Vayikra 27:26

26 Only the bechor of the behemah, which should be Hashem’s Bechor, no man shall set it apart as kodesh; whether it be shor (ox), or seh (sheep): it is Hashem’s.

Vayikra 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.

Vayikra 27:26 In-Context

24 In the Shnat HaYovel the sadeh shall return and revert unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the Achuzzat HaAretz (Ancestral Heritage of the Land) did belong.

25 And all thy evaluations shall be according to the shekel HaKodesh; twenty gerah shall be the shekel.

26 Only the bechor of the behemah, which should be Hashem’s Bechor, no man shall set it apart as kodesh; whether it be shor (ox), or seh (sheep): it is Hashem’s.

27 And if it be of a behemah hatemeiah, then he shall redeem it according to thine evaluation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto; or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy evaluation.

28 Nevertheless, no cherem (devoted thing), that a man shall devote unto Hashem of all that he hath, both of adam and behemah, and of the sadeh of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every cherem is kodesh kodashim unto Hashem.