Leviticus 27:16

Verse

If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportional to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed.

American Standard Version (1901)

And if a man shall sanctify unto Jehovah part of the field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the sowing thereof: the sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

Bible in Basic English

And if a man gives to the Lord part of the field which is his property, then let your value be in relation to the seed which is planted in it; a measure of barley grain will be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And if he vow the field of his possession, and consecrate it to the Lord, the price shall be rated according to the measure of the seed. If the ground be sowed with thirty bushels of barley, let it be sold for fifty sides of silver.

Free Bible Version

If you dedicate some of your land to the Lord, then its value shall be determined by the amount of seed required to sow it: fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed used.

Geneva Bible 1599

If also a man dedicate to the Lord any grounde of his inheritance, then shalt thou esteeme it according to the seede therof: an Homer of barlie seede shalbe at fiftie shekels of siluer.

King James (Authorized) Version

And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

One Unity Resource Bible

“‘If a man dedicates to Adonai part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. The sowing of a homer [6.33 bushels; 59 gal; 220 L] of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels [1.25 lb; 0.57 kg] of silver.

Translation for Translators

‘If someone dedicates to me some of the property that belongs to him and his family, its value will be determined by the number of bushels of seed that will be needed to plant seeds on that land: Its value will be ten pieces of silver for each bushel of seed.

Unlocked Literal Bible

If a man sets apart some of his own land, then the valuation of it will be in proportion to the amount of seed required to plant it—a homer of barley will be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

Noah Webster Bible

And if a man shall sanctify to the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed of it: a homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

World English Bible

“‘If a man dedicates to Yahweh part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed for it. The sowing of a homer of barley shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

Young's Literal Translation

'And if of the field of his possession a man sanctify to Jehovah, then hath thy valuation been according to its seed; a homer of barley-seed at fifty shekels of silver;

Context

Rules about Valuations

¹⁵But if he who consecrated his house redeems it, he must add a fifth to the assessed value, and it will belong to him. ¹⁶If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportional to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed.¹⁷If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your valuation.

Summary

In Leviticus 27:16, the value of a field dedicated to the Lord is determined by the amount of seed needed to sow it. This verse reflects the Israelites' practice of consecrating their possessions to God as an act of worship and gratitude. It underscores the principle of giving back to the Lord from the blessings He has provided, acknowledging His ownership of all things. The specific measurement of seed required for the field signifies a tangible way of valuing and offering one's resources to God in ancient Israel.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Some part of a field - Though the preceding words are not in the text, yet it is generally allowed they should be supplied here, as it was not lawful for a man to vow his whole estate, and thus make his family beggars, in order to enrich the Lord's sanctuary: this God would not permit. The rabbins teach that the land or field, whether good or bad, was valued at forty-eight shekels, for all the years of the jubilee, provided the field was large enough to sow a homer of barley. The חמר chomer was different from the עמר omer: the latter held about three quarts, the former, seventy-five gallons three pints; See the note on Exo 16:16. Some suppose that the land was rated, not at fifty shekels for the whole of the years of the jubilee, for this would be but about 3s. per annum; but that it was rated according to its produce, fifty shekels for every homer of barley it produced.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

With regard to the vowing of land, a difference was made between a field inherited and one that had been purchased. Lev 27:16 If any one sanctified to the Lord "of the field of his possession," i.e., a portion of his hereditary property, the valuation was to be made according to the measure of the seed sown; and an omer of barley was to be appraised at fifty shekels, so that a field sown with an omer of barley would be valued at fifty shekels. As an omer was equal to ten ephahs (Eze 45:11), and, according to the calculation made by Thenius, held about 225 lbs., the fifty shekels cannot have been the average value of the yearly produce of such a field, but must be understood, as it was by the Rabbins, as the value of the produce of a complete jubilee period of 49 or 50 years; so that whoever wished to redeem the field had to pay, according to Mishnah, Erachin vii. 1, a shekel and a fifth per annum. Lev 27:17-19 If he sanctified his field from the year of jubilee, i.e., immediately after the expiration of that year, it was to "stand according to thy valuation," i.e., no alteration was to be made in the valuation. But if it took place after the year of jubilee, i.e., some time or some years after, the priest was to estimate the value according to the number of years to the next year of jubilee, and "it shall be abated from thy valuation," sc., praeteritum tempus, the time that has elapsed since the year of jubilee. Hence, for example, if the field was vowed ten years after the year of jubilee, the man who wished to redeem it had only forty shekels to pay for the forty years remaining up to the next year of jubilee, or, with the addition of the fifth, 48 shekels. The valuation was necessary in both cases, for the hereditary field was inalienable, and reverted to the original owner or his heirs in the year of jubilee without compensation (cf. Lev 27:21 and Lev 25:13, Lev 25:23.); so that, strictly speaking, it was not the field itself, but the produce of its harvests up to the next year of jubilee, that was vowed, whether the person making the vow left it to the sanctuary in natura till the year of jubilee, or wished to redeem it again by paying the valuation price. In the latter case, however, he had to put a fifth over and above the valuation price (Lev 27:19, like Lev 27:13 and Lev 27:15), that it might be left to him. Lev 27:20-21 In case he did not redeem it, however, namely, before the commencement of the next year of jubilee, or sold it to another man, i.e., to a man not belonging to his family, he could no longer redeem it; but on its going out, i.e., becoming free in the year of jubilee (see Lev 25:28), it was to be holy to the Lord, like a field under the ban (see Lev 27:28), and to fall to the priests as their property. Hinc colligere est, redimendum fuisse ante Jubilaeum consecratum agrum, nisi quis vellet eum plane abalienari (Clericus). According to the distinct words of the text (observe the correspondence of ואם...ואם), the field, that had been vowed, fell to the sanctuary in the jubilee year not only when the owner had sold it in the meantime, but also when he had not previously redeemed it. The reason for selling the field at a time when he had vowed it to the sanctuary, need not be sought for in caprice and dishonesty, as it is by Knobel. If the field was vowed in this sense, that it was not handed over to the sanctuary (the priesthood) to be cultivated, but remained in the hands of the proprietor, so that every year he paid to the sanctuary simply the valuation price, - and this may have been the rule, as the priests whose duties lay at the sanctuary could not busy themselves about the cultivation of the field, but would be obliged either to sell the piece of land at once, or farm it, - the owner might sell the field up to the year of jubilee, to be saved the trouble of cultivating it, and the purchaser could not only live upon what it yielded over and above the price to be paid every year to the sanctuary, but might possibly realize something more. In such a case the fault of the seller, for which he had to make atonement by the forfeiture of his field to the sanctuary in the year of jubilee, consisted simply in the fact that he had looked upon the land which he vowed to the Lord as though it were his own property, still and entirely at his own disposal, and therefore had allowed himself to violate the rights of the Lord by the sale of his land. At any rate, it is quite inadmissible to supply a different subject to מכר from that of the parallel גּאל, viz., the priest. Lev 27:22-24 If on the other hand any one dedicated to the Lord a "field of his purchase," i.e., a field that had been bought and did not belong to his patrimony, he was to give the amount of the valuation as estimated by the priest up to the year of jubilee "on that day," i.e., immediately, and all at once. This regulation warrants the conclusion, that on the dedication of hereditary fields, the amount was not paid all at once, but year by year. In the year of jubilee the field that had been vowed, if a field acquired by purchase, did not revert to the buyer, but to the hereditary owner from whom it had been bought, according to the law in Lev 25:23-28. Lev 27:25 All valuations were to be made according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

Leviticus 27:16

Rules about Valuations

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

If a man consecrates to the LORD a parcel of his land, then your valuation shall be proportional to the seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed.

American Standard Version (1901)

Bible in Basic English

Douay-Rheims 1899

Free Bible Version

If you dedicate some of your land to the Lord, then its value shall be determined by the amount of seed required to sow it: fifty shekels of silver for every homer of barley seed used.

Geneva Bible 1599

If also a man dedicate to the Lord any grounde of his inheritance, then shalt thou esteeme it according to the seede therof: an Homer of barlie seede shalbe at fiftie shekels of siluer.

King James (Authorized) Version

One Unity Resource Bible

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

If a man sets apart some of his own land, then the valuation of it will be in proportion to the amount of seed required to plant it—a homer of barley will be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

Noah Webster Bible

World English Bible

Young's Literal Translation

'And if of the field of his possession a man sanctify to Jehovah, then hath thy valuation been according to its seed; a homer of barley-seed at fifty shekels of silver;

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Leviticus 27:16

Verse

Context

Rules about Valuations

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Leviticus 27:16

Rules about Valuations

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes