Leviticus 27:24

24 In the year of Jubilee it goes back to its original owner, the man from whom he bought it.

Leviticus 27:24 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 27:24

In the year of jubilee, the field shall return unto him of
whom it was bought
Not to him that sanctified it, whether he redeemed it or not; nor to him that bought it of the treasurer of the temple after it was sanctified; but to the original proprietor and owner of it, of whom he bought it that sanctified it, for so it follows:

[even] to him to whom the possession of the land [did belong];
which was a possession of his he had by inheritance from his fathers, and therefore, according to the law of the year of jubilee, was then to return to him, and could be retained no longer, nor even converted to holy uses; for as it is said in the Misnah F8,

``a field of purchase goes not out to the priests in the year of jubilee; for no man can sanctify a thing which is not his own;''

as what he had purchased was no longer his than to the year of jubilee, and therefore could not devote it to sacred uses for any longer time.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Ut supra. (Hilchot Eracin, c. 4. sect. 26.)

Leviticus 27:24 In-Context

22 "If a man dedicates to God a field he has bought, a field which is not part of the family land,
23 the priest will compute its proportionate value in relation to the next year of Jubilee. The man must pay its value on the spot as something that is now holy to God, belonging to the Sanctuary.
24 In the year of Jubilee it goes back to its original owner, the man from whom he bought it.
25 The valuations will be reckoned by the Sanctuary shekel, at twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26 "No one is allowed to dedicate the firstborn of an animal; the firstborn, as firstborn, already belongs to God. No matter if it's cattle or sheep, it already belongs to God.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.