In the Tanakh, the term herem (Hebrew חֵרֶם) is used, among other meanings, for an object or real property to be devoted to God, with God authorizing a kohen (Jewish priest) to be its receiving agent.
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Twenty-four kohanic gifts
In Torah law, the positive commandment of a devoted thing is applied to the "gifts of the priesthood" (Hebrew מתנות כהונה matnat kehuna) which entails giving "devoted estate" or "devoted properties" to a kohen. The gift of "devoted things" is listed as one of the twenty-four kohanic gifts and, of those twenty-four, as one of ten gifts given to the priest even outside the land of Israel (Tosefta Challah 2:8, Talmud Bavli Hullin).
The nuances and complex specifics of the "priestly gifts" (matnat kehuna) and law on "devoted things" (herem) are deemed by Chazal as one of eight pillars of Torah law that are "principles of Halakha". See Tosefta to Hagigah 1:11 for a list of all eight.
Etymology
In Hebrew the adjective herem (Hebrew חֵרֶם) means "devoted thing" or "thing devoted to destruction". The term is used 29 times in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh. An unrelated homonym, the noun herem meaning "fisherman's net" (also חֵרֶם), is used a further 9 times. The adjective herem and the associate verb haram "devote" come from the Semitic root Ḥ-R-M with cognates in the Syriac and Arabic languages.
The word "devoted" (herem) is understood by Maimonides as a "complete and total transition" from one status to another. The Targums define the word as a complete separation (Jerusalem Targum to Numbers 18:13, and Targum Yonathan to Isaiah 43:28). According to Samuel ben Meir this is the complete transition of an estate or object from hullin (mundane) status to that of kodesh (holy).
In modern times
The commandment to devote property, although practice infrequently today, still has halakhic implication in modern times:
In the diaspora
Considering that the gift of devoted property is listed as one of the ten priestly gifts that can be given to a priest outside of Jerusalem (similar to the Pidyon HaBen and the giving of the shoulder, cheeks and maw), some poskim have noted that both types of devoted things, both real estate and goods, are designated and given to the priest of the beth din's choice.
Solomon Luria is of the opinion that the dedicator of devoted goods is required to specify that the property or items be given to a priest in order for a priest to be eligible as the recipient. In terms of the beth-din choosing an eligible kohen, Rabbi Luria opines that The status quo Kohen is sufficient to be the recipient of a devoted item and it to be "mundane" (hullin).