§ h 18:1–5 Prohibition of Unlawful Marriages—On the whole subject see 1901*E. Neufeld, Ancient Hebrew Marriage Laws (London, 1944) 191–212. The immoral practices of the Egyptians and the Canaanites are condemned, and God’s will is to be Israel’s only guide. Life and temporal prosperity (though spiritual rewards are not excluded) are promised to those who walk in the way of the Lord. 5b is cited in Rom 10:5 and Gal 3:12. The expression ‘I am the Lord your God’ at the beginning and at the end adds solemnity to the enactments which follow and may be compared with similar formulas in royal decrees.
§ i 6–18 Forbidden Degrees of Kinship—No man shall have sexual intercourse with a woman who is near of kin to him. This is a general prohibition specified by the following list of degrees of relationship: (i) a son and his mother (7); (ii) a son and his stepmother (8); this must have been a common case in polygamous families, cf. Gen 49:3; (iii) a brother and his paternal or maternal half-sister (9); the case of a marriage of a brother with his sister, though not expressly mentioned, is implied in this; (iv) a father and his granddaughter (10); (v) a brother and his step-sister (11); this case is already contemplated in 9 unless we read there ‘and’ instead of ‘or’ thus making the half-sister a full sister and supplying the missing case; (vi) a nephew and his paternal aunt (12); (vii) a nephew and his maternal aunt (13); (viii) a nephew and his uncle’s wife (14); (ix) a father and his daughter-in-law (15); (x) a brother and his sister-in-law (16); see however the exception in Deut 25:5 ff.; (xi) a father and his step-daughter (17a); a father and the daughter of his stepson or his stepdaughter (17b); (xii) a husband and his living wife’s sister (18); but marriage with a deceased wife’s sister was not prohibited. Jacob’s marriages with the two sisters Lia and Rachel were not in conformity with this law. The words ‘for a harlot’ in 18 have no equivalent in Heb. On the whole the Levitical marriage legislation is stricter than that of the patriarchal age, thus pointing to a more developed social organization.
§ j 19–23 Certain Cases of Unchastity and Moloch Worship—Sexual relations with one’s lawful wife during the menstruation period are forbidden; see also 15:24; 20:18. Moloch worship consisting in sacrificing children as burnt-offerings is severely condemned; cf. 4 Kg 23:10; Ez 20:31; and E. Mader, Die Menschenopfer der alten Hebräer, in B1902S, XIV, 5, 6.
§ k 24–30 Parenetic Conclusion—In the introduction, 1–5, life and prosperity are promised to those who keep God’s commandments, the conclusion threatens transgressors with the loss of the land which God is about to give them.
§ l 19:1–37 A Miscellany of Laws—This is a heterogeneous collection of laws regulating the domestic and social life of the Israelites and inculcating the necessity of holiness as a condition of fellowship with God.
1–4 Introduction—Parental respect, the observance of the sabbath and prohibition of idolatry; cf. the decalogue Ex 20:1–12.
5–8 Peace-offerings—Cf. 7:16–18.
§ m 9–10 Gleaning in the Cornfield and the Vineyard—The corn was not to be reaped up to the corner of the field, but a strip was to be left for the poor, and the ears that slipped out of the reapers’ hands were also to be left for them. Cf. the story of Ruth. Some bunches of grapes were also to be left to be gathered by the poor. Cf. 23:22 and Deut 24:19–21.
§ n 11–14 Duties of Justice towards One’s Neighbours—Unjust dealing is forbidden. The Heb. verbs rendered ‘calumniate … oppress’ (13) mean ‘to withhold what is due’ and ‘to take away one’s property’; cf. P. Joüon in B1903i (1922) 445–7) The poor hireling must receive his wages daily. Unkind treatment of helpless persons is forbidden; cf. Deut 24:14, 15.
§ o 15–18 Righteousness and Love for One’s Neighbour—Justice must be administered irrespective of social positions. One interpretation of 16b is: You shall not stand by when your neighbour’s life is in peril. Another: You shall not withhold your true witness against a murderer. Or: You shall not endanger your neighbour’s life by slander. Mutual love and fraternal correction are commanded, and feelings of hatred and vengeance must be uprooted from the heart. 18 in Heb reads thus: ‘Seek not revenge, nor bear rancour towards the children of thy people; thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’. Note that the OT conception of ‘neighbour’ was restricted to one’s fellow-nationals. Love was first limited to fellow-Israelites, and then extended to the resident aliens (33, 34). But the grand commandment of universal love was first proclaimed by our Lord; cf. Mt 5:43, 44 and J. Dean in W1904V ad loc.
§ p 19 Unlawful Mixtures—The breeding together of cattle of different species, the sowing of a field with two kinds of seed, the wearing of garments woven of two sorts, wool and linen, are forbidden. The prohibition in a slightly modified form occurs again in Deut 22:5, 9–11. ‘The motive of the prohibition’, writes 1905*S. R. Driver, ‘appears to be the preservation of natural distinctions: species … are designed by God to be distinct (cf. Gen 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25); each possesses its own characteristic features; and a principle thus visibly impressed by the Creator upon nature is not to be interfered with by man’ (Deuteronomy in IC1906C, 252). This principle of individual existence applied to religion was meant to safeguard the integrity of the Israelite religion against any foreign heathenish infiltrations.
§ q 20–22 A Special Case of Adultery—Adultery with a bondmaid betrothed to a husband but not yet made free by her master is punishable though not by death as in the case of ordinary adultery (20:10.) The guilty man has to offer a trespass-offering.
§ r 23–25 Firstfruits—The fruit of trees newly planted in the land of Canaan shall for the first three years (23) be considered as uncircumcised infants and consequently unconsecrated, unclean, unfit to be offered to God. In the fourth year the fruit must be offered to God, and in the fifth the people are permitted to eat of it. The reason for this injunction is that fruit trees must be allowed to attain their full development before their fruit is offered to God or eaten by man. In 23 DV’s ‘firstfruits’ should with M1907T and V1908g be foreskins.
26a Blood Eating again forbidden—See 17:10.
§ s 26b–31 Magic and Superstition—Divination and augury so very widely practised in the East are forbidden. The cutting off of the hair or a part of it was, with certain Arab tribes, a superstitious practice. Cuttings in the flesh or lacerations as a sign of mourning, and tattooing are condemned on account of their heathenish associations (W. R. Smith, 334). In 29 the reference is probably to sacred prostitution although the prohibition as worded comprehends all prostitution. The Israelites must not consult those who conjure ghosts (cf. 1 Kg 28), nor those who pretend to receive extraordinary knowledge from their ‘familiar’ spirit. Any connexion with diviners would be a source of moral defilement.
32–34 Rules of Behaviour—Old age deserves respect and resident foreigners must be treated with affection.
35–36 Righteousness in Judgements and Honesty in Trade—Cf. Deut 25:13–16. The bushel is the approximate equivalent of the Heb. ephah. The hin (D1909V ‘sextary’) is about 1½ gallons.
§ 193a 20:1–21 Punitive Sanction of the Preceding Laws—This is a penal code supplementing the criminal code contained in ch 18. Certain penalties may appear disproportionate to the gravity of the offence, but they must be estimated according to the standards of the times. In the Code of Hammurabi many similar offences were punished by death (1910*C. H. W. Johns in HD1911B, V, 584–612).
§ b 2–5 Moloch Worship=18:21—Stoning is the penalty inflicted on the offender. If the people take no heed of the offence, God himself will punish the offender by cutting him off from among his people. This divine punishment is not banishment from one’s city, but death in some unspecified manner. Fornication in 5 and very often in the OT denotes unfaithfulness to God, idolatry.
§ c 6 Consulting Diviners=19:31—Death is inflicted by God himself as above.
§ d 9 Cursing a Parent is punished by death; cf. 19:3; Ex 21:17. And the offender is held responsible for his own death. In § 195 of the Code of Hammurabi a man who struck his father had his hands cut off.
§ e 10 Adultery—The penalty is the death of both parties. Cf. 18:20; Deut 22:22 and § 129 of the Code of Hammurabi.
§ f 11–21 The cases contemplated correspond to those in 18:8, 15, 22, 18, 23, 10, 19, 12, 14, 16 respectively.
§ g 22–26 Hortatory Conclusion—The ultimate reason for keeping these laws is God’s holiness on which the writer insists so strongly and so often; cf. 19:2; 20:7 f. If God is holy, his people must be holy. The holiness of the people demands their separation from other peoples considered as unholy. The discrimination between clean and unclean food was also meant to emphasize the idea of Israel’s separateness from other nations.
§ h 27 Against Witchcraft—This precept is supplementary to 19:31 and 20:6, where the Israelites are forbidden to consult magicians.
§ i 21:1–22:16 The Holiness of Priests—(i) In their domestic life (21:1–15) and (ii) in the discharge of their priestly duties (21:16–22:16).
§ j 1–9 Regulations concerning Priests in general—As contact with a dead body produces uncleanness lasting seven days (Num 19:11), priests, who must always be ceremonially clean in order to be fit to offer the offerings of the Lord, are forbidden to mourn for any person except those who live in the same house. 4 is obscure in Heb and still more so in V1912g. Probably the sense is: If he is married, he must not defile himself for his wife’s relatives. The shaving of the head or, more precisely, of the forehead (Deut 14:1), the cutting of the corners of the beard, the scratching of the body were signs of mourning and superstitious practices; cf. 19:27 f. The character of their wives must be above suspicion, because the priest is consecrated to God.
§ k 10–15 Analogous Regulations concerning the High-Priest—These were stricter and significant of the higher degree of sanctity inherent in the dignity of the high-priest. It was not permitted to him to mourn even for his parents. He was not to depart from the sanctuary where he resided or where he was officiating, because on his return he would defile it. He must marry a virgin, otherwise his children would be unholy.
§ l 16–24 Physical Disqualifications for the Priesthood—The following blemishes were considered as canonical irregularities: blindness, lameness, hare-lip (?), congenital malformation, leg or hand fracture, to be crook-backed, dwarfness (or perhaps, emaciation), defective sight (?), scab, scurvy, crushed testicles. The persons affected were not unclean and therefore were not excluded from a share of the sacred offerings.
§ m 22:1–9 Ceremonial Disqualifications in Priests to partake of a Sacrificial Meal—The priests must be careful not to touch the holy offerings when they are in a condition of ceremonial impurity. Any transgression will be punished by degradation. On the impurities mentioned in 4–7 see chh 11 and 13–15; on 8 see 17:15.
§ n 10–16 Those Permitted to eat of the Priests’ Portion—The general rule is that only the members of a priests’s family and those considered to belong thereto have the right to eat of the sacred offerings. Strangers have no right because they do not form part of the priest’s household. A person living with a priest for a short time and a priest’s hireling are not considered as members of his family. But a priest’s slave and all those born in his house form part of his household. A priest’s daughter married to one who is not a priest forfeits her right. But if she becomes a widow and, having no children, returns to her father’s house, she becomes once more a member of the priestly family. Any unqualified person who inadvertently eats of the holy things, shall pay to the priest the price of the portion misappropriated and an additional fine equivalent to one-fifth of that price. No trespass-offerings are imposed.
§ o 17–25 Animals Disqualified for Sacrifice—Animals offered for sacrifice must have no blemish in order that they may be acceptable to God. Victims that are blind or have a broken limb or are maimed, ulcerated, scabbed or scurvied shall not be offered to the Lord. A slight concession is made in the case of freewill offerings; but in the case of vow-offerings when a benefit has been received from God the law admits of no exceptions. Such tainted victims are never accepted, not even if they are offered by a foreigner. On this general prohibition see Mal 1:8, 13.
§ p 26–30 Further Regulations concerning Sacrificial Victims—These directions rest on humanitarian motives and are meant also to develop a stronger sense of parental affection.
31–33 Hortatory Conclusion. Cf. 20:22–26.
§ q 23:1–44 A Festal Calendar—This is a popular liturgical calendar regulating divine worship and prescribing the religious observances of each feast day; cf. Num 28 and 29; Deut 16.
§ r 1–3 The Sabbath—The mention of the Sabbath is very probably an insertion made by a reviser desiring to make a complete list. Note the repetition of the introductory formula: ‘These are the feasts of the Lord’ in 2 and 4 (Humm., 512) cf. §§ 172k, 173b.
§ s 4–14 The Passover (D1913V Phase)—For its institution see Ex 12. The paschal observances were: attendance at the sanctuary on the first and the seventh day; abstention from servile work, but not from ordinary domestic work, during these two days; offering of sacrifices during the seven days of the festival. A ritual feature consisted in presenting a sheaf, the first-fruits of the harvest, to be waved by the priest before the Lord. On the waving ceremony see 7:30. This was done ‘the next day after the sabbath’ (11), the sabbath here denoting the first day of the paschal week, or, more probably, the sabbath falling during that week. The offering of the sheaf was a communal, not a private, offering. The consumption of the new crop became lawful only after the offering of the first sheaf. But bread could not be eaten before Pentecost (17).
§ t 15–22 Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks—Its date fell seven weeks or fifty days after the offering of the first sheaf. This chronological relation between the Passover and Pentecost still survives in our liturgy. On this day a new offering is made by the whole community consisting of two leavened loaves, made of fine flour of that season, which are waved before the Lord. In addition to the loaves the following sacrifices are offered: seven lambs, a young bull and two rams for a holocaust with the usual oblation and libation; a he-goat for a sin-offering and two lambs for a peace-offering. In Num 28:27 the victims are slightly different. This may be due to textual corruption in either text. Attendance at the sanctuary and abstention from servile work are obligatory. 22 is an insertion from 19:9.
§ u 23–25 New Year’s Day—There were at least two ways of reckoning the year. The religious year, which regulated the annual cycle of festivals, commenced with Nisan (= March–Apr.) in the spring (Ex 12:2), and the civil year commenced with Tishri (= Sept.–Oct.) in the autumn, as is still the Jewish practice today (Mishnah, tr. Rosh ha-shanah). Therefore the first day of the seventh month was the beginning of the civil year. The religious observances were: blowing of trumpets (cf. Ps 80:4), attendance at the sanctuary, abstention from servile work and offerings as specified in Num 29:1–6.
§ v 26–32 The Day of Atonement—See ch 16, especially 29–34.
§ w 33–36 The Feast of Tabernacles—Its date is fixed for the full moon day of Tishri, the seventh month. The celebrations last seven days and include abstention from servile work, attendance at the sanctuary and sacrifices. The eighth day was a supernumerary day marked by an ‘aṣereṯ which is commonly taken to mean ‘assembly’, but is probably a technical term denoting abstention from work. The expression ‘you shall do no servile work’ would then be a popular way of expressing abstention from work. Supplementary instructions are given in 39–43. See also Num 29:7–11; Deut 16:13–15.
§ x 37–38 Subscription to the Calendar.
§ y 39–43 Supplementary Regulations concerning the Feast of Tabernacles—This seems to be an addition made when the calendar had already been closed. Here the festival is associated with the gathering of all the crops, though its historical origin is connected with the wanderings in the desert. Its characteristic feature was that during the seven days the Israelites were to dwell in booths. On the first day they carried in their hands fruits of beautiful trees, identified by a later tradition with the ethrog or citron, branches of palm trees, boughs of thick trees or, according to tradition, boughs of myrtle and willows of the brook. See Edershei1914m, 232–49.
44 is another conclusion which became necessary after the insertion of 39–43.
§ 194a 24:1–9 Instructions respecting the Lamps of the Tabernacle and the Loaves of Proposition—This section forms an erratic block apparently detached from Ex 25–28. The reason for its actual position here and its relation to the law of holiness are matters of conjecture. 1–4 on the oil for the lamps are almost a verbal repetition of Ex 27:20 f.
§ b 5–9 The Loaves of Proposition—See Ex 25:30. Twelve cakes made of fine flour were to be placed in two symmetrical rows or piles on the golden table outside the veil of the sanctuary. Frankincense was put upon them in order with its sweet odour to remind God of the offering. They were a communal offering, not a sacrifice (9), and were most sacred. As they belonged to God, they could not be eaten except by the priests. Later references to the loaves of proposition or shewbread occur in 1 Kg 21:3–6; 3 Kg 7:48; cf. also Mt 12:3 f.
This practice of placing loaves upon a table before the deity was wide-spread and reflected the popular belief that gods, like men, needed daily nourishment (W. R. Smith, 225 f.). But though the Israelitic practice may be a survival from an earlier stage of religious development, it acquired a higher significance. The bread was placed before God not for his nourishment but as a concrete expression of the nation’s gratitude to God, the Giver of bread and all good things (Crampon on Ex 25:30).
§ c 10–23 The Punishment of a Blasphemer and the Law of Talion—It is not possible to determine either the historical context of this episode or its historical connexion with the penal laws apparently arising out of it. Cf. a similar incident in Num 15:32–36.
§ d 10–16, 23 The Blasphemer—Blasphemy was always regarded as one of the gravest offences. Later Judaism went so far as to forbid any mention of the Sacred Name substituting Adonai ‘the Lord’ for Yahweh in the reading of the Scripture. There being as yet no punitive dispositions against blasphemy a divine ruling was given to the effect that a blasphemer should be put to death. The witnesses then laid their hands on the offender’s head thus signifying that he must bear the burden of his sin, and the whole congregation stoned him to death.
§ e 17–22 The Law of Talion—The provisions here laid down are based on the principle of criminal law current among the Babylonians and the Arabs of the desert, namely, the law of retaliation (‘lex talionis’); cf. Ex 21:23–25 and the Code of Hammurabi, §§ 116, 200, 210, 219, 229, 232, 245, 263.
§ f 25:1–55 The Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee—Two different institutions, which at certain times coincided, form the object of the regulations in this chapter. For the sake of clarity we will deal with the two institutions separately.
§ g 1–7, 20–22 The Sabbatical Year—This law is parallel to the law of the Sabbath (Ex 20:8–11). As a period of six days is followed by a day of rest, so a period of six years is followed by a year of rest. The two laws have a religious and a humanitarian motive. After six days’ work man must have a day’s rest and turn his mind to God; in the same manner the land, after having for six years exerted its full powers, must have a year’s rest. Periodical fallow years were, and are still, normal in the agriculture of many countries, but the fixing of the fallow year permanently in the seventh year and the relation between the rest day and the rest year mark off the Hebrew institution from similar practices. In the seventh year it was not permitted to sow or to prune the vine. The spontaneous growth of the land could not be stored, but could only be gathered when needed for food by the owner of the field and his dependants (6) as well as by the poor people of the country (Ex 23:11). An assurance of divine providence in the shape of an abundant yield in the sixth year was intended to remove any apprehensiveness as to the sufficiency of the means of subsistence during the seventh year (20–22). The produce of the sixth year was to last not only for that year, but also for the following year and till the harvest time of the eighth year; therefore practically for three years (21).
§ h 8–19, 23–55 The Year of Jubilee—This institution is but another form of the week-institution based on the same principle of a period of seven time-units the last one of which is consecrated to God, the time-unit in this case being a seven-year period and the day of rest being transferred to the year following the seven septennial periods. This year, which was the 50th year, was called the year of jubilee from Heb. yôḇēl which passed into our languages through Greek and Latin. The word yôḇēl means ‘a ram’s horn used as a cornet’ hence ‘the blowing of cornets’ and metonymically ‘a festival or an extraordinary occurrence announced by the blowing of cornets’ (BD1915B s.v.). The jubilee year was an institution of a social and economic character based on religious considerations. Its characteristic features were: (i) a fallow year; (ii) the reverting of property to its former owners; (iii) the emancipation of slaves; (iv) the suspension or, perhaps, the remission of debts. The relation of meaning between the Hebrew jubilee and the Catholic jubilee is obvious; cf. also Lk 4:19.
§ i 8–12 Institution of the Jubilee—The year of jubilee began on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri), that is, on the Day of Atonement and was announced by the blowing of trumpets. At the same time a proclamation went round that general release (D1916V ‘remission’) was granted, namely, that all landed property that had been sold, reverted to its original owners, and slaves were sent free to their families. It was also a fallow year, 11 f.
§ j 13–19, 23–24 Alienation of Land—The law regulating the purchase of land was based on the fact that God was the sole owner and man had only the use thereof. Consequently no one could sell his property outright; all he could do was to sell the usufruct, and even this sale was valid only to the next jubilee. In the jubilee year the usufruct thus acquired would expire and the land revert to its original owner. This law involves another social-economic principle, namely, that property is inseparably attached to the family.
§ k 25–28 Redemption of Land—This is a general provision of law based on the last-mentioned principle and contemplating, amongst other cases, one to which the jubilee concessions are applicable. If a person sells his field, his next-of-kin has the right to redeem it. If the vendor can afford it, he can buy it back himself. And if he cannot redeem it, and there is no kinsman to redeem it, he has to wait till the jubilee year when the land will be returned to him.
§ l 29–34 Redemption of Houses—29–30. A house in a walled city, if sold, may be redeemed within a year. If it is not redeemed within that period, it remains the permanent property of the buyer without enjoying the benefits of the jubilee law. But houses in a village or farmhouses are subject to the provisions of 14–28. 32. The houses of the Levites are redeemable at any time. 33–34. If they are not redeemed (the negative to be retained with V1917g against M1918T), they revert to their original owners in the jubilee year. But their ‘suburbs’, i.e. the farmland adjacent to their cities, are inalienable, because they are their only means of subsistence.
§ m 35–38 Prohibition of Usury—It was forbidden to receive any sort of interest on money or on food from an Israelite. An impoverished Israelite must be given such help as is accorded to anyone who receives hospitality at one’s house.
§ n 39–55 Emancipation of Slaves—An Israelite who has sold himself to another Israelite is set free in the jubilee year. Permanent servitude and ill-treatment are forbidden. God is their only master. Slaves were to be bought from other nations, and these were to be bondservants for life. This different treatment was in accordance with the privileged position of Israel as God’s chosen people.
§ o The apparent discrepancy between the Levitical law on slavery and the parallel law in Ex 21:2 ff. and Deut 15:12 is easily explained. Slaves were to regain their liberty in the sabbatical year. As the interval between two consecutive sabbatical years was six years, a six-year service was the maximum period for which a Hebrew slave could be made to serve. The six-year servitude, therefore, of Ex and Deut is to be taken as a maximum period, not as an invariable duration. The sabbatical year being a year of release, and the jubilee year being for all legal purposes a sabbatical year, it is evident that the same concessions are accorded to both. § p If an Israelite is a slave of a resident foreigner he must be set free in the year of jubilee. But he may be redeemed before that year, the price of redemption being proportionate to the number of years intervening before the jubilee, as in the case of land (25–27).
§ q 26:1–2 Prohibition of Idolatry—This is a repetition of precepts which are found in other parts of the law of holiness; cf. 19:3 f.
3–46 Hortatory Conclusion—For similar exhortations see Ex 23:24–33; Lev 20:22–27; Deut 28.
§ r 3–13 The Blessings of Obedience—Blessings for this life are promised to those who obey God’s law. They are: rain in its proper season and abundant crops; peace and security; extermination of all enemies; increase of offspring; fulfilment of God’s covenant; familiarity with God. These blessings must be taken in their literal and proper sense in accordance with the spirit of the OT religion which had to be adapted to the mentality of a primitive people in order to train them up to higher ideals of an unseen world by means of promises of material blessings. Spiritual blessings, however, are not excluded.
§ s 14–39 The Curses of Disobedience—These are arranged in groups, each one being introduced by a statement of the people’s obstinacy: (i) disease, terrible things such as consumption, fever and defeat in war; (ii) drought will make the fertility of their land—the pride and the support of their strength (19) and the source of their prosperity—like a broken rod; (iii) wild animals will ravage the country and devour the children; (iv) siege and pestilence, the siege conditions being so severe that only a very scanty supply of bread will be available; (v) famine, desolation, dispersion among the nations (cf. 4 Kg 6:28 f. and Lam 4:10), the places of worship will not escape the ravages of war, and sacrifices will no longer be acceptable to God. Then after the people’s deportation the land will enjoy a rest, the sabbatical rest to which she is entitled and which she has not enjoyed on account of the people’s disregard of the law. In this manner the land will pay back her due to God. And those who survive this terrible ordeal will drag on a miserable existence in the land of their enemies on account of their iniquities and those of their fathers.
§ t 40–46 Repentance and Restoration—God’s temporal punishments are corrective not vindictive. When their purpose is achieved forgiveness is granted. If the Israelites in the land of their exile confess their sins which have provoked God’s anger, if they humble their insensible hearts acknowledging their punishment as an expiation for their sins, God will remember his covenant and will take them once more for his people. No mention of the return from the exile is made here as in Deut 30:3–5, the reason being that the restoration is represented as an accomplishment of God’s promises to the patriarchs and not merely as a return to the land of their fathers.
§ 195a D. Appendix. Commutation of Vows and Tithes (ch 27).
27:1–29 On Vows—The general law is that man is not obliged to make a vow; but if he does, he is under an obligation to fulfil it (Deut 23:21–3). The Levitical legislation deals only with the commutation of vows and contemplates the cases of a person, cattle, houses and lands being offered to God by vow.
§ b 1–8 Persons—If anyone offers himself to God, he must fulfil his vow by paying a sum of money corresponding to the estimated value of his person. The estimated value of male persons from the age of 20 years to 60 is 50 silver shekels. The estimate is different for different sexes and ages. In cases of poverty a reduction may be granted.
§ c 9–13 Cattle—No commutation is allowed for sacrificial animals. If any commutation is attempted, both animals become consecrated to God. Unclean animals, if vowed, must be presented to the priest and sold at the price adjudged by him. The person who made the vow may redeem the votive animal paying its estimated price and one-fifth in addition.
§ d 14–15 Houses—The regulations for unclean animals apply also to houses.
§ e 16–25 Fields—Two cases are contemplated. 16–21. If a field belongs to its owner by inheritance, the priest values it at the rate of 50 silver shekels for the amount of land that yields one homer (1919c 11 bushels) of barley. But as no inherited land can be alienated in perpetuity, the consecration of a field to God is only of temporary duration lasting till the next year of jubilee. Its price therefore will have to be lowered according to the number of years since the last jubilee. The person consecrating a field has always the right of redemption as in the case of unclean animals and houses. If he fails to redeem it, his right will lapse, and in the jubilee year the field, instead of reverting to its original owner, will fall to the priests as sacred property. 22–25. If a field belongs to its owner by purchase, as the purchase is only temporary (25:14–17), the consecration is also temporary, and in the year of jubilee the field will revert to the vendor. All these transactions must be made on the basis of the sacred shekel which is worth 20 gerahs or obols, the gerah or obol being equivalent to about 1¾ d.
§ f 26–27 What may not be vowed—The firstlings of cattle, sheep and goats cannot be vowed to God because they are already his (Ex 13:2). The firstlings of unclean animals fall under the general provision for unclean animals (11–13). According to Ex 13:13 the firstling of an ass, a non-sacrificial animal, must be redeemed by a lamb.
§ g 28–29 Things interdicted—The technical Heb. word expressing religious interdict is ḥerem, V1920g and D1921V anathema, EV1922V ban. The fundamental meaning of ḥerem is separation, seclusion’ and, in a religious sense, the separation of a thing from ordinary use and its dedication to God. Hence the biblical notion of ḥerem is ‘a thing or person irrevocably withdrawn from common use and entirely devoted to God’. This general notion may be split up into two apparently opposite, though closely related, notions. A thing may be devoted to God either because it is agreeable to him, or because it is dangerous to the religious life of the people and therefore disagreeable to him. The first meaning naturally involves the idea of consecration the other that of destruction. What is irrevocably devoted to God, whether a man, animal or field, can neither be sold nor redeemed. If it is a thing consecrated to God, it goes to the priests for their maintenance or for the temple-service (Num 18:14; Ez 44:29); if it is harmful to the religious interests, it must be utterly destroyed (Ex 22:20; Num 21:2 f.; Deut 7:2; Jos 7; 1 Kg 15; etc.; cf. A. Fernandez, ‘El ḥerem biblico’ in B1923i (1924) 3–25).
§ h 30–33 Tithes—One-tenth of all the agricultural produce went yearly to the Lord and was given to the Levites for their maintenance (Num 18:21). Tithes however were redeemable on payment of an additional fifth part of their estimated value. But the tithes of cattle were not redeemable nor commutable. Every tenth animal passing under the rod, while the flock or herd was being counted on entering or leaving the fold, was separated from the others and consecrated to God. Though the animals were counted daily, tithes were paid once a year only.
34 Conclusion—This is a conclusion not of the appendix only but of the whole book.