Lev 25 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Lev 25:1-55: 25:1-55 Just as seven days equaled a week ending in a Sabbath day, each seven years ended with a Sabbath year . Likewise, after seven Sabbath years (i.e., 49 years total) came a special year, the Year of Jubilee . Like so many holidays, these occasions were times of reflection on Israel’s corporate identity and how they were shaped by their relationship with God. Because every Israelite, bond or free, had a part in God’s kingdom, those bound in servitude were freed in the Year of Jubilee (25:39-43 ). In order to curb economic hardship and foster well-being, land sales were limited to a maximum term of fifty years. The land was then to be returned to the original owner’s family or clan. The land belonged to the Lord; the Israelites were merely tenants (25:23 ). It is unlikely, however, that these laws saw much use; the best land fell into the hands of rich landowners (Isa 5:8-10 ; cp. Amos 5:11 ).

Summary for Lev 25:1-55: 25:1-55 ^a Just as seven days equaled a week ending in a Sabbath day, each seven years ended with a Sabbath year. Likewise, after seven Sabbath years (i.e., 49 years total) came a special year, the Year of Jubilee. Like so many holidays, these occasions were times of reflection on Israel’s corporate identity and how they were shaped by their relationship with God. Because every Israelite, bond or free, had a part in God’s kingdom, those bound in servitude were freed in the Year of Jubilee (25:39-43 ^b). In order to curb economic hardship and foster well-being, land sales were limited to a maximum term of fifty years. The land was then to be returned to the original owner’s family or clan. The land belonged to the Lord; the Israelites were merely tenants (25:23 ^c). It is unlikely, however, that these laws saw much use; the best land fell into the hands of rich landowners (Isa 5:8-10 ^d; cp. Amos 5:11 ^e).
Summary for Lev 25:2-7: 25:2-7 ^f During the year of Sabbath rest, there was to be no formal cultivation or harvesting of the land; from what grew on its own the landowner could gather what he needed for his household day by day. Whatever remained uneaten was left for the poor and for foreigners (Exod 23:10-11 ^g), and what they left provided food for both wild and domestic animals. See also Exod 21:2 ^h; Deut 15:1-11 ⁱ.
25:4 ^j land must have a Sabbath year: The principle behind the Sabbath (see study note on 19:30) was that God rested and therefore man rests. Here the principle was extended to the land.
Summary for Lev 25:8-17: 25:8-17 ^k The Year of Jubilee took place every fiftieth year as a release from obligations and servitude. The same year was also treated as a Sabbath year with no farming. Some scholars argue that the forty-ninth year served as both Sabbath (seventh) and jubilee (fiftieth) years. A simple count of fifty years would place the Year of Jubilee immediately after the seventh Sabbath year, which would mean two consecutive years without harvests.

• Each Year of Jubilee the land was to revert to the clan or tribe that had originally received it under Joshua (Josh 13–21 ^l). Land had two functions: (1) It provided an economic basis for existence; and (2) it tied the landowner to his ancestors and, through them, to the land allocation under Joshua and even to the covenant with Moses. The return of the land was to prevent powerful land monopolies that would close out the poor.
25:10 ^m proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there: See 25:39-43 ⁿ, 47-55 ^o.

• return to the land that belonged to your ancestors: If the individual who originally owned the land had died, the land was returned to his heirs.
Summary for Lev 25:11-12: 25:11-12 ^p All the regulations of the Sabbath year also applied to the Year of Jubilee.
Summary for Lev 25:15-16: 25:15-16 ^q the number of years: The law did not allow the land to be sold in perpetuity. It was God’s, and Israel was simply permitted to use it (25:23 ^r). However, if the owner was forced to give it up due to financial distress, it could be leased for up to forty-nine years (until the next jubilee). The price was adjusted according to the length of the lease. At the end of that time, the land was to revert to the family of the original owner.
25:23 ^s the land belongs to me: Israel’s ownership of the land was derivative, not absolute—ownership depended on the covenant, in which God himself allotted them the land (Deut 1:8 ^t, 39 ^u). The ideas of land stewardship and of sharing material resources stem naturally from this concept of God’s ownership.
25:25 ^v The Hebrew word translated buy it back (ga’al) is often translated “redeem.” It means “to restore something to its original or proper state of existence.” The noun derived from this root (go’el) indicates the close relative who will restore what is out of order. The relative’s duties were to redeem the property of his kinsman and keep it in the family (see Ruth 4:1-4 ^w; Jer 32:6-15 ^x); to seek out the murderer of his kinsman and bring him to justice (Num 35:19 ^y); and to marry his brother’s widow and father a male heir to inherit the estate of his dead kinsman (Deut 25:5-10 ^z; see Gen 38:6-30 ^aa; Ruth 4:9-10 ^ab).
Summary for Lev 25:29-31: 25:29-31 ^ac A house in an unwalled village was apparently considered the same as land. It could be bought back, and if not, ownership reverted in the Year of Jubilee to the family of the individual who sold it. No farm or grazing acreage was involved in the sale of a house inside a walled town. Because such a house could be built on the town wall without having to rest on the earth (Josh 2:15 ^ad), there was no land to redeem. Therefore, it could not be bought back unless the new owner desired to sell it, nor did it revert to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee.
Summary for Lev 25:32-34: 25:32-34 ^ae The tribe of Levi could not inherit tribal territory because, as the priestly tribe, they were scattered throughout the land (Deut 18:1 ^af; see Gen 49:5-7 ^ag; Num 35:1-8 ^ah; Josh 21:1-42 ^ai). The Levites could inherit only certain cities and the pasturelands surrounding them (Num 35:2 ^aj). Therefore, they were an exception to the rules regarding land ownership, and their meager holdings were carefully protected. Their houses could be redeemed even in walled cities, and the pasturelands outside their towns could not be sold.
25:35 ^ak Impoverished Israelites first looked to family for help (see study note on 25:25). Second, they relied on the community, which was commanded to help them rather than exploit their vulnerability.
Summary for Lev 25:36-37: 25:36-37 ^al The purpose of a loan was to help a poor person get back on their feet, not to make money from their vulnerability. Interest was forbidden on loans to Israelites but permitted on loans to foreigners (Deut 23:19-20 ^am).
25:38 ^an The mention of the land of Egypt reminded the Israelites that they had been slaves at one time. They were to help the poor among them because of God’s covenant relationship with them (cp. Exod 20:2 ^ao and Deut 5:6 ^ap, where God’s covenant with them is initiated).
25:40 ^aq The terms hired worker ... temporary resident appear in parallel, suggesting they were similar in Israel’s socioeconomic system. Both terms describe day laborers who had no land and depended on landowners to hire them (see Matt 20:1-16 ^ar; also see study note on Lev 19:13).

• Jubilee: See study note on 25:8-17.
25:42 ^as The same Hebrew word is translated as both servants and slaves. Because the Israelites were God’s slaves/servants, they could not be slaves/servants to other human beings, except temporarily to work off a debt.
25:43 ^at As human beings created in God’s image (Gen 1:26 ^au, 27 ^av; Prov 14:31 ^aw; 17:5 ^ax) and as fellow Israelites in covenant with God, even bondservants were to be treated with respect. God’s law includes numerous provisions for their protection (see Exod 21:20 ^ay, 26-27 ^az). All human beings must be treated in a way that reflects reverence for God (see Prov 14:31 ^ba; 17:5 ^bb; Jas 2:14-16 ^bc; 3:9-10 ^bd).
Summary for Lev 25:44-46: 25:44-46 ^be Slaves in Mesopotamia and Egypt were little more than chattel, with no protection or rights. Israelites were allowed to purchase non-Israelites as slaves, but they were to be treated well and not abused. Occasionally some slaves were even adopted into childless families (Gen 15:2-4 ^bf). Slavery continued into New Testament times, but the foundations had been laid for its dissolution in the Old Testament doctrine of the common origins of all humankind through God. Slavery stemmed from the Fall, when relationships based on power replaced those of fellowship and communication (see Gen 3:16 ^bg). In the New Testament, believers uphold the ideas of fellowship and communication by accepting the title “Christ’s slave” or “servant” (Rom 1:1 ^bh; Col 4:12 ^bi; 2 Pet 1:1 ^bj). In Paul’s doctrine of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27 ^bk; Eph 4:12 ^bl), all believers acquired a common identity (Gal 3:28 ^bm; Col 3:11 ^bn; Phlm 1:16 ^bo).
Summary for Lev 25:47-55: 25:47-55 ^bp An Israelite who sold himself or a family member to a foreigner in Israel retained the right to buy himself or the family member back. If he could not find the resources to do that, he was not released during the seventh year (cp. Exod 21:2 ^bq) but had to await the Year of Jubilee. During his service to the foreigner, the Israelite slave was to enjoy the status of a hired servant and not be treated like a slave (Lev 25:53 ^br). The people of Israel belonged to God; they were not to be sold as permanent slaves to anyone else.