Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Leviticus 25

Introduction

1  The sabbath of the seventh year.
8  The jubilee in the fiftieth year.
14  Of oppression.
18  A blessing of obedience.
23  The redemption of land.
29  Of houses.
35  Compassion to the poor.
39  The usage of bondmen.
47  The redemption of servants.
Verse 1

And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
Exodus 19:1, Numbers 1:1, 10:11,12, Galatians 4:24,25
Verse 2

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
When ye
14:34, Deuteronomy 32:8,49, 34:4, Psalms 24:1,2, 115:16, Isaiah 8:8, Jeremiah 27:5
keep
Heb. rest.
23:32; *marg:
a sabbath
26:34,35, Exodus 23:10, 2 Chronicles 36:21
Verse 4

But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
20-23, 26:34,35,43, Exodus 23:10,11, 2 Chronicles 36:21
Verse 5

That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
groweth
2 Kings 19:29, Isaiah 37:30
thy vine undressed
Heb. the separation.
Verse 6

And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
Exodus 23:11, Acts 2:44, 4:32,34,35
Verse 8

And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
23:15, Genesis 2:2
Verse 9

Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
of the jubilee to sound
Heb. loud of sound.
Numbers 10:10, Psalms 89:15, Acts 13:38,39, Romans 10:18, 15:19, 2 Corinthians 5:19-21, 1 Thessalonians 1:8
jubilee
10-12, 27:17,24, Numbers 36:4
the day
16:20,30, 23:24,27
Verse 10

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
proclaim
Exodus 20:2, Ezra 1:3, Psalms 146:7, Isaiah 49:9,24,25, 61:1-3, 63:4, Jeremiah 34:8,13-17, Zechariah 9:11,12, Luke 1:74, 4:16-21, John 8:32-36, Romans 6:17,18, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 4:25-31, 5:1,13, 1 Peter 2:16, 2 Peter 2:19,20
every man
13,26-28,33,34, 27:17-24
ye shall return
Numbers 36:2-9
Verse 11

A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
A jubilee
Respecting the literal meaning of the word [ywbl] yobel, or yovel, critics are not agreed. The most natural derivation of the word seems to be from [hwbyl] hovil, the Hiphil form of [ybl] yaval, to recall, restore, or bring back, because this year restored all slaves to their liberty, and brought back all alienated estates to their primitive owners. Accordingly the LXX. render it here [aphesis] a "remission"; and Josephus says it signifies [eleutherian] liberty.
27:17
ye shall
Verse 12

For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
6,7
Verse 13

In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
10, 27:17-24, Numbers 36:4
Verse 14

And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
17, 19:13, Deuteronomy 16:19,20, Judges 4:3, 1 Samuel 12:3,4, 2 Chronicles 16:10, Nehemiah 9:36,37, Job 20:19,20, Psalms 10:18, Proverbs 14:31, 21:13, 22:16, 28:3,8,16, Ecclesiastes 5:8, Isaiah 1:17, 3:12-15, 5:7, 33:15, 58:6, Jeremiah 22:17, Ezekiel 22:7,12,13, Amos 5:11,12, 8:4-7, Micah 2:2,3, 6:10-12, 7:3, Luke 3:14, 1 Corinthians 6:8, James 5:1-5
Verse 15

According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:
27:18-23, Philippians 4:5
Verse 17

Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
shall not
fear
43, 19:14,32, Genesis 20:11, 22:12, 39:9, 42:18, Exodus 20:20, Deuteronomy 25:18, 1 Samuel 12:24, 2 Chronicles 19:7, Nehemiah 5:9,15, Psalms 19:9, Proverbs 1:7, Jeremiah 22:16, Malachi 3:5, Luke 12:5, Acts 9:31, 10:2,35, Romans 3:18, 11:20
Verse 18

Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
Wherefore
19:37, Psalms 103:18
and ye
26:3-12, Deuteronomy 12:10, 28:1-14, 33:12,28, Psalms 4:8, Proverbs 1:33, Jeremiah 7:3-7, Jeremiah 23:6, 25:5, 33:16, Ezekiel 33:24-26,29, 34:25-28, 36:24-28
Verse 19

And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
26:5, Psalms 67:6, 85:12, Isaiah 30:23, 65:21,22, Ezekiel 34:25-28, 36:30, Joel 2:24,26
Verse 20

And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
Numbers 11:4,13, 2 Kings 6:15-17, 7:2, 2 Chronicles 25:9, Psalms 78:19,20, Isaiah 1:2, Matthew 6:25-34, 8:26, Luke 12:29, Philippians 4:6, Hebrews 13:5,6
Verse 21

Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.
I will
As it is here graciously promised, that the sixth year was to bring forth fruits for three years, not merely for two, it is evident that both the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee were distinctly provided for. They were not to sow from the sixth to the eighth year, omitting two seed times; nor reap from the sixth to the ninth, omitting two harvests. No legislator, unless conscious of being divinely commissioned, would have committed himself by enacting such a law as this; nor would any people have submitted to receive it, except in consequence of the fullest conviction that a divine authority had dictated it. It therefore stands as a proof that Moses acted by the express direction of the Almighty, and that the people were fully persuaded of the reality of his divine mission by the miracles he wrought.
Genesis 26:12, 41:47, Exodus 16:29, Deuteronomy 28:3,8, Psalms 133:3, Proverbs 10:22, 2 Corinthians 9:10
three years
4,8-11
Verse 22

And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
eighth
2 Kings 19:29, Isaiah 37:30
old fruit
Joshua 5:11,12
Verse 23

The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
The land
10, 1 Kings 21:3, Ezekiel 48:14
for ever
or, to be quite cut off. Heb. for cutting off. for the land.
Deuteronomy 32:43, 2 Chronicles 7:20, Psalms 24:1, 85:1, Isaiah 8:8, Hosea 9:3, Joel 2:18, 3:2
for ye are
Genesis 47:9, 1 Chronicles 29:15, Psalms 39:12, 119:19, Hebrews 11:9-13, 1 Peter 2:11
Verse 24

And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
redemption
27,31,51-53, Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, Ephesians 1:7,14, 4:30
Verse 25

If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
Ruth 2:20, 3:2,9,12, 4:4-6, Jeremiah 32:7,8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Hebrews 2:13,14, Revelation 5:9
Verse 26

And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;
himself be able to redeem it
Heb. his hand hath attained, and found sufficiency.
5:7; *marg:
Verse 27

Leviticus 25:50-53

Verse 28

But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
and in the
he shall
See on
Isaiah 35:9,10, Jeremiah 32:15, 1 Corinthians 15:52-54, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Peter 1:4,5
Verse 29

A very proper difference is here made between houses in a city and houses in the country. The former might be redeemed any time in the course of a year; but after that time could not be redeemed, or go out with the Jubileethe latter might be redeemed at any time; and if not redeemed must go out with the jubilee. The reason in both cases is sufficiently evident; the house in the city might be built merely for the purposes of trade or traffic - the house in the country was builded on, or attached to, the inheritance which God had divided to the respective families. It was therefore necessary that the same law should apply to the house as to the inheritance; which necessity did not exist with regard to the house in the city. And, as the house in the city might be purchased for the purpose of trade, it would be very inconvenient for the purchaser, when his business was established, to be obliged to remove.

Verse 31

But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.
they may be redeemed
Heb. redemption belongeth unto it.
Psalms 49:7,8
Verse 32

Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
the cities
As the Levites had no inheritance in Israel, but only cities to dwell in; and consequently the houses in these cities were all they could call their own, therefore they could not be ultimately alienated.
Numbers 35:2-8, Joshua 21:1-45
Verse 33

And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel.
a man purchase of the Levites
or, one of the Levites redeem them. shall go.
for the houses
Numbers 18:20-24, Deuteronomy 18:1,2
Verse 34

But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
23, Acts 4:36,37
Verse 35

And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
thy brother
25, Deuteronomy 15:7,8, Proverbs 14:20,21, 17:5, 19:17, Mark 14:7, John 12:8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, James 2:5,6
fallen in decay
Heb. his hand faileth. then.
Psalms 37:26, 41:1, 112:5,9, Proverbs 14:31, Luke 6:35, Acts 11:29, Romans 12:13,18,20, 2 Corinthians 9:1,12-15, Galatians 2:10, 1 John 3:17
relieve
Heb. strengthen. a stranger.
19:34, Exodus 23:9, Deuteronomy 10:18,19, Matthew 25:35, Hebrews 13:2
Verse 36

Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
usury
Exodus 22:25, Deuteronomy 23:19,20, Nehemiah 5:7-10, Psalms 15:5, Proverbs 28:8, Ezekiel 18:8,13,17, Ezekiel 22:12
fear
17, Nehemiah 5:9,15
Verse 38

I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
which
Exodus 20:2
and to be
11:45, 22:32,33, Numbers 15:41, Jeremiah 31:1,33, 32:38, Hebrews 11:16
Verse 39

And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
be sold
Exodus 21:2, 22:3, Deuteronomy 15:12, 1 Kings 9:22, 2 Kings 4:1, Nehemiah 5:5, Jeremiah 34:14
compel him to serve as
Heb. serve thyself with him with the service of, etc.
46; *marg:; Exodus 1:14, Jeremiah 25:14, 27:7, 30:8
Verse 40

But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:
Exodus 21:2,3
Verse 41

And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.
then shall
Exodus 21:3, John 8:32, Romans 6:14, Titus 2:14
shall return
10,28
Verse 42

For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
my servants
55, Romans 6:22, 1 Corinthians 7:21-23
as bondsmen
Heb. with the sale of a bondman.
Verse 43

Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
rule
46,53, Exodus 1:13,14, 2:23, 3:7,9, 5:14, Isaiah 47:6, 58:3, Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 4:1
but shalt
17, Exodus 1:17,21, Deuteronomy 25:18, Malachi 3:5
Verse 44

Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
Exodus 12:44, Psalms 2:8,9, Isaiah 14:1,2, Revelation 2:26,27
Verse 45

Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
Isaiah 56:3-6
Verse 46

And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
And ye shall
Isaiah 14:2
they shall be your bondmen for ever
Heb. ye shall serve yourselves with them.
ye shall not rule
Verse 47

And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
sojourner or stranger wax rich
Heb. the hand of a stranger, etc. obtain, etc.
26, 1 Samuel 2:7,8, James 2:5
Verse 48

After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
25,35, Nehemiah 5:5,8, Galatians 4:4,5, Hebrews 2:11-13
Verse 49

Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
or if he be
Verse 50

And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
reckon
price of his sale
This was a very equitable law, both to the sojourner to whom the man was sold, and to the Israelite who had been sold. The Israelite might redeem himself, or one of his kindred might redeem him; but this must not be done to the prejudice of his master. They were therefore to reckon the years he must have served, from that time till the jubilee; and then taking the current wages of a servant, per year, at that time, multiply the remaining years by that sum, and the aggregate was to be given to his master for his redemption. The Jews hold that the kindred of such a person were bound, if in their power, to redeem him, lest he should be swallowed up among the heathen; and we find (Ne 5:8) that this was done by the Jews on their return from the Babylonish captivity.
according to the time
40,53, Deuteronomy 15:18, Job 7:1,2, 14:6, Isaiah 16:14, 21:16
Verse 52

And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
jubilee
The jubilee was a wonderful institution, and of great service to the religion, freedom, and independence of the Hebrews. It was calculated to prevent the rich from oppressing the poor, and reducing them to perpetual slavery; and to hinder their obtaining possession of all the lands by purchase, mortgage, or usurpation. It was further intended, that debts should not be multiplied too much, lest the poor should be entirely ruined; that slaves should not always continue in servitude; that personal liberty, equality of property, and the regular order of families might, as much as possible, be preserved; and that the people might thus be strongly attached to their country, lands, and inheritances.
Verse 53

Leviticus 25:43

Verse 54

And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.
in these years
or, by these means. then.
40,41, Exodus 21:2,3, Isaiah 49:9,25, 52:3
Verse 55

For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
my servants
42, Exodus 13:3, 20:2, Psalms 116:16, Isaiah 43:3, Luke 1:74,75, Romans 6:14,17,18, Romans 6:22, 1 Corinthians 7:22,23, 9:19,21, Galatians 5:13

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