Leviticus 27:26

26 "But a firstling of animals, which as a firstling belongs to the LORD, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD'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 jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, to whom the land belongs as a possession by inheritance.

25 Every valuation shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.

26 "But a firstling of animals, which as a firstling belongs to the LORD, no man may dedicate; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD's.

27 And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall buy it back at your valuation, and add a fifth to it; or, if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at your valuation.

28 "But no devoted thing that a man devotes to the LORD, of anything that he has, whether of man or beast, or of his inherited field, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD.