| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Leviticus
Chapter Twenty-five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 25
In
this chapter the Israelites are directed, when come into the land of Canaan, to
observe every seventh year as a sabbatical year, in which there was to be no
tillage of the land, and yet there would be a sufficiency for man and beast, Leviticus 25:1; and
every fiftieth year as a year of jubilee, in which also there was to be no
tillage of the land, and every man was to return to his possession or estate,
which had been sold to another any time before this, Leviticus 25:8; and
a promise of safety and plenty in the seventh year is made to encourage the
observance of it, Leviticus 25:18;
and several laws and rules are delivered out concerning the sale of lands, the
redemption of them, and their return to their original owner in the year of
jubilee, Leviticus 25:23;
and the sale of houses, and the redemption of them, and the difference between
those in walled cities and those in villages, with respect thereunto, Leviticus 25:29;
and also concerning the houses of the cities of the Levites, and the fields of
the suburbs of them, Leviticus 25:32; to
which are added some instructions about relieving decayed, persons, and lending
and giving to them, without taking usury of them, Leviticus 25:34;
and other laws concerning the release of such Israelites as had sold themselves
for servants to the Israelites, in the year of jubilee, since none but Heathens
were to be bondmen and bondmaids for ever, Leviticus 25:39;
and of such who were sold to proselytes, Leviticus 25:47.
Leviticus 25:1. And
the Lord
spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying,
YLT 1And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, in mount
Sinai, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai,.... Not when
Moses was with the Lord on that mount forty days, but after he came down from
thence, even after the tabernacle was set up, while the children of Israel
where encamped about that mountain, and before they took their journey from
thence; for they continued some time in the wilderness of Sinai, and here it
was the Lord spoke to Moses; for the words may be rendered "by" or
"near Mount Sinai"F7בהר
"apud seu juxta montem", Piscator; so Ainsworth, Patrick, &c. ;
and so JosephusF8Antiqu. l. 3. c. 12. sect. 3. says, the following
laws were delivered to Moses, when Israel was encamped under Mount Sinai:
saying; as follows.
Leviticus 25:2.
2 “Speak to the children of
Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then
the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord.
YLT 2`Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast
said unto them, When ye come in unto the land which I am giving to you, then
hath the land kept a sabbath to Jehovah.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... What
follows, being what the whole body of the people would be under obligation to
observe, and therefore must be delivered to them all, at least to the heads and
elders of the people, and by them to the rest:
when ye come into the land which I give you; the land of
Canaan, and until they came thither, the following law concerning the
sabbatical year could not take place; and as MaimonidesF9Hilchot
Shemitah Vejobel, c. 4. sect. 25. says, it was only used in the land of Israel,
and no where else, according to this text, and that both before and after the
temple was built:
then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord; a rest from
tillage, as it is afterwards explained; and this being according to the will of
God, when observed would be to his honour and glory, and show that he was the
proprietor of the land; and that the Israelites held it under him by this
tenure, that every seventh year they should let it rest, which would be for the
benefit of the land, and preserve it from being impoverished by continual usage
and hereby they might learn to depend on the providence of God, and to observe
that all increase is from him; and to consider the straits and difficulties the
poor live in continually, as they in this seventh year; and by this means they
would be at leisure to have an opportunity of reading the law, as they did at
this time, Deuteronomy 31:10;
and of meditating upon it, and of giving themselves up to religious exercises,
as well as by it they might be led to the typical use of to look for and expect
that sabbatism or rest, which remains for the people of God. And now this law
did not take place as soon as they came into the land, for it was to be sown
six years, and then was the year of rest; and indeed not till after Joshua had
subdued the whole land, which was seven years a doing; nor till they were quite
settled, and it was divided among them, and every man had his field and
vineyard apart, which this law supposes; wherefore the Jewish writersF11Torat
Cohenim apud Yalkut, par. 1. fol. 191. 1. Maimon. ut supra, (Hilchot Tamidin)
c. 10. sect. 2. say, they were not bound to tithes until the fourteenth year,
and from thence they began to reckon the sabbatical year; and the twenty first
year they made a sabbatical year, and the sixty fourth a jubilee, which they
make to be the first that were kept: and they reckoned this year to commence,
not on the first of Nisan or March, which was the beginning of the year for
ecclesiastical things, but on the first of Tisri or September, when the harvest
and all the fruits of the earth were gathered in; and when on other years they
used to proceed to sowing the next month, but were forbid on this; and so it is
said in the MisnahF12Roshhashanah, c. 1. sect. 1. , the first of
Tisri is the beginning of the year for the sabbatical and jubilee years.
Leviticus 25:3.
3 Six years you shall sow
your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit;
YLT 3`Six years thou dost sow thy field, and six
years thou dost prune thy vineyard, and hast gathered its increase,
Six years thou shalt sow thy field,.... Under which is
comprehended everything relating to agriculture, both before and after sowing,
as dunging the land, ploughing and harrowing it, treading the corn, reaping and
gathering it in; see Exodus 23:10,
and six years thou shall prune thy vineyard, and gather in the
fruit thereof; which is not to be restrained to vineyards only, but to be
extended to oliveyards, orchards and gardens, and to the planting and
cultivating of them, and gathering in the fruits of them.
Leviticus 25:4.
4 but in the seventh year
there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall
neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.
YLT 4and in the seventh year a sabbath of rest is
to the land, a sabbath to Jehovah; thy field thou dost not sow, and thy
vineyard thou dost not prune;
But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land,.... From all
tillage of it, from planting and cultivating any sort of trees in it; and even
from digging pits, ditches; and caves, as say the Jewish writersF13Torat
Cohenim apud Yalkut, ut supra. (par. 1. fol. 191. 1.) : and this was typical of
that rest which believers enter into under the Gospel dispensation, and of the
rest in the new Jerusalem state, and especially in the ultimate glory; not only
from the labours of the body, but of the mind, through sin, Satan, doubts and
fears, and through conflicts with various enemies, and when even all spiritual
labours and services will be at an end but that of praise:
a sabbath for the Lord; for his honour and
glory, to ascertain his property in the land, to show the power of his
providence, and display his goodness in his care of all creatures, without any
means used by them:
thou shalt neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard; under which
are comprehended all acts of agriculture, which respect the cultivation of
vines, olives, figs, and, according to the MisnahF14Sheviith, c. 5.
sect. 6. , there were some instruments which it was not lawful to sell to an
artificer in the seventh year, such as a plough, with all belonging to it, a
yoke, a fan, a spade, but he may sell him a scythe, or a sickle, or a cart, and
all its instruments; and which the commentatorsF15Maimon. &
Bartenora in ib. interpret of one that is suspected of working in that year;
the house of Shammai say, an heifer that ploughed might not be sold that year.
Leviticus 25:5.
5 What grows of its own
accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your
untended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land.
YLT 5the spontaneous growth of thy harvest thou
dost not reap, and the grapes of thy separated thing thou dost not gather, a
year of rest it is to the land.
That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not
reap,.... That which sprung up of itself from grains of corn, shed in
the harvest of the preceding year, without any ploughing or sowing; he might
reap it, but not as at other times, the whole of it, and gather it as his own
property, but only somewhat of it in common with others for his, present use:
neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed; which was on
this year forbid to be dressed; the grapes of which he might gather in common
with others, but not as in other years, all of them, and as peculiarly his own:
the words may be rendered, "the grapes of thy separations"F16ענבי נזירך "uvas tuarum
separationum", Pagninus, Montanus; so Drusius & Ainsworth. ; either
such as in other years he used to separate for himself, and forbid others
gathering them, but now made them common; or which he did not labour in the
cultivation of, but abstained from it:
for it is a year of rest unto
the land; which is repeated, that it may be observed.
Leviticus 25:6.
6 And the sabbath produce
of the land shall be food for you: for you, your male and female servants, your
hired man, and the stranger who dwells with you,
YLT 6`And the sabbath of the land hath been to you
for food, to thee, and to thy man-servant, and to thy handmaid, and to thy hireling,
and to thy settler, who are sojourning with thee;
And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you,...., That is,
that which grew up of itself but of the land, or on trees, vines, olives,
&c. undressed, should be the meat or food on which they should live that
year: and this comprehends everything that is fit for food, and also for drink,
and for anointing, and even for the lighting of lamps, as in the MisnahF17Sheviith,
c. 8. sect. 2. :
for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid; the owner of
the fields and vineyards, he and his family, wife, children, and servants,
might eat of the fruits of them in common with others; for whereas it is
elsewhere said, Exodus 23:11,
"that the poor of thy people may eat", this is observed here, lest
anyone should think the rich are forbid eating them, as Jarchi remarks:
and for thy hired servant, and for the stranger that sojourneth
with thee: which the same writer interprets of Gentiles; the food of this
year was common to masters and servants, to rich and poor, to Israelites and
Gentiles; all had an equal right unto, and share therein; which might be an
emblem of the first times of the Gospel, in which all things were had in
common, Acts 4:32, and
typical of the communion of saints in things spiritual; in salvation by Jesus
Christ, common to Jews and Gentiles, high and low, bond and free; in the free
and full forgiveness of sins by his blood; and in justification by his
righteousness, which is unto all, and upon all them that believe, for there is
no difference; in the participation of faith, and other graces, which are alike
precious, and in the enjoyment of promises, privileges, and ordinances, and
even of eternal life itself.
Leviticus 25:7.
7 for your livestock and the
beasts that are in your land—all its produce shall be for food.
YLT 7and to thy cattle, and to the beast which
[is] in thy land, is all thine increase for food.
And for thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land,.... The
former signifies tame cattle, such as were kept at home, or in fields, or were
used in service, and the latter the wild beasts of the field:
shall all the increase thereof be meat; for the one,
and for the other; Jarchi remarks, that all the time a wild beast eats of the
increase of the field, the cattle may be fed at home; but when it ceaseth to
the wild beast of the field, then it ceaseth to the cattle at home; nay, the
Jews are so strict in this matter, that they say that when there is no food for
the beasts in the field, men are obliged to bring out what they have in their
housesF18Maimon. Hilchot Shemitah Vejobel, c. 7. sect. 1. , see Isaiah 11:6.
Leviticus 25:8. 8 ‘And
you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years;
and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years.
YLT 8`And thou hast numbered to thee seven
sabbaths of years, seven years seven times, and the days of the seven sabbaths
of years have been to thee nine and forty years,
And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee,.... Or weeks
of years; and there being seven days in a week, and a day being put for a year,
seven weeks of years made forty nine years; the Targums of Onkelos and
Jonathan, and Jarchi, interpret it seven "shemittas", or sabbatical
years; and a sabbatical year being every seventh year, made the same number:
seven times seven years: or forty nine years, as
follows:
and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be forty and
nine years; just such a space of years there was between each jubilee,
which, as afterwards said, was the fiftieth year; so as there were a seventh
day sabbath, and a fiftieth day sabbath, the day of Pentecost, so there were a
seventh year sabbath, or sabbatical year, and a fiftieth year sabbath.
Leviticus 25:9. 9 Then
you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of
the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound
throughout all your land.
YLT 9and thou hast caused a trumpet of shouting to
pass over in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month; in the day of the
atonements ye do cause a trumpet to pass over through all your land;
Then shall thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound,.... At the
end of forty nine years, or at the beginning of the fiftieth; or "the
trumpet of a loud sound"; for here the word "jubilee" is not,
which, according to some, was so called from the peculiar sound of the trumpet
on this day, different from all others; though others, as Ben Melech, think,
and the Jews commonly, that it had its name from the trumpet itself, which they
suppose was made of a ram's horn, "jobel", in the Arabic language,
signifying a ram; but the former reason is best; though perhaps it is best of
all to derive it from הוביל, "to bring back,
restore, return", because at this time men were returned to their liberty,
estates, and families, as hereafter expressed:
on the tenth day of the seventh month; the month
Tisri or September, the first day of which was the beginning of the year for
"jubilees"F19Misn. Roshhashanah, c. 1. sect. 1. ; for the
computation of the jubilee year was made from the first day of the month,
though the trumpet was not blown, and the rights of the year did not begin till
the tenth, as MaimonidesF20In Misn. ib. observes:
in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout
all your land; which day of atonement was on the tenth day of the said month,
and a very proper time it was to sound the trumpet, that after they had been
afflicting themselves, then to have joy and comfort; and when atonement was
made for all their sins, then to hear the joyful sound; and when it might be
presumed they were in a good disposition to release their servants, and restore
the poor to their possessions, when they themselves were favoured with the
forgiveness of all their sins. This sounding was made throughout all the land
of Israel; throughout all the highways, as Aben Ezra, that all might know the
year of jubilee was come; and this was done by the order of the sanhedrim, as
MaimonidesF21Hilchot Shemitah Vejobel, c. 10. sect. 10,14. says, and
who, also observes, that from the beginning of the year, to the day of
atonement, servants were not released to their own houses, but did not serve
their masters, nor were fields returned to their owners; but servants ate, and
drank, and rejoiced, and wore garlands on their heads; and when the day of
atonement came, the sanhedrim blew the trumpet, and the servants were dismissed
to their houses, and fields returned to their owners.
Leviticus 25:10. 10 And
you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all
the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you
shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
YLT 10and ye have hallowed the year, the fiftieth
year; and ye have proclaimed liberty in the land to all its inhabitants; a
jubilee it is to you; and ye have turned back each unto his possession; yea,
each unto his family ye do turn back.
And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year,.... The year
following the seven sabbaths of years, or forty nine years; and which they were
to sanctify by separating it from all others, and devoting it to the uses it
was to be put to, and the services done on it, and by abstaining from the
tillage of the land, sowing or reaping, and from the cultivation of vines,
olives, &c.
and proclaim liberty throughout all the land; to servants,
both to those whose ears were bored, and were to serve for ever, even unto the
year of jubilee, and then be released; and to those whose six years were not
ended, from the time that they were bought; for the jubilee year put an end to
their servitude, let the time they had served be what it would; for this year
was a general release of servants, excepting bondmen and bondmaids, who were
never discharged; hence called the "year of liberty", Ezekiel 46:17; and
JosephusF23Antiqu. l. 3. c. 12. sect. 3. says, the word
"jobel" or "jubilee" signifies "liberty":
unto all the inhabitants thereof; that were in servitude
or poverty, excepting the above mentioned; from hence the Jews gather, than
when the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, went into
captivity, the jubilees ceasedF24Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn.
Eracin, c. 8. sect. 1. , since all the inhabitants were not then in it; but
that is a mistake, for the jubilees were continued unto the coming of the
Messiah, and perhaps never omitted but once, in the time of the Babylonish
captivity:
it shall be a jubilee unto you; to the Israelites, and
to them only, as Aben Ezra observes; it was a time of joy and gladness to them,
especially to servants, who were now free, and to the poor, who enjoyed their
estates again:
and ye shall return every man unto his possession; which had
been sold or mortgaged to another, but now reverted to its original owner:
and ye shall return every man unto his family; who through
poverty had sold himself for a servant, and had lived in another family. The
general design of this law was to preserve the rights of freeborn Israelites,
as to person and property, to prevent perpetual servitude, and perpetual
alienation of their estates; to continue families and estates as they were
originally, that some might not become too rich, and others too poor; nor be
blended, but the tribes and families might be kept distinct until the coming of
the Messiah, to whom the jubilee had a particular respect, and in whom it
ceased. The liberty proclaimed on this day was typical of that liberty from the
bondage of sin, Satan, and the law, which Christ is the author of, and is
proclaimed by him in the Gospel, Galatians 5:1; a
liberty of grace and glory, or the glorious liberty of the children of God:
returning to possessions and inheritances may be an emblem of the enjoyment of
the heavenly inheritance by the saints; though man by sin lost an earthly
paradise, and came short of the glory of God, yet through Christ his people are
restored to a better inheritance, an incorruptible one; to which they are
begotten by his Spirit, have a right to it through his righteousness, and a
meetness for it by his grace, and of which the Holy Spirit is the earnest and
pledge, and into which Christ himself will introduce them. And the returning of
them to their families may signify the return of God's elect through Christ to
the family that is named of him; these were secretly of the family of God from
all eternity, being taken into it in the covenant of grace, as well as
predestinated to the adoption of children: but by the fall, and through a state
of nature by it, they became children of wrath, even as others; yet through
redemption by Christ, and faith in him, they receive the adoption of children,
and openly appear to be of the family of God, 2 Corinthians 6:18;
and all this is proclaimed by the sound of the Gospel trumpet, which being a
sound of liberty, peace, pardon, righteousness, salvation, and eternal life by
Christ, is a joyful one, Psalm 89:15; where
the allusion seems to be to the jubilee trumpet.
Leviticus 25:11. 11 That fiftieth year shall
be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own
accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine.
YLT 11`A jubilee it [is], the fiftieth year, a year
it is to you; ye sow not, nor reap its spontaneous growth, nor gather its
separated things;
A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you,.... Which,
clearly shows, that not the forty ninth year was the year of jubilee, as many
learned men have asserted, chiefly induced by this reason, because two years
would come together in which were no sowing reaping; but that God, that could
cause the earth to forth fruit for three years, Leviticus 25:21;
could make it bring forth enough for four years; and in order to make their
sentiment agree with this passage, they are obliged to make the foregoing
jubilee one of the fifty, and begin their account from thence; but this could
not be done in the first account of the jubilee; of the name; see Gill on Leviticus 25:9,
ye shall not sow; in the year of jubilee, which shows also
that this could not be the forty ninth year, which of course being a sabbatical
year, there would be no sowing, reaping, &c. and so this law or instruction
would be quite needless:
neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes
in it of thy vine undressed; as in the sabbatical year; see Gill on Leviticus 25:5; the
same with respect to these things being to be observed in the year of jubilee,
as in that; and so Jarchi observes that the same that is said of the sabbatical
year is said of the jubilee, two holy years being found next to one another,
the forty ninth year the sabbatical year, and the fiftieth year the jubilee.
Leviticus 25:12. 12 For
it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce
from the field.
YLT 12for a jubilee it [is], holy it is to you; out
of the field ye eat its increase;
For it is the jubilee, it shall be holy,.... Men being
restored to their liberty, possessions, and families, it must be matter of joy
to them, and therefore this year was to be separated from all others, and
devoted to the ends and uses before mentioned; and men were to live upon the
spontaneous productions of the earth, without any tillage of land, or
cultivation of vines, &c.
ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field; they were not
to reap corn, and gather grapes and olives, and bring them into their barns and
storehouses, as in other years; but were to go out every day into their fields,
and gather for present use, and all were common to all sorts of men, and to
cattle, as in the sabbatical year; See Gill on Leviticus 25:7.
Leviticus 25:13. 13 ‘In
this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession.
YLT 13in the year of this jubilee ye turn back each
unto his possession.
In the year of this jubilee,.... In the beginning of
it, as Aben Ezra, though not on the first day of Tisri, but the tenth day, the
day of atonement, when the trumpet was blown:
ye shall return every man unto his possession; which is
repeated from Leviticus 25:10;
the reason of which, the Jews say, is to include gifts, and which, according to
them, are like sales, and returned in the year of "jubilee"; that is,
if a man gave his estate in possession to another, he returned to it, in the
year of jubilee, equally as if he had sold it; and therefore they observe the
same phrase is twice used by Moses, to include giftsF25Misn.
Becorot, c. 8. sect. 10. & Bartenora in ib. : but perhaps the truer reason
is, because this was a special business done at this time, and of great
importance; the word "return" being so often used, may serve to
confirm the sense of the word "jubilee", given previously; see Gill
on Leviticus 25:9.
Leviticus 25:14. 14 And
if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you
shall not oppress one another.
YLT 14`And when thou sellest anything to thy
fellow, or buyest from the hand of thy fellow, ye do not oppress one another;
And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour,.... Any
estate or possession, house or land, at any time before the year of jubilee:
or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand; of movable
goods, as the Targum of Jonathan interprets it; and so other Jewish writersF26Maimon.
& Bartenora in Misn. Bava Metziah, c. 4. sect. 9. restrain this to goods
which are bought by hand, and delivered from hand to hand; and so they think
that fields, and servants, which they say are like to fields, are excluded
hereby; but it seems to refer to anything saleable, and chiefly to fields and
vineyards, as the following verses show; wherefore Diodorus Siculus, as quoted
by Grotius, must be mistaken, when he says, it was not counted lawful by the
Jews to sell their inheritance, unless he means for ever, so indeed they could
not:
ye shall not oppress one another; the buyer giving too
little, or the seller requiring too much; no advantage was to be taken, either
of the necessity of the one, or the ignorance of the other, but a fair bargain
was to be made, and the full value given, neither too much nor too little. The
Jews by "neighbour" understand an Israelite, and not a GentileF1Jarchi
in loc. ; not that there might be no buying and selling at all between Jews and
Gentiles, or that the former might oppress and defraud the latter, though not
an Israelite; but lands and inheritances might not be sold at all to Gentiles,
only to Israelites.
Leviticus 25:15. 15 According
to the number of years after the Jubilee you shall buy from your neighbor, and
according to the number of years of crops he shall sell to you.
YLT 15by the number of years after the jubilee thou
dost buy from thy fellow; by the number of the years of increase he doth sell
to thee;
According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy
of thy neighbour,.... That is, reckoning how many years had past since the last
jubilee, and how many there were to come to the next, and so give as many
years' purchase as were yet to come:
and according to the number
of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee; only care was to be
taken, that as many years as were sabbatical ones, which were not years of
fruit, should be deducted out of the account by the seller; since these were
years the buyer could have no profit by the estate, and therefore it was not
reasonable that such years should be reckoned into the purchase; and hence the
Jewish writers gather, that when a man had sold his field, he could not redeem
it in less than two years, because a number of years cannot be less than two,
and that if even the buyer agreed to it, it might not be doneF2Misn.
Eracin, c. 9. sect. 1. Maimon. & Bartenora in. ib. .
Leviticus 25:16. 16 According
to the multitude of years you shall increase its price, and according to the
fewer number of years you shall diminish its price; for he sells to you according
to the number of the years of the crops.
YLT 16according to the multitude of the years thou
dost multiply its price, and according to the fewness of the years thou dost
diminish its price; for a number of increases he is selling to thee;
According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price
thereof,.... More was to be asked and required, and should be given for
an estate, when, for instance, there were thirty years to the year of jubilee,
than when there were but twenty:
and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the
price of it; if it wanted but five, or six, or ten years unto it, then, in
proportion, less was to be insisted upon and given:
for according to the number of the years of the
fruits doth he sell unto thee; which also must be considered, how many
years of tillage of land, and cultivation of vineyards, &c. there were in
the account, and how many sabbatical years to be deducted; for only according
to the number of fruit years was the estate to be valued and sold.
Leviticus 25:17. 17 Therefore
you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am
the Lord
your God.
YLT 17and ye do not oppress one another, and thou
hast been afraid of thy God; for I [am] Jehovah your God.
Ye shall not therefore oppress one another,.... By over
or underrating estates:
but thou shalt fear thy God; and the fear of God
being before their eyes, and on their hearts, would preserve both buyer and
seller from doing an ill thing, when it was in the power of either, through the
necessity of the one, or the ignorance of the other, see Nehemiah 5:15,
for I am the Lord your God; omniscient, and knows
all that is done in the most private and artful manner; and omnipotent and able
to punish both, which of them either should oppress or defraud, see 1 Thessalonians 4:6.
Leviticus 25:18. 18 ‘So
you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you
will dwell in the land in safety.
YLT 18`And ye have done My statutes, and My
judgments ye keep, and have done them, and ye have dwelt on the land
confidently,
Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do
them,.... These and all others he enjoined; by which tenure, even
obedience to all his commands, moral, ritual, and judicial, they were to hold
the land of Canaan, and their possessions in it, which is intended in the next
clause:
and ye shall dwell in the land in safety; without any
fear of enemies, or of the neighbouring nations about them seizing upon them,
and distressing them; and Jarchi observes, that it was for transgressing the
sabbatical year that Israel was carried captive, which he thinks is intimated
in 2 Chronicles 36:21;
and that the seventy years' captivity in Babylon were for the seventy
sabbatical years that had been neglected.
Leviticus 25:19. 19 Then
the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety.
YLT 19and the land hath given its fruit, and ye
have eaten to satiety, and have dwelt confidently on it.
And the land shall yield her fruit,.... That is,
continually, and even in the seventh year, the sabbath of rest; for the land,
though not manured, ploughed, and sowed, nor the vines, olives, and fig trees
pruned, yet shall yield fruit as in other years, the Israelites observing the
statutes and judgments of God:
and ye shall eat your fill; feel no want of
provisions, but have fulness of everything as at other times, and never make a
scanty meal, having sufficiency and plenty of all things:
and dwell therein in safety; not fearing enemies, nor
being disturbed by them, nor carried captive.
Leviticus 25:20. 20 ‘And
if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor
gather in our produce?”
YLT 20`And when ye say, What do we eat in the
seventh year, lo, we do not sow, nor gather our increase?
And ye shall say, what shall ye eat the seventh year?.... Such as
are of little faith, disbelieve the promise, and distrust the providence of
God, and take thought for tomorrow, and indulge an anxiety of mind how they
shall be provided with food in the sabbatical year ordered to be observed, in
which there were to be no tillage of land, nor pruning of trees:
behold, we shall not sow; that being forbidden:
nor gather in our increase; neither the barley, nor
the wheat, nor the grapes, nor olives, nor figs, into their houses and barns,
to lay up for stores, as in other years; though they might go out and gather in
for present use in common with others: now if any should put the above
question, as it was very likely some would, in such a view of things, the
answer to it follows.
Leviticus 25:21. 21 Then I will command My
blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for
three years.
YLT 21then I have commanded My blessing on you in
the sixth year, and it hath made the increase for three years;
Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year,.... Upon
their fields, vineyards, and oliveyards, and make them exceeding fruitful, more
than in other years; all fruitfulness at any time depends upon the blessing of
God, and follows upon it, but is more visible and observable when there is an
exceeding great plenty:
and it shall bring forth fruit for three years; and thus God
blessed the sixth year with such a plentiful increase as was sufficient for
time to come, until a new crop was gathered in; as he had blessed the sixth day
with a double portion of manna, for the supply of the seventh.
Leviticus 25:22. 22 And
you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year;
until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.
YLT 22and ye have sown the eighth year, and have
eaten of the old increase; until the ninth year, until the coming in of its
increase, ye do eat the old.
And ye shall sow the eighth year,.... Sow the land in the
eighth year, and likewise dress their vines, olives, &c.
and eat yet of the old fruit; even in the eighth year,
of the old fruit of the sixth year, as the Targum of Jonathan adds:
until the ninth year; that is, as Jarchi
explains it, until the feast of tabernacles of the ninth, which was the time
that the increase of the eighth came into the house; for all summer it was in
the field, and in Tisri or September was the time of gathering it into the
house; and sometimes it was necessary to provide for four years on the sixth,
which was before the sabbatical year, the seventh, for they ceased from tilling
the ground two years running, the seventh and the jubilee year; but this
Scripture is said concerning all the rest of the sabbatical years: these
encouraging promises, one would have thought, would have been placed more
naturally after the account of the sabbatical year that followed, Leviticus 25:7; but
the reason of their being inserted here seems to be, because in the year of
jubilee they were neither to sow nor reap, nor gather in the grapes of the
undressed vine, as in the sabbatical year, Leviticus 25:11;
wherefore those things are said for encouragement at the one time as at the
other; since it might easily be concluded, that he that could provide for them
every sixth year for three years to come, could once in fifty years provide for
four:
until her fruits come in, ye shall eat of the old store; some of which
came in in March, as barley, others in May, as the wheat, and others in August
and September, as the grapes, olives, &c. which was the time of ingathering
several fruits of the earth, and of finishing the whole.
Leviticus 25:23. 23 ‘The
land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are
strangers and sojourners with Me.
YLT 23`And the land is not sold -- to extinction,
for the land [is] Mine, for sojourners and settlers [are] ye with Me;
The land shall not be sold for ever,.... That is, the land of
Israel; the meaning is, any part of it, for that the whole might be sold or
disposed of at once is not to be supposed, but anyone part of it, which was the
property of a single man, or belonged to a family; though it might be sold in
case of necessity, yet not for ever, so as never to return to the owner, or his
heirs; for if it was sold for ever it returned in the year of the jubilee: the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan render the word "absolutely", simply,
properly; a proper absolute sale was not to be made, but a conditional one, or
for so many years, or with a view to its reversion in the year of jubilee, and
so the agreement to be made according to the number of years, as before
directed: the word, as Aben Ezra observes, signifies "cutting off",
and the sense is, that no land should be sold entirely, so as that the
proprietor or his heirs should be wholly cut off from it, or that the entail of
it upon the family should be cut off:
for the land is mine; as indeed the whole
earth is, but the land of Canaan was peculiarly his, which he had chosen above
all other lands for the inheritance of his people; out of which he drove the
old inhabitants of it for their sins, and put in his own people to possess it
under him; where he himself had his dwelling place, and where he was served and
worshipped, and where the Messiah was to be born, and was born, and therefore
called Immanuel's land; and which was a figure of the better country, or the
heavenly glory and happiness, which is of God's preparing and giving, and will
never be alienated from those whose right it is:
for ye are strangers and sojourners with me; as the
Gentiles that lived among them were strangers and sojourners with them, so they
were with the Lord; he was the original proprietor, they were but tenants at
will; though it was both an honour and happiness to be with him, under any
character, to board, and lodge, and dwell with him; and they might well be
content to be reckoned not proprietors but strangers and sojourners, and
especially such as had faith and hope in a better inheritance, of which this
was only a figure; however, this being their present case, it was a reason
good, why they could not for ever dispose of their lands and possessions, any
more than a sojourner or inmate can of a house of which he has only a part.
Leviticus 25:24. 24 And
in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.
YLT 24and in all the land of your possession a
redemption ye do give to the land.
And in all the land of your possession,.... Which they
should possess in the land of Canaan, whatever part of it any of them should
enjoy:
ye shall grant a redemption for the land; that is,
whenever any estate in it was sold through necessity, the buyer was obliged to
grant a liberty to the seller to redeem it, when it was in his power to do it,
or any or his relations, especially after two years; so Jarchi observes, he
that sells his possession may redeem it after two years, either he himself or
he that is near akin to him, nor can the buyer hinder it; See Gill on Leviticus 25:15.
Leviticus 25:25. 25 ‘If
one of your brethren becomes poor, and has sold some of his possession,
and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his
brother sold.
YLT 25`When thy brother becometh poor, and hath
sold his possession, then hath his redeemer who is near unto him come, and he
hath redeemed the sold thing of his brother;
If thy brother be waxen poor,.... Is brought very low,
greatly reduced, and is in mean circumstances; hence Jarchi says, we learn,
that no man may sell his field, unless his distress presses him and forces him
to it; for, as MaimonidesF3Hilchot Shemittah Vejobel, c. 11. sect.
3. observes, a man might not sell his estate to put money into his purse, or to
trade with, or to purchase goods, servants, and cattle, only food:
and hath sold away some of his possession; not all of
it, as Jarchi remarks; for the way of the earth or custom of the world teaches,
that a man should reserve a field (or a part) for himself:
and if any of his kin come to redeem it; come to the
buyer and propose to redeem it, by giving what it was sold for, or in
proportion to the time he had enjoyed it:
then shall he redeem that which his brother sold; nor was it in
the power of the purchaser to hinder him, or at his option whether he would
suffer him to redeem it or not: such an one was an emblem of our
"goel", our near kinsman and Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ, who came
in our nature into this world to redeem us, and put us into the possession of
the heavenly inheritance; nor was it in the power of any to hinder his
performance of it, for he is the mighty God, the Lord of Hosts is his name.
Leviticus 25:26. 26 Or
if the man has no one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it,
YLT 26and when a man hath no redeemer, and his own
hand hath attained, and he hath found as sufficient [for] its redemption,
And if the man have none to redeem it,.... That is,
none of kin that was able or willing to redeem it; otherwise no doubt there
were persons in the land able to do it at any time, but none he was in
connection with, or from whom he could expect such a favour:
and himself be able to redeem it; or if his hand has got,
and he has found a sufficiency for his redemption, as the Targum of Jonathan;
not that he has found anything that was lost, as Chaskuni glosses it, but by
one providence or another, by the blessing of God on his trade and business, is
become rich, and it is in the power of his hand to redeem the possession he had
sold, he might do it; but, as the same writer observes, he might not borrow and
redeem, but must do it with what he had got of his own since the time of sale,
and which is also the sense of othersF4Misn. Eracin, c. 9. 1.
Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. .
Leviticus 25:27. 27 then
let him count the years since its sale, and restore the remainder to the man to
whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession.
YLT 27then he hath reckoned the years of its sale,
and hath given back that which is over to the man to whom he sold [it], and he
hath returned to his possession.
Then let him count the years of the sale thereof,.... How many
years had passed since it was sold, how many it had been in the hands of the
purchaser, and how many were yet to come to the year of the jubilee, by which
means the price of redemption might easily be settled; thus, for instance, if
the years were alike and there was just half the time gone, then half of the
price it was sold at was repaid to the purchaser; and if not alike, then in
proportion to what had passed and were to come:
and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; for the years
that were yet to come; if, as Jarchi says, he has eaten of or enjoyed the fruit
of the field three or four years, deduct the price of them from the account,
and take the rest; this is the meaning, "and restore the overplus",
out of the price of the sale, according to what is eaten, and give it to the
buyer: MaimonidesF5Hilchot Shemittah Vejobel, ut supra, (c. 11.)
sect. 5. explains it thus; that if there were ten years to the year of the
jubilee, and the field was sold for an hundred pieces, if he that bought it has
eaten of it three years, then the seller that redeems it must give him seventy
pieces, and he must restore his field; if he has eaten of it six years, he is
to give forty pieces, and the other restores him the field: in the Misnah it is
put thus; if he sell it (his field) to the first for an hundred pence, and the
first sells it to a second for two hundred, he must not reckon but with the
first, as it is said, "unto the man to whom he sold it"; if he sold
it to the first for two hundred, and the first sells it to a second for an
hundred, he shall not count but with the last, as it is said, "to a
man", i.e. to the man which is in the midst of it, or is possessed of it;
nor may he sell it for a distant time, that he may redeem it near, nor when in
a bad condition, that he may redeem it when in a good one; nor may he borrow to
redeem it, nor redeem it by halvesF6Misn. Eracin, ut supra. (c. 9.
1.) :
that he may return to his possession; and enjoy it
again.
Leviticus 25:28. 28 But
if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold
shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the Year of Jubilee; and in
the Jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his possession.
YLT 28`And if his hand hath not found sufficiency
to give back to him, then hath his sold thing been in the hand of him who
buyeth it till the year of jubilee; and it hath gone out in the jubilee, and he
hath returned to his possession.
But if he be not able to restore it to him,.... The
overplus, or give him what is in proportion to the time he has had it, and yet
to come:
then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that
bought it until the year of the jubilee; continue in his
possession, and he shall enjoy all the benefit of it till that year comes:
and in the jubilee it shall go out: out of his hands or
possession; or "he shall go out"F7ויצא
"discedet emptor", Junius & Tremellius. , the purchaser shall go
out of what he has bought, and shall have no more possession of it, but it
shall come into the hands of the seller, and that without money, as the Targum
of Jonathan adds:
and he shall return unto his possession; the seller,
and enter upon it and enjoy it as his own property, as before he sold it.
Leviticus 25:29. 29 ‘If
a man sells a house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year
after it is sold; within a full year he may redeem it.
YLT 29`And when a man selleth a dwelling-house [in]
a walled city, then hath his right of redemption been until the completion of a
year from its selling; days -- is his right of redemption;
And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city,.... Which was
so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun, as Jarchi:
then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold: any time
within the year he pleased, either he or any near of kin to him; and if they
would, on the day it was sold, or any time after within the compass of the
year, even on the day in which the year ended; in this such an house differed
from fields, which could not be redeemed under two years; see Gill on Leviticus 25:15,
within a full year
may he redeem it; from the time it was sold, paying what it was sold for: this is
to be understood, MaimonidesF8In Misn. Eracin, c. 9. sect. 3. says,
of a solar year, which consists of three hundred sixty five days, and within
this space of time such an house might be redeemed.
Leviticus 25:30. 30 But
if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house in the
walled city shall belong permanently to him who bought it, throughout his
generations. It shall not be released in the Jubilee.
YLT 30and if it is not redeemed until the fulness
to him of a perfect year, then hath the house which [is] in a walled city been
established to extinction to the buyer of it, to his generations; it goeth not
out in the jubilee;
And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year,.... Either by
the seller or any man of kin to him:
then the house that is in the walled city shall be
established for ever to him that bought it, throughout his generation; after twelve
months were elapsed it was not redeemable by any, but to be held by the
purchaser and his heirs for ever:
it shall not go out in the jubilee; from the purchaser or
his heirs, to the seller or his heirs; for houses were not like lands, the gift
of God, and held under him, but were built by men, and were their absolute
property, and therefore they could dispose of them, and they that bought them
could hold them after the above mentioned time; nor was there any danger of
confounding tribes and families by retaining them: this law was made to
encourage persons to settle in walled towns, to make and keep them populous,
and to make owners of them careful not to sell them: the Jewish canon is this;
when the day of the twelfth month is come, and it (the house) is not redeemed,
it is absolutely his, whether he bought it or whether it was given him, as it
is said, Leviticus 25:30;
and if in the beginning of the day of the twelfth month he (the purchaser)
hides himself, that it may be confirmed to him or be his absolutely; Hillel,
the elder, ordered that he (the seller) should put his money in the chamber
(belonging to the sanhedrim) and break open the door, and go in; and when he
would, he (the purchaser) might come, and take his moneyF9Misn.
Eracin, c. 9. sect. 4. ; but otherwise, if he suffers this time to pass it is
irredeemable, nor will the year of jubilee help him: the Jews except the city
of Jerusalem from this law, because, they say, that does not belong to any
tribeF11T. Bab. Bava Kama, fol. 82. 2. .
Leviticus 25:31. 31 However the houses of
villages which have no wall around them shall be counted as the fields of the
country. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.
YLT 31and a house of the villages which have no
wall round about, on the field of the country is reckoned; redemption is to it,
and in the jubilee it goeth out.
But the houses of the villages, which have no walls round about
them,.... As there were many in the days of Joshua, the Scripture
speaks of: the Jews suppose that such are meant, even though they were
afterwards walled:
shall be counted as the fields of the country; and subject
to the same law as they:
they may be redeemed; at any time before the
year of jubilee, and if not, then
they shall go out in the jubilee; to the original owners
of them, freely, as Jarchi says, without paying anything for them.
Leviticus 25:32. 32 Nevertheless
the cities of the Levites, and the houses in the cities of their
possession, the Levites may redeem at any time.
YLT 32`As to cities of the Levites -- houses of the
cities of their possession -- redemption age-during is to the Levites;
Notwithstanding, the cities of the Levites,.... The six
cities of refuge, and forty two others; these and the houses in them are
excepted from the above law, and only they; not such as they might purchase
elsewhere; wherefore it follows:
and the houses of the cities
of their possession; which were in cities possessed by them, and which was their
possession, and given them as such:
may the Levites redeem at any time; they were not restrained
to a year, as houses in walled towns, but they might redeem them as they
pleased or could; and if they did not redeem them within the year, they might
redeem them afterwards, even years after, and any time before the year of
jubilee; so it is said in the MisnahF12Eracin, c. 9. sect. 8. the
priests and the Levites sell always, and they redeem always, as it is said, Leviticus 25:32; on
which one of the commentators saysF13Bartenora in ib. "they
sell always", not as the Israelites, who cannot sell less than two years
before the jubilee; but the Levites can sell near the jubilee: "and they
redeem always"; if they sell houses in walled cities, they are not
confirmed at the end of the year, as the houses of Israelites; and if they sell
fields, it is not necessary they should remain in the hands of the buyer two
years, but they may redeem them immediately if they will: this redemption was
peculiar to the Levites; for if an Israelite has an inheritance from his
father's mother, a Levite, he might not redeem according to the manner Levites
did, but according to Israelites; and so a Levite that inherited from his
father's mother, an Israelite, was obliged to redeem as an Israelite and not as
a LeviteF14Misn. Eracin, c. 9. sect. 8. ; for this perpetual
redemption respected only houses that were in the cities of the Levites.
Leviticus 25:33. 33 And
if a man purchases a house from the Levites, then the house that was sold in
the city of his possession shall be released in the Jubilee; for the houses in
the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of
Israel.
YLT 33as to him who redeemeth from the Levites,
both the sale of a house and the city of his possession have gone out in the
jubilee, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession in
the midst of the sons of Israel.
And if a man purchase of the Levites,.... An house
or city, as Jarchi, and which the following clause confirms, that is, if a
common Israelite made such a purchase, then it was redeemable, but if a Levite
purchased of a Levite, then, as the same writer observes, it was absolutely
irredeemable:
then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession,
shall go out in the year of jubilee; to the original owner of
it, as fields and houses in villages sold by the Israelites
for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their
possession among the children of Israel; and their only
possession, and therefore if those, when sold, were irredeemable, they would
entirely be without any; and hence care is taken they should not; so Jarchi
observes, that the Levites had no possession of fields and vineyards, only
cities to dwell in, and their suburbs; wherefore cities were to them instead of
fields, and their redemption was as that of fields, that so their inheritance
might not be broken off from them.
Leviticus 25:34. 34 But
the field of the common-land of their cities may not be sold, for it is
their perpetual possession.
YLT 34And a field, a suburb of their cities, is not
sold; for a possession age-during it [is] to them.
But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold,.... The
suburbs to the cities of the Levites reached two thousand cubits on every side
of their cities, Numbers 35:5; in
which they had fields to keep their cattle in, and these belonged to them in
common; every Levite had not a particular field to himself as his own property,
and which is the reason why it might not be sold, nor might they agree together
to sell it, for then they would have nothing to keep their cattle in: the
Jewish writers generally understand this of changing their fields, suburbs, and
cities: hence they say, in the Misnah, they do not make a field a suburb, nor a
suburb a field, nor a suburb a city, nor a city a suburb; upon which MaimonidesF15In
Misn. Eracin, c. 9. sect. 8. says, all agree that the Levites may not change a
city, or suburb, or field which are theirs, because of what is said, Leviticus 25:34;
and the wise men, of blessed memory, say, the meaning of it is, it shall not be
changed, for they do not change anything from what it was before:
for it is their perpetual possession: and therefore
never to be alienated from them, or be sold to another, or changed and put to
another use; such care was taken of the ministers of the sanctuary, and of
their maintenance and support, under the former dispensation; and suggests that
they should continue in their stations without any alteration, as ministers of
the Gospel should, who ought to give up themselves to the ministry of the word,
and prayer, and not entangle themselves with the affairs of life.
Leviticus 25:35. 35 ‘If
one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you
shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.
YLT 35`And when thy brother is become poor, and his
hand hath failed with thee, then thou hast kept hold on him, sojourner and
settler, and he hath lived with thee;
And if thy brother be waxen poor,.... An Israelite, as
Aben Ezra, be reduced to a low estate, through afflictions in body, or in
family, or through losses in trade, or want of business, or through one
providence or another:
and fallen in decay with thee; in his worldly
substance: or "his hand wavers", or "fails"F16ומטה ידו "et nutaverit manus
ejus", Montanus, Vatablus, Fagius; "vacillabit", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator. ; so that he cannot support himself and his family, has
not a sufficiency, or it is not in the power of his hands to do it; and it is
not owing to sloth and negligence, but to unavoidable want and necessity:
then thou shalt relieve him; not merely by
sympathizing with him, but by communicating to him, and distributing to his
necessities; holding him up that he may not utterly fall, and strengthening his
hands, that he may have a supply for his present wants:
yea, though he be a stranger or
a sojourner; whether a proselyte of righteousness, who is circumcised, and in
all things conforms to the true religion; or a proselyte of the gate, who takes
it upon him not to worship idols, and eat things that die of themselves, as
Jarchi notes:
that he may live with thee; continue in the land of
Canaan, and not be obliged to quit it, and be laid under temptations of
apostatizing from the true religion professed by him, and so far as he is come
into it, which would bring a worse death than corporeal upon him; or that he
may have a livelihood in some tolerable manner at least, and even live
comfortably and cheerfully.
Leviticus 25:36. 36 Take
no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live
with you.
YLT 36thou takest no usury from him, or increase;
and thou hast been afraid of thy God; and thy brother hath lived with thee;
Take thou no usury of him, or increase,.... Not only
give him somewhat for his present relief, but lend him money to put him in a
way of business, to get his living for the future, without requiring any
interest for it; See Gill on Exodus 22:25,
but fear thy God; who has given this command, and expects to
be obeyed; and who is good, and does good, and should be feared for his
goodness' sake; and is omniscient, and knows what is secretly exacted, and will
not suffer any exorbitance of this kind to pass unpunished:
that thy brother may live with thee; which it would be still
more difficult for him to do, should usury and increase be taken of him.
Leviticus 25:37. 37 You
shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.
YLT 37thy money thou givest not to him in usury,
and for increase thou givest not thy food;
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury,.... Lend him
money, expecting and insisting upon a large interest for it; this is to be
understood of persons in poor and necessitous circumstances, of which the text
only speaks; otherwise, if persons borrow money to gain by it, to carry on a
greater trade, or to make purchase with it, it is but reasonable that the
lender should have a share of profit arising from thence:
nor lend him thy victuals for increase; by which it
should seem that those two words, used in Leviticus 25:36,
though in the main they signify the same thing, yet may be distinguished, the
one as concerning money, the other food; and which latter is not to be given by
way of loan to a person in want of it, but freely; as for instance, if a man
gives a poor man a bushel of wheat, on condition he gives him two for it
hereafter, this is lending or giving his victuals for increase.
Leviticus 25:38. 38 I
am the Lord
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of
Canaan and to be your God.
YLT 38I [am] Jehovah your God, who hath brought you
out of the land of Egypt, to give to you the land of Canaan, to become your
God.
I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land
of Egypt,.... Where they had been strangers and sojourners, and therefore
should be kind to such in necessitous circumstances, and relieve them, and
especially their brethren; and where God had given them favour in the eyes of
the Egyptians, and they had lent them jewels of gold and silver, and raiment,
and therefore they should lend freely to persons in distress; and who had
brought them out from thence, that they might take upon them his commandments,
though they might be grievous, as Jarchi observes; and this, it may be
remarked, is the preface to the ten commandments:
to give you the land of Canaan; freely, a land flowing
with milk and honey; and therefore, since he had dealt so bountifully with
them, and had given them plenty of good things, they need not grudge giving to
their poor brethren, and others in necessitous circumstances:
and to be your God; their
covenant God, to bless and prosper them, protect and defend them.
Leviticus 25:39. 39 ‘And
if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells
himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave.
YLT 39`And when thy brother becometh poor with
thee, and he hath been sold to thee, thou dost not lay on him servile service;
And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor,.... The above
laws and instructions seem designed to prevent such extreme poverty as obliged
to what follows, namely, a brother being sold either to an Israelite or to a
stranger, by relieving his wants or lending him money; but when these were
insufficient to support him, and keep him from sinking into the lowest state of
distress and misery, then he was obliged to be sold, as follows:
and be sold unto thee; either by himself, being
ready to starve and perish, or by the sanhedrim, having stolen something, as
Aben Ezra observes; in such a case the civil magistrate had a power of selling
a man, Exodus 22:3,
thou shall not compel him to serve as a bondservant; such as were
Heathens, and bought of them, or taken in war and made slaves of; but an
Israelite sold was not to serve as they, either with respect to matter or
manner, or time of service; such as were bondmen were put to the hardest
service, the greatest drudgery, as well as what was mean and reproachful, and
were used in the most rigorous and despotic manner, and were obliged to serve
for ever, and were never released; but a brother, an Israelite, sold to another
through extreme poverty, was not to be put to any low, mean, base, and
disgraceful service, by which it would be known that he was a servant, as
Jarchi notes; such as to carry his master's vessels or instruments after him to
the bath, or to unloose his shoes; but, as the same writer observes, he was to
be employed in the business of the farm, or in some handicraft work, and was to
be kindly and gently used, rather as a brother than a servant, and to be freed
in the year of jubilee.
Leviticus 25:40. 40 As
a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall
serve you until the Year of Jubilee.
YLT 40as an hireling, as a settler, he is with
thee, till the year of the jubilee he doth serve with thee, --
But as an hired servant,.... Who is
hired by the day, or month, or year; and, when his time is up, receives his
wages and goes where he pleases, and while a servant is not under such despotic
power and government as a slave is:
and as a sojourner; an inmate,
one that dwells in part of a man's house, or boards and lodges with him, and
whom he treats in a kind and familiar manner, rather like one of his own family
than otherwise:
he shall be with thee; as under the above
characters, and used as such: this the Jews refer to food and drink, and other
things, as they do, Deuteronomy 15:16;
and sayF17Maimon. in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 2. that a master
might not eat fine bread, and his servant bread of bran; nor drink old wine,
and his servant new; nor sleep on soft pillows and bedding, and his servant on
straw: hence, they sayF18Ibid. , he that gets himself an Hebrew
servant is as if he got himself a master:
and shall serve thee unto the
year of the jubilee; and no longer; for if the year of jubilee came before the six
years were expired for which he sold himself, the jubilee set him free, as Jarchi
observes; nay, if be sold himself for ten or twenty years, and that but one
year before the jubilee, it set him free, as Maimonides saysF19Hilchot
Abadim, c. 2. sect. 3. .
Leviticus 25:41. 41 And then he shall
depart from you—he and his children with him—and shall return to his own
family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers.
YLT 41then he hath gone out from thee, he and his
sons with him, and hath turned back unto his family; even unto the possession
of his fathers he doth turn back.
And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his
children with him,.... His sons and daughters, and his wife also, who is included
in himself: if a man had a wife and children when he sold himself, or married
afterwards, with his master's consent, he was obliged to maintain themF20Maimon.
in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 3. sect. 1. ; though they were not sold to him, nor
properly his servants, and so had a right to go out with him:
and shall return unto his own family; his father's
family, and that of his near relations, having been out of it during his time
of servitude, and which the year of jubilee restored him to, Leviticus 25:10,
and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return; the estate
his father left him by inheritance, and which he was obliged to sell in the
time of his poverty, or which fell to him since by the death of his father; to
this also he was restored in the year of jubilee, as is expressed in the text
referred to.
Leviticus 25:42. 42 For
they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they
shall not be sold as slaves.
YLT 42`For they [are] My servants, whom I have
brought out from the land of Egypt: they are not sold [with] the sale of a
servant;
For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the
land of Egypt,.... The Lord redeemed them out of Egypt, made a purchase of
them, and had a prior right unto them, and being his servants first, they
cannot be the servants of others; his right unto them as such antecedes and
prevents any other claim upon them:
they shall not be sold as bondmen; or, "with",
or, "according to the sale of a bondman"F21ממכרת עבד "venditione
servi", Drusius. ; in the manner they are sold, or according to the laws
of selling of servants; not in such a public manner as they are sold in
markets, nor for such purposes to be used as slaves in a rigorous manner, nor
so as to be retained for ever in servitude; not to be sold by proclamation, as
Jarchi observes, saying, here is a servant to be sold; nor shall they set him
upon the stone of sale; for it seems in public places in markets, where slaves
were sold, there was a stone on which they were placed, which showed that they
were to be sold; but now an Israelite was not to be sold in such a manner, so
MaimonidesF23Hilchot Abadim, c. 1. sect. 5. says, but privately, in
an honourable way.
Leviticus 25:43. 43 You
shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.
YLT 43thou rulest not over him with rigour, and
thou hast been afraid of thy God.
Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour,.... As the
Egyptians ruled over the Israelites, and made them to serve, Exodus 1:13; where
the same word is used as here, and seems designed to put them in mind of it,
that so they might abstain from such usage of their brethren, which they had
met with from their most cruel enemies; it signifies tyranny and oppression,
treating them with great severity, laying hard and heavy tasks and burdens upon
them they could not bear; enjoining them things they could not perform, and
ordering them to do what were unnecessary, and without any limitation with
respect to time:
but shalt fear thy God; that has been good to
thee, and has brought thee out of hard and rigorous bondage in Egypt; and which
should be remembered with thankfulness, and they should fear to offend so good
a God by using a brother cruelly.
Leviticus 25:44. 44 And
as for your male and female slaves whom you may have—from the nations that are
around you, from them you may buy male and female slaves.
YLT 44`And thy man-servant and thy handmaid whom
thou hast [are] of the nations who [are] round about you; of them ye buy
man-servant and handmaid,
Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have,.... Such it
seems were allowed them, if they had need of them; but if they had them, they
were to be not of the nation of Israel, but of other nations; this is an
anticipation of an objection, as Jarchi observes; if so, who shall I have to
minister to me? The answer follows, they
shall be of the heathen
that are round about thee, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids; that is, of
the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Syrians, as Aben Ezra, that were their
neighbours, that lived round about them, of any but the seven nations, which
they were ordered utterly to destroy; wherefore Jarchi observes it is said,
"that are round about thee"; not in the midst of the border of your
land, for them they were not to save alive, Deuteronomy 20:16.
Leviticus 25:45. 45 Moreover
you may buy the children of the strangers who dwell among you, and their
families who are with you, which they beget in your land; and they shall become
your property.
YLT 45and also of the sons of the settlers who are
sojourning with you, of them ye buy, and of their families who [are] with you,
which they have begotten in your land, and they have been to you for a
possession;
Moreover, of the children of the strangers, that do sojourn among
you,.... The uncircumcised sojourners as they are called in the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, proselytes of the gate, such of the nations
round about who came and sojourned among them, being subject to the precepts
given to the sons of Noah respecting idolatry, &c. but were not
circumcised, and did not embrace the Jewish religion:
of them shall ye buy; for bondmen and
bondmaids:
and of their families that are with you, which they begat
in your land; but, as the Targum of Jonathan adds, are not of the Canaanites;
though the Jewish writersF24Torat Cohanim apud Yalkut, par. 1. fol.
195. 1. say, that one of the nations that lies with a Canaanitish woman, and
begets a son of her, he may be bought for a servant; and so if a Canaanitish
man lies with one of the nations, and begets a son of her, he may also be
bought for a servant:
and they shall be your possession; as servants, as bondmen and
bondmaids, and be so for ever to them and their heirs, as follows.
Leviticus 25:46. 46 And
you may take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them
as a possession; they shall be your permanent slaves. But regarding your
brethren, the children of Israel, you shall not rule over one another with
rigor.
YLT 46and ye have taken them for inheritance to
your sons after you, to occupy [for] a possession; to the age ye lay service
upon them, but upon your brethren, the sons of Israel, one with another, thou
dost not rule over him with rigour.
And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after
you,.... Which they might leave them at their death to inherit, as
they did their estates and lands; for such servants are, with the JewsF25Maimon.
& Bartenora in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 3. , said to be like immovable
goods, as fields, vineyards:
to inherit them for a possession; as their
property, as anything else that was bequeathed to hem, as negroes now are in
our plantations abroad:
thy shall be your bondmen for ever; and not be released at
the year jubilee, nor before nor after; unless they obtained their liberty,
either by purchase, which they might make themselves, or by the means of
others, or else by a writing under their master's hand dismissing them from his
serviceF26Misn. Kiddushin, ib. ; or in case they were maimed by him,
then he was obliged to let them go free, Exodus 21:26,
but over your brethren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule
one over another with rigour; which repeated for the confirmation of it,
and for the fuller explanation and description of the person not to be ruled
over with rigour; and that it might be the more taken notice of, and to make
them the more careful in the observance of it and though this peculiarly
respects masters' treatment of their servants, yet Jarchi thinks it comprehends
a prince over his people, and a king over his ministers, whom he may not rule
with rigour.
Leviticus 25:47. 47 ‘Now
if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your
brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the
stranger or sojourner close to you, or to a member of the stranger’s family,
YLT 47`And when the hand of a sojourner or settler
with thee attaineth [riches], and thy brother with him hath become poor, and he
hath been sold to a sojourner, a settler with thee, or to the root of the
family of a sojourner,
And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee,.... An
uncircumcised one, as the Targums, a proselyte of the gate, who by living among
and trading with the Israelites, might grow rich and wealthy in money, at least
so as to be able to purchase an Hebrew servant, though not his lands, which he
might not buy:
and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor; comes into
low circumstances, and is reduced to great poverty, even extreme poverty; for
only in such a case might he sell himself to an Israelite, and much less to a
stranger, if this was not the case. Jarchi suggests, as in the phrase, "by
thee", points at the cause or occasion of the sojourner or stranger
becoming rich, his nearness unto, or cleaving to all Israelite; and so here the
phrase, "by him", directs to the cause or occasion of the Israelite's
becoming poor, his being near and cleaving to the sojourner or stranger: but
they seem rather to be used, to show the reason of the poor Israelite falling
into the hands of a rich sojourner; they being near neighbours to one another,
and having a familiarity, the following bargain is struck between them:
and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner thee; the
uncircumcised sojourner, as the Targum of Jonathan:
or to the stock of a stranger's family; or
"root"F1לעקר "radici",
Vatablus, Piscator. , one that sprung from a family, originally proselytes;
which some understand of one, who though he be descended from such a family,
was now rooted among the people of God, and incorporated into the commonwealth
of Israel; and yet such an one could not detain an Hebrew servant longer than
the year of jubilee: but the Jewish writers generally interpret it of an
idolaterF2Targum Onk. Jon. Jarchi & Ben Melech, in loc. Kimchi
in Sepher Shorash, rad. עקר. .
Leviticus 25:48. 48 after
he is sold he may be redeemed again. One of his brothers may redeem him;
YLT 48after he hath been sold, there is a right of
redemption to him; one of his brethren doth redeem him,
After that he is sold he may be redeemed again,.... Though an
Heathen, sold to an Israelite, was to be a bondman for ever, and could not be
released by the year of jubilee, yet an Israelite sold to an Heathen might be
redeemed before, and if not, he was freed then. The Jewish writers understand
this of an obligation upon the man, or his friends, or the congregation, to
redeem him, and that immediately, as the Targum of Jonathan, and Jarchi,
because of the danger he was in by being in the family of an idolater, lest he
be pollutedF3Pesikta apud Drusium in loc. , that is, with idolatry;
or be swallowed up among the Heathens, as MaimonidesF4Hilchot
Abadim, c. 2. sect. 7. ; but it is plain from Leviticus 25:54,
that there was no obligation for an immediate redemption; nor was the person
sold in such danger as suggested, since the sojourner, to whom he is supposed
to be sold, was no idolater, whether a proselyte either of righteousness, or of
the gate
one of his brethren may redeem him; which may be taken in a
strict and proper sense, for any of his brethren who were in circumstances
sufficient to redeem him, or for any near akin to him, as the following words
seem to explain it. No mention is made of his father: the reason of which
AbarbinelF5Apud Muis. Varia Sacra, p. 373. says, because it cannot
be thought that a father would suffer his son to be sold, if it was in his
power to redeem him, since a father is pitiful to his son.
Leviticus 25:49. 49 or
his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or anyone who is near of
kin to him in his family may redeem him; or if he is able he may redeem
himself.
YLT 49or his uncle, or a son of his uncle, doth
redeem him, or any of the relations of his flesh, of his family, doth redeem
him, or -- his own hand hath attained -- then he hath been redeemed.
Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him,.... it is
father's brother or his father's brother's son, as the Targums of Onkelos and
Jonathan:
or any that is nigh kin unto him of his family may redeem
him; from whence it appears, that it must be a near kinsman that has
to be the redeemer, as in another case, the redemption of inheritances; hence
the same word "goel" signifies both a redeemer and a near kinsman:
or if he be able he may redeem himself; who either
has found something lost, or inherits the substance of anyone deceased, of his
family, as Aben Ezra observes; that is, since he sold himself, which puts him
into a capacity to redeem himself; the Targum of Jonathan adds,"or the
land of the congregation;'for such a redemption was sometimes made at the
expense of the public; see Nehemiah 5:8. Baal
Hatturim observes, that the words "Ben Dodo", translated "his
uncle's son", wanting the letter "tau" as usual, as the same
letters with Ben David, which is a known name of the Messiah with the Jews, and
which that author seems to have in view; and another Jewish writerF6R.
Bechai apud Patrick in loc. expressly says,"this Redeemer is the Messiah,
the son of David, of the tribe of Judah:'and indeed the whole of this case is
applicable to the spiritual and eternal redemption of the people of God by
Christ: they through the fall, and in a state of nature, are become poor and
helpless, and in a spiritual sense have neither bread to eat, nor clothes to
wear, nor money to buy either; and are in debt, owe ten thousand talents, and
have nothing to pay, and so are brought into bondage to sin, Satan, and the
law; nor can they redeem themselves from these by power or price; nor can a
brother, or the nearest relation redeem them, or give to God a ransom for them;
none but Christ could do this for them, who through his incarnation, whereby he
became of the same nature, of the same flesh and blood with them, and in all things
like unto them, is their "goel", and so their Redeemer, and has
obtained eternal redemption for them, not with silver and gold, but by his own
precious blood.
Leviticus 25:50. 50 Thus
he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be
according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until
the Year of Jubilee; it shall be according to the time of a hired
servant for him.
YLT 50`And he hath reckoned with his buyer from the
year of his being sold to him till the year of jubilee, and the money of his
sale hath been by the number of years; as the days of an hireling it is with
him.
And he shall reckon with him that bought him,.... That is,
either the man himself should reckon with him, or whoever undertook to redeem
him:
from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee; and so count
how many years he had served, and how many were yet to come; and by this it
appears, that one thus sold was not released at the end of six years, or the
sabbatical year did not free him:
and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of
years; whether more or fewer, as after explained:
according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him; the time of
service he had served his master shall be reckoned, as if he had been hired for
so much a year; and according to the number of years he had been with him, so
much per annum was to be deducted from the original purchase, and the rest to
be made for his redemption to him that bought him.
Leviticus 25:51. 51 If there are still
many years remaining, according to them he shall repay the price of his
redemption from the money with which he was bought.
YLT 51`If yet many years, according to them he
giveth back his redemption [money], from the money of his purchase.
If there be yet many years behind,.... To the year
of jubilee, and more than he had served:
according unto them he shall give again the price of his
redemption, out of the money that he was bought for; suppose, for
instance, when a man sold himself, there were twenty years to the year of
jubilee, and he sold himself for twenty pieces of money, gold or silver, be the
value what it will; and when he comes to treat with his master about his
redemption, or a relation for him, and he has served just as many years as
there are to the year of jubilee, ten years, then his master must be paid for
the price of his redemption ten pieces of money; but if he has served but five
years, and there are fifteen to come, he must give him fifteen pieces; and so
in proportion, be the years more or fewer, as follows.
Leviticus 25:52. 52 And
if there remain but a few years until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon
with him, and according to his years he shall repay him the price of his
redemption.
YLT 52`And if few are left of the years till the
year of jubilee, then he hath reckoned with him, according to his years he doth
give back his redemption [money];
And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee,.... Fewer
than what he has served, then the less is given for his redemption: thus, for
instance, in the above supposed case, if he has served fifteen years, and there
remain but five to the year of jubilee:
then he shall count with him, and according unto his years
shall he give him again the price of his redemption; as in the
fore mentioned case, he shall give him five pieces of money; and thus the law
of justice and equity was maintained between the buyer and seller, the
purchaser and the redeemer: in a like righteous manner the people of God are
redeemed by Christ.
Leviticus 25:53. 53 He
shall be with him as a yearly hired servant, and he shall not rule with rigor
over him in your sight.
YLT 53as an hireling, year by year, he is with him,
and he doth not rule him with rigour before thine eyes.
And as a yearly hired servant
shall he be with him,.... Being redeemable every year, and upon his redemption might
quit his master's service, as an hireling may; and the price of his redemption
to be valued according to the years he served, and as if he had been hired for
so much a year; as well as he was to be treated in a kind and gentle manner,
not as a bondman, but as if he was an hired servant, as follows:
and the other shall not rule
with rigour over him in thy sight; the person he is sold
unto, his master, a sojourner or stranger, he might not use an Hebrew he had
bought with any severity; for if an Hebrew master might not use an Hebrew
servant with rigour, it was not by any means to be admitted in the commonwealth
of Israel for a proselyte to use one in such a manner, and that openly, in the
sight of an Israelite his neighbour; he looking on and not remonstrating against
it, or acquainting the civil magistrate with it, who had it in his power to
redress such a grievance, and ought to do it.
Leviticus 25:54. 54 And
if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the
Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him.
YLT 54`And if he is not redeemed in these [years],
then he hath gone out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.
And if he be not redeemed in these years,.... The
Targum of Jonathan supplies the text as we do, in any of the years from the
time of his sale to the year of jubilee; and so Aben Ezra interprets it, in the
years that remain to the jubilee; but he observes there are others that say, by
the means of those above mentioned, that is, by his nearest of kin, or by
himself; for the word "years" is not in the text, which may be
supplied, either with "years" or "relations"; and so the
Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and Oriental versions read, "by these"
means, things or persons:
then he shall go out on the year of jubilee: out of the
house and service of him that bought him, he shall go out free and freely,
without paying anything for his freedom, having served his full time unto which
he was bought:
both he and his
children with him; and his wife too, if he had any, who, was comprehended in
himself, and whom, both wife and children, his master was obliged to maintain
during his servitude.
Leviticus 25:55. 55 For
the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants
whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
YLT 55For to Me [are] the sons of Israel servants;
My servants they [are], whom I have brought out of the land of Egypt; I,
Jehovah, [am] your God.
For unto me the children of Israel are servants,.... And
therefore not to be perpetual servants to men, as those who are bought and
redeemed by the blood of Christ should not be, 1 Corinthians 7:23;
The Targum of Jonathan is, servants to my law; see Romans 7:25; those
that are redeemed by Christ are also servants to his Gospel, and obey from
their heart the form and doctrine delivered to them;
they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land
of Egypt: where they were in cruel bondage, and made to serve with rigour,
but now, being delivered from thence, were laid under obligation to serve the
Lord; nor was it his will that others should rule over them with rigour,
whether of their own nation or strangers, or that they should be bondmen and
bondmaids, or perpetual servants to any:
I am the Lord your God; their covenant God, who
had been kind to them, particularly in the instance mentioned, and would take
care that they should not be ill used by others, and therefore ought to serve
him readily and cheerfully.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》