Leviticus 27:26

26 Only the firstling which is offered as firstling to Jehovah among the cattle, that shall no man hallow, whether it be ox or sheep; it is Jehovah's.

Leviticus 27:26 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 27:26

Only the firstlings of the beasts
These are excepted from being sanctified, or set apart for sacred uses, for a very good reason, suggested in the next clause:

which should be the Lord's firstling, no man shall sanctify it;
it being what he has a claim upon, and ordered to be sanctified to him by a law previous to this, ( Exodus 13:2 ) ; wherefore to sanctify such a creature, would be to sanctify what was his before; not merely in a general sense, in which all creatures are his, but in a special sense, having in a peculiar manner required it as his; and therefore to sanctify, or vow to him, what was his before, must be trifling with him, and mocking of him:

whether [it be] ox, or sheep;
the firstlings of either of them:

it [is] the Lord's;
which he has claimed as his own special and peculiar property, antecedent to any vow of its owner.

Leviticus 27:26 In-Context

24 In the year of the jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought -- to him to whom the land belonged.

25 And all thy valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel.

26 Only the firstling which is offered as firstling to Jehovah among the cattle, that shall no man hallow, whether it be ox or sheep; it is Jehovah's.

27 But if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall ransom it according to thy valuation, and shall add a fifth of it thereto; and if it be not redeemed, it shall be sold according to thy valuation.

28 Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man hath devoted to Jehovah of all that he hath, of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to Jehovah.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'goat.'