If the priests had any literary craft, the last chapter of Leviticus, 27, would either sum everything up or provide a strong punch line. Especially after the dire curses promised in 26, we'd want to see things brought to a satisfactory end. Instead we get yet another tedious recitation of complicated rules. It actually isn't at all clear what's going on here, but from what I have been able to gather from commentary the translation is a bit misleading. The idea seems to be that you can "consecrate your children to God," which evidently means making them servants of the priests. The person obviously can't participate in rites in the temple, as she or he is not Levite, but no doubt the priests need field hands and house servants. They aren't slaves though because they're Hebrews, so they can be redeemed. You can also give the priests real estate. I'm not sure why somebody would want to do that. Maybe it's like "get thee to a nunnery"-- you can't afford to take care of the person, or they're somehow an embarrassment, or you have some sort of guilt to expiate. In any case the prices are the cost to redeem the person, to buy him or her back. It doesn't exactly say that, but that's what the commentators tell us. Anyway it's not a very satisfying ending from a literary point of view, but it's great for the priests who are raking in more and more swag.
27 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the Lord by giving the equivalent value, 3 set the value of a male between the ages of twenty and sixty at fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel; 4 for a female, set her value at thirty shekels; 5 for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels; 6 for a person between one month and five years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver; 7 for a person sixty years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels. 8 If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, the person being dedicated is to be presented to the priest, who will set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.
Males are of course worth more than females.
9 “‘If what they vowed is an animal that is acceptable as an offering to the Lord, such an animal given to the Lord becomes holy. 10 They must not exchange it or substitute a good one for a bad one, or a bad one for a good one; if they should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute become holy. 11 If what they vowed is a ceremonially unclean animal—one that is not acceptable as an offering to the Lord—the animal must be presented to the priest, 12 who will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, that is what it will be. 13 If the owner wishes to redeem the animal, a fifth must be added to its value.
14 “‘If anyone dedicates their house as something holy to the Lord, the priest will judge its quality as good or bad. Whatever value the priest then sets, so it will remain. 15 If the one who dedicates their house wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the house will again become theirs.
16 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord
part of their family land, its value is to be set according to the
amount of seed required for it—fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed. 17 If they dedicate a field during the Year of Jubilee, the value that has been set remains. 18 But if they dedicate a field after the Jubilee, the priest will determine the value according to the number of years that remain until the next Year of Jubilee, and its set value will be reduced. 19 If the one who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, they must add a fifth to its value, and the field will again become theirs. 20 If, however, they do not redeem the field, or if they have sold it to someone else, it can never be redeemed. 21 When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the Lord; it will become priestly property.
22 “‘If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land, 23 the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the Lord. 24 In the Year of Jubilee the field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, the one whose land it was. 25 Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel.
26 “‘No one, however, may dedicate the firstborn of an animal, since the firstborn already belongs to the Lord; whether an ox or a sheep, it is the Lord’s. 27 If it is one of the unclean animals,
it may be bought back at its set value, adding a fifth of the value to
it. If it is not redeemed, it is to be sold at its set value.
28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes to the Lord—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord.
29 “‘No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; they are to be put to death.
Now this does seem to suggest some form of human sacrifice. At least I can't read it any other way.
30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. 33 No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’”
34 These are the commands the Lord gave Moses at Mount Sinai for the Israelites.
2 comments:
Well, I can see why women (compared to men) still aren't being paid equivalent salaries.
What a crock. If anything, women can do some pretty amazing things that men can't. Like having children.
I really feel it's time for governments to give control of power to women. Let the few men who are reasonable and cooperative participate as they wish. But otherwise, let 'em do the things they're good at--playing games, fixing things, just hanging out, helping with the kids and work. Let women run things in the world. Chances are that anyone who can get pregnant, carry the growing fetus within them for nine months, and give birth (which Robin Williams compared to having to shit a bowling ball) isn't going to readily send humans off to die in a war.
One planet, one spaceship. Fuck the myths of male superiority and Caucasian superiority. It's showtime! Learn to live together and protect the Earth or perish.
Please keep in mind that not all women are amazing. I don't think I would want Betsy DeVos as POTUS.
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