What Does Leviticus 27:26 Mean?
Only the first to come forth among the beasts, which is already the LORD's, no man sets it apart; whether ox or sheep, it is the LORD's.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’s firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD’s.THE KEY
The firstborn is not made the LORD’s by dedication; dedication cannot create a claim that is already there.
THE MEANING
The firstborn animal already belongs to the LORD. A human act cannot create a claim that is already there, so the animal cannot be pledged as though it were an ordinary possession. Its belonging comes before anyone chooses to give it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that a human vow is what makes this firstborn belong to God; its belonging comes first.
THE ROOT
בְּכוֹר
bekhor
GROWS FROM
בכר
b-k-r
To bring forth first; to be firstborn or first-ripened.
“first to come forth” in this verse is bekhor. The firstling carries the idea of firstness, and the verse names that status before any person acts: “it is the LORD’s.” The English can make the animal sound like something a person might later dedicate, but its firstness already marks its belonging.
ALSO GROWS
bikkur: First-ripened fruit.
בִּכּוּר
The same root marks what comes first in the harvest, linking the first animal to the first yield.
bikkurim: Firstfruits, the first portion of a harvest.
בִּכּוּרִים
Firstfruits show the same pattern: what arrives first is set apart as belonging to the LORD.
קָדַשׁ
qadash
GROWS FROM
קדש
q-d-sh
To set apart as belonging to a sacred purpose.
“sets apart” in this verse is qadash. The root names an act of setting apart, but the verse says no person performs that act on this firstling as a vow: its belonging is already stated. The distinction is between setting something apart by a human dedication and recognizing a prior claim.
ALSO GROWS
qadosh: Set apart.
קָדוֹשׁ
This branch names the state of being set apart, the status already present in the verse’s declaration that the animal is the LORD’s.
miqdash: Sanctuary, a place set apart.
מִקְדָּשׁ
The sanctuary carries the same root into a place whose purpose and belonging are established, not supplied by a visitor’s act.
THE PATTERN
What comes first is already under God’s claim, and human dedication recognizes that prior belonging.
Set apart to me every firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, of humankind and of beast; it is mine.Give the LORD weight with your wealth, and with the first of all your yield.As it is written in the instruction of the LORD, Every male that opens the womb will be called set apart to the LORD.THE THREAD
Set apart to me every firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, of humankind and of beast; it is mine.Exodus pairs the firstborn with setting apart and states the reason: “it is mine.” Leviticus makes the consequence plain: no person can dedicate this firstborn as if a human act were what first made it belong to the LORD.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us