Leviticus 27:26

26 "`Only the firstborn of the beasts, which should be the LORD'S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be 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 the Jubilee the field shall return unto him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong.

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

26 "`Only the firstborn of the beasts, which should be the LORD'S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox or sheep, it is the LORD'S.

27 And if it is of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thy valuation and shall add a fifth part of it thereto; or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy valuation.

28 "`Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.