Leviticus 27:25

Summary

The verse establishes that every valuation mentioned (in the preceding regulations of Leviticus 27) must be calculated according to the sanctuary shekel standard, and it defines that standard as equal to twenty gerahs.

Key words

• 'er.ke.kha ("your valuation", H6187 + H9021) — construct noun with 2nd person masculine singular suffix, meaning "the valuation of you/your assessment"; combined with khol ("every", H3605) it forms "all your valuation" or "every valuation of yours."
• yih.Yeh ("it will be", H1961) — Qal imperfect of the verb "to be," appearing twice in the verse (once for each clause), indicating a standing rule projected into future application rather than a single past event.
• She.kel ha.Ko.desh ("shekel of the holy place", H8255 + H9009 + H6944G) — construct chain meaning "the shekel of the sanctuary," specifying which weight-standard applies, distinct from any other local or common shekel.
• 'es.Rim ge.Rah ("twenty gerah", H6242 + H1626) — cardinal number with the noun gerah, a smaller unit of weight/currency used to quantify the shekel.
• ha.Sha.kel ("the shekel", H8255 + H9009) — definite form, referring back to the shekel just introduced, closing the definitional sentence.

What the text says

The verse divides into two parallel clauses, each built around the verb yih.Yeh ("it will be", H1961) in the Qal imperfect. The first clause, ve.khol-'er.ke.kha yih.Yeh be.She.kel ha.Ko.desh, states that "every valuation of yours will be by the shekel of the holy place" — the construct chain She.kel ha.Ko.desh singles out a specific, sanctioned standard of weight, as opposed to any generic or variable shekel. The preposition be. ("by", H9003) attaches this valuation directly to that standard, meaning assessments are measured according to it.

The second clause, 'es.Rim ge.Rah yih.Yeh ha.Sha.kel, defines the shekel itself: "twenty gerah will be the shekel." Here the definite article on ha.Sha.kel ("the shekel", H9009 + H8255) marks it as the same shekel just mentioned, and the numeral 'es.Rim ("twenty", H6242) with ge.Rah ("gerah", H1626) supplies the internal unit count. The repeated use of the imperfect yih.Yeh in both clauses gives the verse a normative, rule-stating force rather than describing a one-time event — it functions as a standing definition applicable whenever valuations of this kind are made.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ge.Rah (H1626) as ὀβολοὶ ("obols") and She.kel (H8255) as δίδραχμον ("didrachm"), using Greek monetary terms rather than transliterating the Hebrew units. The Vulgate similarly uses siclus and obolos, following the Greek's monetary equivalence rather than the Hebrew's more literal weight-based terminology (She.kel and ge.Rah both denote weight units in the Hebrew text). The Spanish SBLIBRE glosses She.kel as "moneda de plata" ("silver coin"), an interpretive translation not present in the Hebrew wording, which simply names the unit without specifying the metal.