Verse 14
"And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto Jehovah, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall he his."
One reason, no doubt, for the monetary penalties for the redemption of things vowed to God was that of discouraging rash and thoughtless vows. Clements commented on this:
"These laws highlighted the need for caution and seriousness in making vows and promises to God. Rash promises may afterward be regretted, and Israel's law did not permit the man who had made a hasty promise to forget it and do nothing about it. We may well pause to consider how many promises we have made to God and have not fulfilled."[7]
Wenham was probably correct in supposing that the "houses" referred to in these verses "were town houses that did not figure as part of the family's estate and therefore could be bought and sold freely."[8]
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