“He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”
No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed. The animal tithe substitution prohibition mirrors the vowed-animal substitution prohibition of verse 10: both the original and the substitute become holy if substitution is attempted. The consistent anti-substitution rule across the vow and the tithe communicates the covenant's protection against the exploitation of the sacred offerings: the attempt to game the system results in giving more, not less.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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