And if it be a beast, of which men bring an offering to the Lord, all that any man gives of such to the Lord shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and its substitute shall be holy. (Leviticus 27:9-10)

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 its substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. (Leviticus 27:33)

According to the Torah, a non-sacred animal that is consecrated as a substitute for an offering becomes sanctified. Yet the Torah does not specify the nature of this sanctity: Does it possess sanctity that inheres in its value, which is the status of consecrated items used for Temple maintenance, or does it attain inherent sanctity, i.e., that of an offering? If it has inherent sanctity, does the sanctity entail merely a prohibition against deriving benefit from it, performing labor with it, and shearing it, or is it actually fit to be sacrificed as an offering? If it is fit to be sacrificed, is it considered a complete substitute for the first offering, in which case one may fulfill his obligation with either one, or is it considered only a guarantee in case the original offering dies or is lost?

Even if the substitute has the same status as the original, there is room to distinguish between voluntary offerings, where one may sacrifice many animals, and obligatory offerings, which are brought only for a specific reason, and for which one may not sacrifice multiple offerings.

Another issue that arises is whether the additional components of an offering, such as the meal offering, wine libation, or loaves that accompany a thanks offering, are brought together with a substitute. Likewise, one may ask whether or not the time limit for consumption of the original offering is imposed upon the substitute.

The status of the substitute is more complicated in a case where the substitute animal is not fit for that particular offering, e.g., if one designates a female as a substitute for a burnt offering or guilt offering, or a bull as a Paschal offering or guilt offering. In such a case, the substitute cannot be sacrificed in place of or in addition to the original offering, and the status of such an animal must be determined.

Although the Torah discusses only the status of a substitute animal, similar issues also arise with regard to the analogous case of the offspring of an offering. If the offering must be a female, e.g., a peace offering or sin offering, or if one consecrated a female as an offering for which only a male animal may be brought, such as a burnt offering or guilt offering, and then the female became pregnant, what is the nature of the sanctity of the offspring? Is it fit to be sacrificed as an offering, and if it is, for which offering does one sacrifice it?

These two cases, that of a substitute for an offering and that of the offspring of an offering, are the primary subjects of this chapter, which addresses the status of both with regard to each category of offering.