Leviticus 27:9

Lev 27:9 And if [it be] a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that [any man] giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.

Ver. 9. Giveth,] i.e., Consecrateth unto God by his vow; and so, giveth him of his own. {1Ch 29:14}

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 27:9. If it be a beast — it shall be holy, &c. — A second sort of things vowed to God are beasts. With respect to which the law is, that the very individual beast was to be disposed of by the owner according to the first intention of his vow, whether to be sacrificed upon the altar, or given to the priests, or sold for the use of the sanctuary, the price to be applied to the repairs of the house of God, or to purchase the usual sacrifices. This is what we are to understand by its being holy, as appears from Lev 27:10. The design of this law was to preserve a reverence toward things once consecrated, that they might not return to common uses.

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

ANIMALS VOWED, Lev_27:9-13.

9. A beast of the sacrificial kinds, if unblemished, (Lev_22:23,) was not redeemable, but was holy unto the Lord. But if it was not fit for the altar, because of some blemish, it became a perquisite of the priests like the firstborn of cattle, Lev_27:33.

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

When animals were vowed, of the cattle that were usually offered in sacrifice, everything that was given to Jehovah of these (i.e., dedicated to Him by vowing) was to be holy and not changed, i.e., exchanged, a good animal for a bad, or a bad one for a good. But if such an exchange should be made, the animal first dedicated and the one substituted were both to be holy (Lev 27:9, Lev 27:10). The expression "it shall be holy" unquestionably implies that an animal of this kind could not be redeemed; but if it was free from faults, it was offered in sacrifice: if, however, it was not fit for sacrifice on account of some blemish, it fell to the portion of the priests for their maintenance like the first-born of cattle (cf. Lev 27:33).

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.)

OF THE VOWING OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Lev_27:9-13

"And if it be a beast, whereof men offer an oblation unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. And if it be any unclean beast of which they do not offer an oblation unto the Lord, then lie shall set the beast before the priest: and the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou the priest valuest it, so shall it be. But if he will indeed redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part thereof unto thy estimation."

This next section concerns the vowing to the Lord of domestic animals (Lev_27:9-13). If the animal thus dedicated to the Lord were such as could be used in sacrifice, then the animal itself was taken for the sanctuary, service, and the vow was unalterable and irrevocable. If, however, the animal vowed was "any unclean beast," then the priest (Lev_27:12) was to set a price upon it, according to its value; for which, we may infer, it was to be sold and the proceeds devoted to the sanctuary.

In this case, the person who had vowed the animal was allowed to redeem it to himself again (Lev_27:13) by payment of this estimated price and one-fifth additional, a provision which was evidently intended to be of the nature of a fine, and to be a check upon the making of rash vows.

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

27:9-10 Once an acceptable animal had been vowed and the priest at the sanctuary had accepted it on God’s behalf, the animal became holy and belonged to God.

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

Which is clean, Lev. 11:2.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord--a clean beast. After it had been vowed, it could neither be employed in common purposes nor exchanged for an equivalent--it must be sacrificed--or if, through some discovered blemish, it was unsuitable for the altar, it might be sold, and the money applied for the sacred service. If an unclean beast--such as an ass or camel, for instance, had been vowed, it was to be appropriated to the use of the priest at the estimated value, or it might be redeemed by the person vowing on payment of that value, and the additional fine of a fifth more.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(9) And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering.—That is, if what a man vows consists of sacrificial quadrupeds, viz., bullocks, sheep, or goats.

Shall be holy.—That is, must not be redeemed at all. They were delivered to the sanctuary: they were sold by the priests to those Israelites who required them as sacrifices for the altar, and the money expended in the maintenance of the service.

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

9–13. The case of cattle

Such an animal, when presented as a vow, must not be changed, a bad for a good. Otherwise both animals became dedicated. If the animal so presented was ‘unclean,’ and as such could not lawfully be offered to God, the priest was to set upon it a value in proportion to its worth, whereupon the owner might sell it for that sum and pay over the amount. If, however, he desired to have it back, he must pay in addition one-fifth of the price which the priest had adjudged.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He shall not alter it nor change it,.... Some think these two words signify the same, but Abarbinel (s) makes them different; according to him, to "alter" is for one of another kind, as one of the herd for one of the flock, or the contrary; and to "change" for one of the same kind:

a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; or, as the Targum of Jonathan,"that which is perfect for that which has a blemish in it, or what has a blemish in it for that which is perfect;''a change might not be made neither for the better nor for the worse, but the creature devoted was to be taken as it was; if not fit for sacrifice it was to be sold, and its price put to other uses; for, as Abarbinel (t) observes, whatsoever was devoted to sacred use was never to be put to any profane one; and this was also to teach men not to be hasty and fickle in such things, but to consider well what they did, and abide by it; for if such alterations and changes could be admitted of, a man after he had vowed might through covetousness repent, and bring a bad one instead of a good one, or, under pretence of bringing a good one instead of a bad one, might bring a bad one and say it was good, as Bechai (u) observes; even one worse than he had brought, thinking to impose upon the ignorance of the priest; and indeed if he was sincere in it, and had a mind to bring a better than what he had vowed, it was not allowed of; if he made any change, though it was for the better, he was to be beaten, as Maimonides (w) affirms:

and if he shall at all change beast for beast; whether of the same or of a different kind, or whether for better or worse:

then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy: both of them were to be the Lord's, and appropriated to sacred use, of one sort or another, either for sacrifice or for the priests family, or the price of it for the repairs of the sanctuary.

(s) Apud Muis. in loc. (t) Ibid. (u) Apud Muis. ib. (w) Hilchot Temurah, c. 1. sect. 1.

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

Whereof men bring, to wit, usually and according to God’s appointment. Giveth, i.e. voweth to give.

Shall be holy, i.e. consecrated to God, either to be sacrificed, or to be given to the priest according to the manner of the vow, and the intention of him that voweth.

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

Vers. 9, 10. In case a clean animal is vowed to the Lord, it is not to be exchanged for another on the plea of not being good enough or being too good for sacrifice. If any such attempt is made, both animals are to be given up and sacrificed, or, if blemished, added to the herd of the sanctuary.

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

Whereof men bring an offering - That is, a clean beast. Giveth - Voweth to give: Shall be holy - Consecrated to God, either to be sacrificed, or to be given to the priest, according to the manner of the vow, and the intention of him that voweth.

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues telling Moses what the people must do.

set apart to him

"set apart to Yahweh"

both it and the one for which it is exchanged

This can be stated in active form. AT: "both it and the one he exchanges it for" or the animals can be referred to simply as "both animals" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

sacrifice

set apart

holy

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

כל אשר יתן ממנו EVERYTHING THAT A MAN GIVE implies even the case when he said, “the foot of this animal shall be a burnt offering” his words have binding force). It (the animal) is therefore sold for the purpose of a burnt-offering to one who has to bring such an offering and the monies realized by its sale are חולין (non-holy) and are returned to the owner with the exception of the value of that limb (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 9 1; Arakhin 5a; Temurah 11b; Chullin 69b).

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.