Leviticus 27:29

Summary

The verse states that any cherem ("devoted/banned thing," H2764A) that is a human being cannot be ransomed back — such a person must be executed. The syntax stacks two passive/causative verb forms to underline the finality and irreversibility of the decree.

Key words

• cherem ("dedicated person/thing," H2764A) — masculine singular noun, here functioning as the head of the construct chain "every cherem," referring to something (or someone) placed under an irrevocable ban.
• yochoram ("he will be dedicated to destruction," H2763A) — hophal imperfect: a passive form built on the same root as cherem, showing the person is the recipient, not agent, of the devotion.
• min-ha'adam ("from humankind," H4480A + H0120G) — preposition + definite noun; specifies the category "human" among possible cherem-objects (elsewhere in the chapter, animals and property can also be cherem).
• yippadeh ("he will be redeemed," H6299) — niphal imperfect negated by lo' (H3808): passive verb marking the impossibility of buy-back, unlike other vows earlier in the chapter which do allow redemption.
• mot yumat ("to die, he will be put to death," H4191 twice) — infinitive absolute + hophal imperfect of the same root: this doubling is a common Hebrew intensifying construction, stressing certainty rather than mere possibility.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the construct phrase kol-cherem ("every cherem"), immediately narrowed by the relative clause 'asher yochoram min-ha'adam — "who is devoted, from humankind." The preposition min here functions partitively, singling out the human category of cherem from other possible objects (property, animals) discussed in the surrounding verses of Leviticus 27. The verb yochoram is hophal, a causative-passive stem: the subject undergoes an action performed by another agent, without that agent being named.

The second clause, lo' yippadeh, uses the niphal (passive/reflexive) form of padah ("to redeem") negated — establishing that no ransom process, which was available for other consecrated items in the chapter, applies here. The final clause, mot yumat, pairs the qal infinitive absolute mot with the hophal imperfect yumat, both from the root H4191 ("to die"). This infinitive-plus-finite-verb pattern is a grammatical intensifier in Biblical Hebrew, expressing certainty of outcome rather than mere futurity — hence renderings like "he must surely be put to death" or "indefectiblemente."

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders min-ha'adam as ab homine ("by a man"), shifting the sense toward agency (something offered by a human) rather than the Hebrew's partitive sense (a cherem that is human, as opposed to animal or property). The LXX's ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ("from among humans") stays closer to the Hebrew's partitive nuance. Modern renderings such as BSB ("No person set apart for destruction") resolve the construct phrase directly into "person," which the Hebrew leaves implicit through min-ha'adam rather than stating outright.