of silver; and if from sixty years old and above, if it is a male, then your evaluation shall be fifteen sheqels, and for a female ten sheqels.

^aOr a month. 

Tree of Life Version                If it is a female, then your valuation should be 30 shekels. If the person is from five years to 20 years old, then your valuation is to be 20 shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. If the person is from one month to five years old, then your valuation is to be five shekels of silver for a male and three shekels of silver for a female. If the person is from 60 years old and upward, if it is a male, then your valuation is to be 15 shekels and for a female ten shekels.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND THE VALUATION OF A FEMALE SHALL BE THIRTY DRACHMAS.

AND IF IT BE FROM FIVE YEARS OLD TO TWENTY, THE VALUATION OF A MALE SHALL BE TWENTY DRACHMAS, AND OF A FEMALE TEN DRACHMAS.

AND FROM A MONTH OLD TO FIVE YEARS OLD, THE VALUATION OF A MALE SHALL BE FIVE DRACHMAS, AND OF A FEMALE, THREE DRACHMAS OF SILVER.

AND IF FROM SIXTY YEAR OLD AND UPWARD, IF IT BE A MALE, HIS VALUATION SHALL BE FIFTEEN DRACHMAS OF SILVER, AND IF A FEMALE, TEN DRACHMAS.

Awful Scroll Bible                   A five years old son till a twenty years old son, the estimation of the male is to be twenty shekels, and the female ten shekels.

A month old son till a five years old son, the estimation for the male is to be five shekels of silver, and for the female the estimation is to be three shekels of silver.

A sixty years old son and over of the male, the estimation is to be five and ten shekels, and the female ten shekels. V. 4 was placed with the previous passage for context.

Concordant Literal Version    If he is from five years old unto twenty years old then your appraisal will be:for the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. If the person is from a month old unto five years old then your appraisal will be:for the male five shekels of silver, and for the female your appraisal will be three shekels of silver. If the person is from sixty years old and upward, if a male, then your appraisal will be fifteen shekels and for a female ten shekels. V. 4 was placed with the previous passage for context.

exeGeses companion Bible   And if a female,

your appraisal, thirty shekels.

And if a son,

of five years even to a son of twenty years,

your appraisal of the male, twenty shekels

and for the female, ten shekels.

And if a son,

of a month to a son of five years,

then your appraisal of the male, five shekels of silver

and your appraisal for the female,

three shekels of silver.

And if a son, sixty years and above, if a male,

your appraisal, fifteen shekels

and for the female, ten shekels.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And if it be a nekevah, then thy evaluation shall be shloshim shekel.

And if it be from chamesh shanim even unto esrim shanah, then thy evaluation shall be of the zachar esrim shekel, and for the nekevah aseret sheqalim.

And if it be from a month old even unto chamesh shanim, then thy evaluation shall be of the zachar chamishah shekalim kesef, and for the nekevah thy evaluation shall be shloshet shekalim kesef.

And if it be from shishim shanah and above, if it be a zachar, then thy evaluation shall be chamishah asar shekel, and for the nekevah asarah shekalim.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. ...but <if it be ||a female||> then shall thine estimate beˎ thirty shekels. And <if it be from five years of ageˎ even unto twenty years of age> then shall thine estimate be <for the male> twenty shekels,—and <for the female> ten shekels. Andˎ <if it be from a month oldˎ even unto five years old> then shall thine estimate be—<for the male> five shekels of silver,—and <for the female> thine estimate [shall be] threeʹ shekels of silver. And <if it be from sixty years of age and upwards> <if a male> then shall thine estimate be fifteen shekels,—and <for the female> ten shekels.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            But [Or “And”] if it is for a female, then [Or “and”] your proper value shall be thirty shekels. And if from five years of age [Literally “a son of five years”] up to [Or “and up to”] twenty years of age, [Literally “a son of twenty years”] then [Or “and”] your proper value shall be twenty shekels for the male and ten shekels for the female. And if from a month of age [Literally “a son of a month”] up to [Or “and up to”] five years of age, [Literally “a son of five years”] then [Or “and”] your proper value shall be five shekels of money for the male, and your proper value for the female shall be three shekels of money. And if from sixty years of age [Literally “a son of sixty years”] and above: if a male, then [Or “and”] your proper value shall be fifteen shekels; and for the female, ten shekels.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 For a woman, this endowment valuation shall be 30 shekels.

For a person between 5 and 20 years old, the endowment valuation shall be 20 shekels for a male, and 10 shekels for a female.

For a person between one month and five years old, the endowment valuation shall be 5 silver shekels for a male, and 3 silver shekels for a female.

For a person over 60 years old, the endowment valuation shall be 15 shekels for a man, and 10 shekels for a woman.

5 silver shekels

The same as for redeeming a first-born boy ( Numbers 3:47, 18:15).

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . judgment

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            And if it be of one from five to twenty years of age, the price of a male shall be twenty didrachms, and of a female ten didrachms. And if it be of one from a month to five years old, the price of a male shall be five didrachms, and of a female three didrachms of silver. And if it be of one from sixty years old and upwards; if a male the price shall be fifteen didrachms of silver, and if a female, ten didrachms. V. 4 was placed with the previous passage for context.

Context Group Version          And if it is a female, then your estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it is from five years old even to twenty years old, then your estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. And if it is from a month old even to five years old, then your estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female your estimation shall be three shekels of silver. And if it is from sixty years old and upward; if it is a male, then your estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And if it is a female, then your evaluation will be thirty shekels. And if it is from five years old even to twenty years old, then your evaluation will be of the male twenty shekels and for the female ten shekels. And if it is from a month old even to five years old, then your evaluation will be of the male five shekels of silver and for the female your evaluation will be three shekels of silver. And if it is from sixty years old and upward, if it is a male, then your evaluation will be fifteen shekels and for the female ten shekels.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and if she is a female, your valuation will exist of thirty sheqels and if from a son of five years and until a son of twenty years, and your valuation will exist, the male, twenty sheqels, and for the female, ten sheqels, and if from a son of a new moon and until a son of five years, then your valuation will exist, the male, five sheqels of silver, and to the female your valuation is three sheqels of silver, and if from a son of sixty years and upward, if a male, then your valuation will exist, fifteen sheqels, and for the female, ten sheqels,...

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

4-7

Translation: And if she [is] a female, your valuation was thirty shekels.

I probably should have included v. 4 as a part of the previous section.

The female that we are looking at here is between twenty and sixty years old and she is valued at thirty shekels.

Where do these amounts come from and what exactly do they mean?

Even though we are not talking about people being sold into slavery, could these be common prices for slaves? Recall that the valuation for the man at that age would be $600 today, so that is certainly far too low for a slave. In my head, I have computed the valuation of the woman in the same age range as being $360.

Leviticus 27:4 And if she [is] a female, your valuation was thirty shekels. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

A woman had to bring less for her vow; this may have been impacted directly by earning power—which the woman had very little.

Translation: And if a [person] is between five years old and twenty years old,...

Let’s say that we are considering a male or female between the ages of five and twenty. First of all, it makes little sense for someone under the age of twelve making any sort of a vow. So how exactly are they are part of this system?

Translation: ...your valuation [for] the male [is] twenty shekel and for the female, ten shekels.

If we were looking at this in terms of slavery, a young person would seemingly be worth a lot more, given his or her age.

Leviticus 27:5 And if a [person] is between five years old and twenty years old, your valuation [for] the male [is] twenty shekel and for the female, ten shekels. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

It appears that the price of the vow is less because it is more difficult for the younger person to have that kind of money.

Translation: And if [the person] is between a month old up to five years old,...

There is also a valuation determined for a child under five. Again, how exactly is a child mixed into a vow?

Translation: ...your valuation [for] the male is five shekels and for the female three shekels.

Given the very, very low valuation here, this is certainly far removed from slavery.

Leviticus 27:6 And if [the person] is between a month old up to five years old, your valuation [for] the male is five shekels and for the female three shekels. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Again, a smaller amount for the younger the person. Here a vow is not made by the child but on behalf of the child. We see the same determination of value in Numbers 18:16.