Leviticus 27:16

“And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord [some part] of a field of his possession, etc.] That which he enjoyed by inheritance from his father, to distinguish it from a field of his own purchase, as in (<032722>Leviticus 27:22); and which might be devoted, not all of it, but a part of it; partly that he might have something to live upon, or to improve for a livelihood for himself and family, and partly that estates might not be alienated entirely from their families and tribes in which they were: then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof; not according to the field, the goodness or badness of that, one field being good and another bad, as Jarchi observes, but according to…”

“if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some aprt of a field of his possession, &c.--In the case of acquired property in land, if not redeemed, it returned to the donor at the Jubilee; whereas the part of a hereditary estate, which had been vowed, did not revert to the owner, but remained attached in perpetuity to the sanctuary. The reason for this remarkable difference was to lay every man under an obligation to redeem the property, or stimulate his nearest kinsman to do it, in order to prevent a patrimonial inheritance going out from any family in Israel.”

“Some part of a field of his possession - Rather, a part of the land of his inheritance. The seed thereof - i. e. the quantity of seed required to sow it properly. Thus the value of about 5 1/2 bushels (an homer) was about 6 pounds, 9 shillings, 2d. (50 shekels. See Exodus 38:24.) return to 'Top of Page'”

“Of his possession - That is, which is his by inheritance, because particular direction is given about purchased lands, Lev 27:22. And he saith, part of it, for it was unlawful to vow away all his possessions, because thereby he disabled himself from the performance of divers duties, and made himself burdensome to his brethren. According to the seed - That is, according to the quantity and quality of the land, which is known by the quantity of seed which it can receive and return. Fifty - shekels - Not to be paid yearly, 'till the year of jubilee, but once for all, as is most probable, Because here is no mention of any yearly payment, but only of one payment. Because it is probable that lands…”

“27:16-21 The price for dedicating a field was determined by the number of years remaining until the next Year of Jubilee (see 25:24-28). If this property was not redeemed, it became the property of the priests to do with as they wished. The price of redeeming a field was 120 percent of the valuation (see 27:11-13). If a landowner dedicated his field without redeeming it, it did not revert to his family in the Year of Jubilee.”

“some part: Though the words "some part" are not expressed, yet it is generally allowed that they should be supplied here; as it was not lawful for a man to alienate in this manner his whole patrimony. He might express his good will for the house of God but he must not impoverish his own family. of a field: Act 4:34-37, Act 5:4 an homer: or, the land of an homer, etc. i.e. as much land as required a homer of barley to sow it, The homer was very different from the omer; the latter held about three quarts, the former seventy-five gallons three pints. Isa 5:10; Eze 45:11-14; Hos 3:2 Leviticus 27:18”

“With regard to the vowing of land, a difference was made between a field inherited and one that had been purchased. Lev 27:16 If any one sanctified to the Lord "of the field of his possession," i.e., a portion of his hereditary property, the valuation was to be made according to the measure of the seed sown; and an omer of barley was to be appraised at fifty shekels, so that a field sown with an omer of barley would be valued at fifty shekels. As an omer was equal to ten ephahs ( Eze 45:11), and, according to the calculation made by Thenius, held about 225 lbs., the fifty shekels cannot have been the average value of the yearly produce of such a field, but must be understood, as it was by…”