Leviticus 27:11

Lev 27:11 And if [it be] any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest:

Ver. 11. Any unclean beast.] Unless the dog were excepted. {Deu 23:18} {See Trapp on "Deu 23:18"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 27:11. Unclean — Either for the kind or for the quality of it; if it were such a one as might not be offered. In the case of any unclean beast; that is, which was not allowed to be offered in sacrifice, such as a horse, camel, &c., it was to be valued by the priest, and then the owner had liberty to leave the beast at the priest’s disposal, or to redeem it by paying the price set upon it, with a fifth part more. This served as a proper check to men’s levity and fickleness in making vows and religious resolutions. It put them in mind not to be rash in opening their mouths to God, and made them feel the inconvenience of repenting of their vows.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27:11-13 An unclean animal, one unfit either for food or sacrifice, could be bought back by the worshiper for its assessed value plus 20 percent. No doubt the reasoning behind this rule was to preserve the sanctity of vows and to minimize thoughtless dedications. For the 20 percent surcharge on property, see 27:15, 19, 31.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 11. Any unclean beast] See Clarke on Le 27:2.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) And if it be any unclean beast.—That is, if what he vows consists of an unclean beast, which does not belong to the three kinds of sacrificial quadrupeds, and which cannot therefore be sacrificed on the altar. According to the authorities during the second Temple, however, the expression “unclean beast” here denotes defective sacrificial animals, such as oxen, sheep, and goats with blemishes, which have become unlawful for the altar.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad,.... Put a price upon it according to its worth, as it shall appear to him:

as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be; that shall be the price at which it shall be sold, not to the owner or devoter of it, for he must give more, as appears from Lev 27:13; but, as Jarchi observes, to all other men who come to purchase it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

If it be unclean, either for the kind, or for the quality of it, if it were such a one as might not be offered. The dog only may seem to be excepted, for his price might not be offered. See Deu 23:18.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Any unclean beast — As the horse, ass, or camel; any domestic animal, the dog excepted, (Deu_23:18,) together with blemished sacrificial animals by Hebrew interpretation, might be vowed and its value as estimated by the priest paid into the priestly treasury.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 11-13. An unclean animal, which might not be sacrificed, if vowed, was to be valued at a price fixed by the priest. If its original owner took it back again, he was to pay this price and one-fifth more than the sum named; if he did not, it became the property of the sanctuary. The words, the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad, should rather be rendered, the priest shall estimate it between good and bad, that is, at a moderate price, as though it were neither very good nor very bad. And so in the next verse.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unclean - Either for the kind, or for the quality of it; if it were such an one as might not be offered.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Every unclean beast, however, - an ass for example, - which could not be offered in sacrifice, was to be placed before the priest for him to value it "between good and bad," i.e., neither very high as if it were good, nor very low as if it were bad, but at a medium price; and it was to be according to this valuation, i.e., to be worth the value placed upon it (הכּהן כּערכּך according to thy, the priest's, valuation), namely, when sold for the good of the sanctuary and its servants.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

is in fact unclean, so that Yahweh will not accept it

If Yahweh will not accept a certain animal as an offering, the animal is spoken of as if it were physically dirty. It may be unclean because it is a certain kind of animal or because it has a defect. AT: "is in fact one that Yahweh will not accept" (See: Metaphor)

market value

This is the value the animal is normally worth when someone buys or sells it.

wishes to redeem it

"wishes to buy it back"

translationWords

clean

redeem

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ואם כל בהמה טמאה AND IF IT BE ANY בהמה טמאה — Scripture is really speaking here not of an “unclean" but of a blemished animal which,is just on this account, unclean (i. e. unfit) for sacrificing, and Scripture is telling you that sacred animals which have no blemish cannot again become non-holy (more lit., go forth from the category of holy animals to that of non-holy animals) through redemption except if they become blemished (Temurah 32b; Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 4 1).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.