Leviticus 27:17

Summary

This verse establishes a temporal condition for the dedication of a field: if the consecration occurs precisely in the year of the jubilee itself, the value of the field is fixed according to the standard valuation given to the assessor ("you"). The verse functions as the baseline case contrasted with the following verses, which describe a field consecrated after the jubilee year.

Key words

• yovel ("jubilee", H3104) — masculine singular noun, definite by the preceding article ha (H9009); marks the specific year that serves as the temporal reference point for the whole regulation.
• yaqdish ("he will set apart as holy", H6942H) — hiphil (causative) imperfect; the causative stem indicates that the subject actively renders the field holy/consecrated, rather than the field being inherently holy.
• sadehu ("his field", H7704G + H9023) — noun in construct form with a possessive suffix, identifying the specific object being consecrated as belonging to the one performing the act.
• 'erkekha ("your valuation", H6187 + H9021) — construct noun with second-person masculine singular suffix; ties the value of the field to a valuation attributed to "you", the addressee of the legal instruction.
• yaqum ("it will stand", H6965I) — qal imperfect, meaning the valuation "stands" or remains fixed/valid, expressing legal permanence rather than mere continuation.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the conditional particle 'im ("if", H0518A) governing a temporal prepositional phrase, mi-shenat ha-yovel ("from the year of the jubilee", H9006+H8141+H9009+H3104), which sets the timing of the act described by yaqdish. The hiphil form of yaqdish signals that the person performs an action that produces a state of consecration in the field — the field does not become holy on its own but is made holy by an agent's declaration or act.

The apodosis, ke-'erkekha yaqum, uses the preposition ke ("according to", H9004) to link the field's status to a fixed standard, 'erkekha ("your valuation"). The second-person suffix on 'erke is grammatically directed at an addressee within the legal text, distinguishing this clause from a general or third-person statement about value. The qal verb yaqum ("it will stand") expresses that this valuation remains legally binding, without additional qualification, when the consecration coincides with the jubilee year itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders yovel as ἀφέσεως ("release/remission") rather than transliterating "jubilee," describing the year by its legal effect rather than its name. The Vulgate adds voverit ("he shall have vowed") and statim ("immediately"), introducing a vow-language and temporal immediacy not explicit in the Hebrew yaqdish. The SBLIBRE translation renders 'erkekha impersonally as "the valuation," omitting the second-person addressee embedded in the Hebrew suffix, while the BSB and RV1909 retain "your valuation."