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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》