Leviticus 27:25

Lev_27:25

According to the shekel of the sanctuary.

Sanctuary measure demanded in small things

The law of the sanctuary is to regulate all. Full weight is sought for, but neither superfluity nor abatement. God loves a perfect balance and a just weight. We do not know whether or not there was a standard measure kept in the sanctuary; but it is very probable. Some, indeed, render the words, shekel of holiness, i.e., a true shekel; still it is every way likely that the other is the true meaning, admitting that this rendering be right. There was probably a standard measure kept in the sanctuary, by which all other weights and measures were regulated. Here would be a type to Israel of the Lords justice. Here, in the sanctuary of Jehovah, they found the source and regulating measure of all dealings in business between man and man, and of all similar dealings between God and man, through His priests. Would not this standard measure be felt to be a type of the Lords original attribute of righteousness? He it is that judges; He it is that fixes what is right and what is wrong; He it is to whom all Israel must come to have thought and action weighed. May not 1Sa_2:3 refer to this? Hannahs eye had rested on this standard measure, and so she sings, By Him actions are weighed. Who shall stand before this holy God? He perceives what is wanting the moment He has adjusted His balances. He detects the want of faith in Cain at the altar; of true godly zeal in Jehus heart; of love in Ephesus; of life in Sardis; of oil in the five virgins; of the wedding garment in the speechless guest: He judges according to the real weight--not the apparent. He judges according as the work has been, not according as the show has been (1Co_5:10; Rev_20:12; Rev_22:12). (A. A. Bonar.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 27:25. The shekel of the sanctuary — About 2 Samuel 6 d.

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

27:25 Each of the gerahs weighed about 0.02 ounces or 0.6 grams.

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

Verse 25. Shekel of the sanctuary] A standard shekel; the standard being kept in the sanctuary to try and regulate all the weights in the land by. See Ge 20:16; Ge 23:15.

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

(25) According to the shekel of the sanctuary.—As the proceeds of these vows were devoted to the maintenance and repair of the sanctuary, all the valuations are to be made and paid according to the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel. (See Exo_30:13.)

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

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, Exo 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.

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

On the shekel and the gerah, see Exo 30:13, note; Exo 38:24, note.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Obols. Hebrew, "gerah." which were worth 1d.-2687; so that a sicle amounts to 2s. 3d.-375. (Arbuthnot.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

25. Shekel of the sanctuary — This implies that a standard of weights was kept in the sanctuary to try and regulate all the weights in the land. Thus true religion provides things honest. For the value of the shekel see Num_3:47, note.

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

The estimation is to be made according to the shekel of the sanctuary, that is, the shekel at its full value, before worn by use in traffic. (see Exo_30:13 Num_3:47 Num_18:16)

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

The shekel - About 2s. 6d.

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

וכל ערכך יהיה בשקל הקדש Every valuation shall be made according to the holy shekel: i.e., every valuation regarding which shekels are written, will be made according to the holy shekel.

עשרים גרה TWENTY GERAH — twenty meahs. This was what it was originally, but later on they increased it by one sixth. Our Rabbis stated: six silver meahs make a silver denar; thus twenty-four meahs make a selah (a shekel) (cf. Rashi on Exodus 30:13), a shekel being four denars (Bekhorot 26b).

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.