Leviticus 27:30-34

Redemption of the Tithe

27:30 “‘Any tithe ¹  of the land, from the grain of the land or from the fruit of the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 27:31 If a man redeems ²  part of his tithe, however, he must add one fifth to it. ³  27:32 All the tithe of herd or flock, everything which passes under the rod, the tenth one will be holy to the Lord. ⁴  27:33 The owner ⁵  must not examine the animals to distinguish between good and bad, and he must not exchange it. If, however, he does exchange it, ⁶  both the original animal ⁷  and its substitute will be holy. ⁸  It must not be redeemed.’”

Final Colophon

27:34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites ⁹  at Mount Sinai.

Numbers 18:21-28

18:21 See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting. 18:22 No longer may the Israelites approach the tent of meeting, or else they will bear their sin ¹⁰  and die. 18:23 But the Levites must perform the service ¹¹  of the tent of meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. ¹²  It will be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations that among the Israelites the Levites ¹³  have no inheritance. ¹⁴  18:24 But I have given ¹⁵  to the Levites for an inheritance the tithes of the Israelites that are offered ¹⁶  to the Lord as a raised offering. That is why I said to them that among the Israelites they are to have no inheritance.”

Instructions for the Levites

18:25 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18:26 “You are to speak to the Levites, and you must tell them, ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe that I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you are to offer up ¹⁷  from it as a raised offering to the Lord a tenth of the tithe. 18:27 And your raised offering will be credited ¹⁸  to you as though it were grain from the threshing floor or as new wine ¹⁹  from the winepress. 18:28 Thus you are to offer up a raised offering to the Lord of all your tithes which you receive from the Israelites; and you must give the Lord’s raised offering from it to Aaron the priest.

[27:30]  ¹ tn On the “tithe” system in Israel, see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:1035-55 and esp. pp. 1041-42 on Lev 27:30-33.

[27:31]  ² tn Heb “And if redeeming [infinitive absolute] a man redeems [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[27:31]  ³ tn Heb “its one fifth on it.”

[27:32]  ⁴ sn The tithed animal was the tenth one that passed under the shepherd’s rod or staff as they were being counted (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 485, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 200).

[27:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:33]  ⁶ tn Heb “And if exchanging [infinitive absolute] he exchanges it [finite verb].” For the infinitive absolute used to highlight contrast rather than emphasis see GKC 343 §113.p.

[27:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “it and its substitute.” The referent (the original animal offered) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[27:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “it shall be and its substitute shall be holy.”

[27:34]  ⁹ tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel.” The preposition אֶל (’el), however, does not usually mean “for.” In this book it is commonly used when the Lord commands Moses “to speak [un]to” a person or group of persons (see, e.g., Lev 1:2; 4:2, etc.). The translation “to tell” here reflects this pattern in the book of Leviticus.

[18:22]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive construct of the verb “to bear” with the lamed (ל) preposition to express the result of such an action. “To bear their sin” would mean that they would have to suffer the consequences of their sin.

[18:23]  ¹¹ tn The verse begins with the perfect tense of עָבַד (’avad) with vav (ו) consecutive, making the form equal to the instructions preceding it. As its object the verb has the cognate accusative “service.”

[18:23]  ¹² sn The Levites have the care of the tent of meeting, and so they are responsible for any transgressions against it.

[18:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Levites) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:23]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text uses both the verb and the object from the same root to stress the point: They will not inherit an inheritance. The inheritance refers to land.

[18:24]  ¹⁵ tn The classification of the perfect tense here too could be the perfect of resolve, since this law is declaring what will be their portion – “I have decided to give.”

[18:24]  ¹⁶ tn In the Hebrew text the verb has no expressed subject (although the “Israelites” is certainly intended), and so it can be rendered as a passive.

[18:26]  ¹⁷ tn The verb in this clause is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it has the same force as an imperfect of instruction: “when…then you are to offer up.”

[18:27]  ¹⁸ tn The verb is חָשַׁב (khashav, “to reckon; to count; to think”); it is the same verb used for “crediting” Abram with righteousness. Here the tithe of the priests will be counted as if it were a regular tithe.

[18:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “fullness,” meaning the fullness of the harvest, i.e., a full harvest.