Adding a fifth
Early in the bible there seems to be a teaching of adding a fifth to a value in some instances. The question is when, and why?
[Lev 5:14-16 ESV] 14 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 15 "If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally in any of the holy things of YHWH, he shall bring to YHWH as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued in silver shekels, according
to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering. 16 He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven.
[Lev 6:1-7 ESV] 1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against YHWH by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor 3 or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely--in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby-- 4 if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found 5 or anything
about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. 6 And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to YHWH a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering. 7 And the priest shall make atonement for him before YHWH, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty."
[Lev 22:10-16 ESV] 10 "A lay person shall not eat of a holy thing; no foreign guest of the priest or hired worker shall eat of a holy thing, 11 but if a priest buys a slave as his property for money, the slave may eat of it, and anyone born in his house may eat of his food. 12 If a priest's daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things. 13 But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and has no child and returns to her father's house, as in her youth, she may eat
of her father's food; yet no lay person shall eat of it. 14 And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest. 15 They shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, which they contribute to YHWH, 16 and so cause them to bear iniquity and guilt, by eating their holy things: for I am YHWH who sanctifies them."
[Lev 27:2, 9-19, 30-31 ESV] 2 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to YHWH... 9 "If the vow is an animal that may be offered as an offering to YHWH, all of it that he gives to YHWH is holy. 10 He shall not exchange it or make a substitute for it, good for bad, or bad for good; and if he does in fact substitute one animal for another, then both it and the substitute shall be holy. 11 And if it is any unclean animal that may not be offered as an offering to YHWH, then he shall stand the animal before the priest, 12 and the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall be. 13 But if he wishes to redeem it, he shall add a fifth to the valuation. 14 "When a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to YHWH, the priest shall value it as either good or bad; as the priest values it, so it shall stand. 15 And if
the donor wishes to redeem his house, he shall add a fifth to the valuation price, and it shall be his. 16 "If a man dedicates to YHWH part of the land that is his possession, then the valuation shall be in proportion to its seed. A homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he dedicates his field from the year of jubilee, the valuation shall stand, 18 but if he dedicates his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall calculate the price according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and a deduction shall be made from the valuation. 19 And if he who dedicates the field wishes to redeem it, then he shall add a fifth to its valuation price, and it shall remain his. ... 30 "Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is YHWH’s; it is holy to YHWH. 31 If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it.
[Num 5:5-8 ESV] 5 And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 6 "Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with YHWH, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving
it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to YHWH for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him.
Summary
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