Leviticus 27 17

Leviticus 27:17 kjv

If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand.

Leviticus 27:17 nkjv

If he dedicates his field from the Year of Jubilee, according to your valuation it shall stand.

Leviticus 27:17 niv

If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains.

Leviticus 27:17 esv

If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand,

Leviticus 27:17 nlt

If the field is dedicated to the LORD in the Year of Jubilee, then the entire assessment will apply.

Leviticus 27 verses

Leviticus 27 17 Meaning

Leviticus 27:17 stipulates how the redemption value of a consecrated field is determined if the field is dedicated to the Lord after a Jubilee year. In such a case, the value is not the full fifty-year valuation but is proportionally reduced based on the remaining years until the next Jubilee, as assessed by the priest. This ensures a just valuation, reflecting the actual time the field would be set apart before reverting to its original owner at the Jubilee.

Leviticus 27 17 Context

Leviticus 27 falls within a section of Leviticus that details specific laws related to Israel's worship and consecrated items, particularly the redemption of things devoted to the Lord through vows. Following chapters on sacrifices, priestly duties, purity, and festivals, Chapter 27 concludes the legal sections of the book by addressing vows, firstborn animals, and the tithe. This verse specifically deals with vows involving land, particularly a field that an Israelite has consecrated to God. The immediate context of Leviticus 27 lays out the intricate rules for valuing persons, animals, houses, and fields that are vowed. The broader context includes the foundational laws of the Jubilee year in Leviticus 25, which mandated that all tribal land, temporarily alienated through sale or debt, would revert to its original family ownership every fifty years. This divine system ensured the perpetuation of family inheritances, prevented permanent land loss, and reinforced the truth that all land ultimately belonged to God. The historical context reflects a nomadic people settling into an agrarian society, where land ownership and inheritance were crucial for societal stability and economic justice, governed by divine decrees.

Leviticus 27 17 Word analysis

• If he sanctifies his field:
  • Sanctifies (קדש - qadash): To make holy, set apart for sacred use, dedicate to the Lord. It signifies a profound act of devotion, separating something from common use for God's exclusive purpose. This act would be a voluntary vow, not a compulsory offering.
  • His field (שדה - sadeh): Refers to agricultural land inherited by family, critical to Israelite identity and sustenance. This is a personal possession, but when sanctified, its status changes to God's property for the duration of the vow.
  • This phrase describes the act of vowing an inherited agricultural property to God.
• After the Jubilee:
  • Jubilee (יובל - yovel): A significant theological and socio-economic concept in ancient Israel, occurring every fiftieth year. It marked a period of release: slaves were freed, debts canceled, and inherited land reverted to its original owners (Lev 25:8-13). This timing is crucial; the field is vowed after this universal reset.
  • This means a new fifty-year cycle has begun, and the field's future reversion is now some number of years away, not imminent.
• Then the priest shall calculate the money for it:
  • The priest (כהן - kohen): The designated figure for mediating in sacred matters. Priests possessed the authority and knowledge of divine laws to administer such valuations, ensuring fairness and adherence to God's commands. Their role here is not to receive the money, but to determine the equitable amount.
  • Calculate (חשב - ḥashav): To reckon, compute, evaluate. This is a precise action, based on specific criteria outlined in the law, ensuring accuracy and justice in the valuation.
  • The priest is the expert and official arbiter of the monetary value based on divine law.
• In proportion to the years that remain until the year of Jubilee:
  • This is the core of the valuation principle here. The valuation is not static but dynamic, diminishing with each passing year from the full fifty-year value. It highlights a sense of temporal justice; the longer the land could theoretically be utilized before the Jubilee, the higher its value. Conversely, a short period until Jubilee results in a lower valuation. This aligns with Leviticus 25:15-16 regarding land purchases.
• And it shall be deducted from your valuation:
  • Deducted (גרע - gara' / gara'a): To diminish, lessen, reduce, subtract. This explicitly states the reduction principle.
  • Your valuation (ערך - erekh): Refers to the full fifty-year valuation that the field would command if it were vowed at the start of a Jubilee cycle. This valuation would likely be based on its productive capacity (seed quantity) as mentioned in Lev 27:16, but prorated.
  • The stated value for the land, if vowed earlier in the Jubilee cycle, is reduced according to the shortened duration of the vow. This mechanism prevents individuals from dedicating land nearing Jubilee for a small, fleeting sacrifice at a high paper value, as it would effectively minimize the true 'cost' of their vow.

Leviticus 27 17 Bonus section

The careful proration of valuation in Leviticus 27:17 emphasizes God's desire for genuine, fair, and thoughtful dedication rather than ceremonial posturing. This chapter, and indeed the entire Jubilee system, prefigures the concept of divine release and restoration that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. While literal land reversion is no longer practiced, the principles of debt cancellation, spiritual liberation, and ultimate divine ownership resonate through the New Testament. Christ's declaration of "the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19) echoes the spiritual Jubilee, where believers find true freedom from sin and its curses. This verse reminds us that true offering is not about grand gestures but about sincerity and valuing what one gives proportionally to its true cost and utility.

Leviticus 27 17 Commentary

Leviticus 27:17 offers a specific regulation for valuing land consecrated to God if the vow occurs sometime after the Jubilee. This law reveals divine precision and a profound sense of justice embedded in the Israelite legal system. The full valuation (likely based on yield as in Lev 27:16) would be applied if the field were dedicated immediately post-Jubilee. However, if years have passed since the last Jubilee, the inherent value of the consecrated land decreases proportionately. This isn't merely an administrative detail but a reflection of a core theological principle: land ultimately belongs to God, and human "ownership" is stewardship, temporary and tied to a cycle of redemption and restoration. The priest's role as calculator ensures fair arbitration and prevents exploitation, both of the vower and of the system. This foresight guards against scenarios where a person might try to make a high-value vow of a field nearing the Jubilee, thus offering what appears valuable but is soon to revert naturally. The law ensures that the offering's value truly reflects the actual period it would be set apart for the Lord. It teaches about intentional, fair, and just giving to the Divine, proportional to what is genuinely given.