Charles Ellicott Commentary Leviticus 27:14

"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." — Leviticus 27:14 (ASV)

And when a man shall sanctify his house. —That is, he devotes it to the service of God by a vow, whereupon it has to be sold and the money used by the authorities for the maintenance and repair of the sanctuary, unless it is required as a dwelling for the priests or for some other purpose connected with the duties of the Temple. The sale, however, can only take place after the priest has carefully examined it, ascertained and fixed its value according to the condition of the house.

It can then be bought by anyone at the price thus fixed. The expression "house" the authorities during the Second Temple period interpreted to mean not only the building itself but also anything belonging to it, or any article of furniture in it which the owner could vow to the sanctuary separately; while from the expression "his house" they concluded that the house or the things in it must be absolutely his own, and that he has the exclusive right of disposal.

Hence, neither the defrauder nor the defrauded could vow to the sanctuary any house or property obtained by fraud, since the property was not properly in the possession of either and could not be called his. Moreover, if anyone vowed something by mistake, it could not be claimed for the sanctuary; the vow under such circumstances was regarded as null and void.

From these considerations, as well as from the fact that any article vowed could be redeemed, it is evident that the Mosaic vow of consecration to the sanctuary imparted no sacramental and inalienable sanctity to the objects themselves, in what we would understand as the ecclesiastical sense of consecration. It was not the gift itself, but its monetary value that had to be devoted to the holy cause.