Leviticus 27:21

Summary

The verse establishes what happens to a field when it is released at the jubilee year: it becomes holy to Yehovah, comparable to a field under total destruction/ban, and it becomes the permanent possession of the priest.

Key words

• sa.Deh ("field", H7704) — masculine singular noun, the subject of the clause, referring to agricultural land under discussion in the surrounding legal context.
• tze.T ("goes out", H3318) — qal infinitive with pronominal suffix o ("its/his"), forming the temporal clause "in its going out," describing the field's release at the jubilee.
• Ko.desh ("a holy thing", H6944) — masculine singular noun, predicate describing the resulting status of the field, without the definite article, functioning as a classification rather than a specific holy object.
• Che.rem ("total destruction/ban", H2764) — masculine singular noun with definite article, used in the comparative phrase "like the field of the cherem," referencing a category of land under irrevocable dedication.
• 'a.chu.za.T ("possession", H272) — feminine singular construct noun with suffix o ("his"), indicating the final state: permanent property belonging to the priest.

What the text says

The verse opens with the sequential perfect ha.Yah ("it will be", H1961), continuing a narrative chain from the preceding legal material, and sets up a conditional temporal clause using the infinitive tze.T ("goes out", H3318) governed by the preposition be ("when", H9003): "when it goes out in the jubilee." The subject is ha.sa.Deh ("the field", H7704), marked as definite.

The main predicate uses Ko.desh ("a holy thing", H6944) without the article, functioning adjectivally/predicatively — the field becomes a holy-thing category, not a specific named holy object. This status is qualified by a comparison: ki-s.Deh ha.Che.rem ("like the field of the total destruction", H7704 + H2764), using the construct chain to liken the field's holiness to that of land under cherem, a term denoting something set apart under an irrevocable ban.

The final clause shifts verb forms from the perfect ha.Yah to the imperfect tih.Yeh ("it will belong", H1961), marking a distinct grammatical movement within the verse — from a completed/sequential state to an ongoing or resultant condition. The construct noun 'achuzat-o ("his possession", H272) with the third-person suffix ties the outcome specifically to la.ko.Hen ("to the priest", H3548): the field becomes the priest's lasting possession.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the comparison using ἀφωρισμένη ("set apart") for the Hebrew Che.rem ("total destruction", H2764), softening the concept of cherem into a general notion of separation rather than the more severe connotation of irrevocable destruction/ban present in the Hebrew term. The Vulgate's consecrata ("consecrated") similarly shifts the emphasis toward dedication rather than the ban-related sense carried by Che.rem.