The Pulpit Commentary — Leviticus — Section 463

henr of any a<X'umulntion of landod property the 1nm named; IC he did not, it became the in the hands of the priests from this source. property of the 8Bnctuuy. The words, the In the case of a field which WI\S not an priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad, should rather be rendered, the pried ceredit.ery possession, but a purohruie, being ehall eitimat.i it between good and bad, tho.t vowed to the Lord (\'er&. 22-24.), the com- ie, at a moderate price, e.s though it were mutation sum wae paid down "fo that day," neither very good nor very bad, And 10 that is, on the spot in a lump sum, the land in the next verse. going back at the jubilee to the original Vere. H, 15.-The rule as to the redemp• owners from whom the temporary possession tion of houses is the so.me e.s that regarding the redemption of uncleo.u animals. The bad been bought by the me.n who made the ordinary practice wos to redeem. vow. Vers.16-21.-In case amanshalhanotify A section is added forbidding the first- unto the Lord some ptirt of a :fleld of Im born of animals, things devoted, and tithes possession, that is, of his hereditary lands, to be vowed, because they were already the redemption price is fixed by the quantity of seed required for sowing it. If it requires the Lord's ; allowing the redemption of the o. homer, or five bushels and e. half, of barley firstborn of unclea:i animals, e.ud of the seed to crop it, the redemption price is fifty tithes of corn and fruits, but prohibiting shekels, or £6 9s. 2d., plus one-fifth, that is, redemption in the case of sacrificial animals, £7 158., supposing that the vow had been of things devoted, and of the tithes of me.de in the yeo.r succeeding the jubilee; but if the vow wrui made e.t any time after aniRJals. the jubile, the value of the previous harvests Ver. 2.-When a man ahall make a was deducted from this sum. The amount llingu1s.r vow,-literally, u:1,,en a man shall does not seem to have been po.id in a lump separate a oou,, that is, make a special 0010 sum, but by annual instalments of one (see Numb. vi. 2)-the persons shl\ll be for shekel and one-fifth of a shekel, equal to the Lord by thy estimation; that is, when a 8s. I}d, each year. In case he had sold his man has vowed himself or another person inter~st in the field up to the o.pproe.oliing to the Lord, the priest shall decle.re the jubilee before making his vow, then no re- amount e.t whlch the person vowed is to be demption was allowed; be pa.id nothing, redeemed. but the field po.seed from him to the se.nc- Vers. 8-7.-The sum at whioh a man tuary e.t the jubilee. between twenty and sixty years of age was Vere. 22-24.-The case of a man who to be redeemed was fifty shekels, equal to shall ea.notify unto the Lord a :fleld whioh he £6 9a. 2d. ; e. woman, thirty shekels, or hath bought, whioh is not of the :flelds of Im £3 17a. 6d.; e. youth between five and possession, or inheritance, is necessarily t"enty years of age, twenty shekels, or different, because ho was not the owner of £2 118. Sd.; a maiden between the so.me the land, but only the pos8essor of it until ages, ten shekels, or £1 5,. IOd.; a boy the next jubilee. For this reaeon he had between one month and five years, five to pay the redemption price immediately in shekels, or 12,. Ild.; a girl between the that day, the land, of course, reverting to same ages, three shekels, or 7,. 9d.; a man the origiuo.l owner e.t the jubilee. al,ove sixty years, fifteen shekels, or Ver. ~5.-The estimation is to be made £1 18s. 9d.; e. woman of the same age, ten according to the shekel of the sanctuary, shekels, or £1 5a. lOd. that is, the shekel e.t its full value, before Ver. 8.-A discretion is left with the worn by use in traffio (see Exod. :x.xx. 13; priest to lower these ve.J nations in case the Numb. iii. 47; xviii. 16). man who has made the vow is very poor. Vere. 26-83.-The law of vows and their Acoording to Im ability that vowed ahall commutation is further declared in four the priest value him. subjects : (I) the firstbom of animals; Vere. 9, 10.-In cue a clean animal is (2) things e.Jree.dy devoted; (8) tithes of vowed to the Lord, it is not to be exchanged the produce of the land; (4) tithes of the for another on the plea of not being good produce of the cattle. enough or being too good for sacrifice. If Vere. 26-28.-The firstborn of animate any such attempt is ma.de, both animals are were e.lrea.dy tbe Lord's, and they could to be given up and sacrificed, or, if blemished, not, therefore, be vowed to him afresh ; the added to the herd of the sanctuary. sacrificial ani.m.o.ls were to be offered in Vere. 11-13.-An unclean animal, which sa.criflco (Exod. xiii. 15); the ass was to be might not be sacrificed, if vowed, was to be redeemed by a sheep or bt, put to death V<ilu<cd e.t a price fixed by the priest. If its (Exod. xiii. 18; xx:x1v. 20); other unclean origiual owner took it back age.in, he wu animals are to be either redeemed at the tu pay this price and oiw-fifth more than fixed price, plu, one-fifth, or, if not r~  <JB, XXVII, 1-34.] THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. 429