What Does Leviticus 27:8 Mean in the King James?
But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A vow’s valuation moves with the vow-maker’s actual reach.
THE MEANING
When your means fall short of an assigned valuation, your actual reach enters the measure. The priest assesses the vow according to what your hand can attain, so the measure adjusts to your capacity.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a sacred vow has one fixed price for everyone, regardless of what their hand can reach.
THE ROOT
יַעֲרִכֶנּוּ
ya'arikhennu
GROWS FROM
ערך
ערך (ʿ-r-kh): arrange, set in order; by extension, assess or value.
The verb for “value” grows from ערך (ʿ-r-kh, “arrange, set in order”), a root also used for putting things in rows. The priest’s assessment is an ordered measure, shaped here by what the vow-maker’s hand can reach.
ALSO GROWS
la'arokh: to set in order
לַעֲרֹךְ
The same root describes setting things in order; here, the valuation is arranged to fit the person’s capacity.
ma'arakhah: array, ordered formation
מַעֲרָכָה
This branch names things placed in an arrangement, showing that value belongs to a field of setting in relation, not just an isolated number.
תַּשִּׂיג
tassig
GROWS FROM
נשׂג
נשׂג (nasag): reach, attain, overtake.
“ability” in this verse is tassig. The phrase says what the vow-maker’s hand can attain. The root can also mean “overtake,” so the verse makes reach concrete: the assessment meets the person where their means can arrive.
ALSO GROWS
vehisigukha: and they shall overtake you
וְהִשִּׂיגֻךָ
In Deuteronomy 28:2, blessings overtake a person; here, the same root marks the limit of what the hand can attain.
vehisigo: and overtake him
וְהִשִּׂיגוֹ
In Deuteronomy 19:6, a pursuer may catch up with someone; the shared root shows that “reach” can mean arriving at or catching up to someone.
מָךְ
makh
GROWS FROM
מוך
מוך (mukh): sink, become low; be poor.
“Poorer” names a condition of lowered means, not a measure of a person’s nature. The verse accounts for that condition by changing the valuation to fit what the hand can reach.
ALSO GROWS
yimmukh: becomes poor
יִמּוּךְ
Leviticus 25:35 uses the same root for a brother who becomes poor; the word describes a change in circumstance.
u-makh: and is poor
וּמָךְ
Leviticus 25:47 uses the same form for someone who is poor; that condition affects what can be required of the person.
THE PATTERN
A person’s contribution is measured with regard to what they actually have and can reach.
And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.THE THREAD
If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.The word translated “poorer” here and “waxen poor” there grows from מוך (mukh, “sink, become low; be poor”). In Leviticus 25:25, that lowered circumstance opens a path to a kinsman’s redemption; here, it changes the valuation to what the hand can reach.
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