XXV. (1) AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES. — This chapter should properly have followed Leviticus 23, since the institutions of the sabbatical year, and the jubile which it discusses, are closely connected with the regulations about the festivals laid down in that chapter. The isolation of these ordin... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN YE COME INTO THE LAND. — Better, _When ye be come into the land,_ as the Authorised Version renders the same phrase in Leviticus 14:34. (See Note on Leviticus 19:23.) This is the fourth instance in Leviticus of a law being given prospectively which had no immediate bearing on the condition of I... [ Continue Reading ]
SIX YEARS THOU SHALT SOW. — See Exodus 23:10. THE FRUIT THEREOF. — That is, of the land which is mentioned in the preceding verse, and which includes fields, vineyards, olive-gardens, &c. (See Exodus 23:11.)... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SEVENTH YEAR SHALL BE A SABBATH OF REST. — Literally, _the seventh year shall be a rest of solemn resting,_ or _a sabbath of sabbaths._ For the import of this phrase see Note on Leviticus 16:31. Like the weekly sabbath, the seventh year is to be the Lord’s sabbath. The soil is therefore to have... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT WHICH GROWETH OF ITS OWN ACCORD. — Not only is every owner of land to desist from cultivating it, but the spontaneous growth of the fields from seeds which accidentally fell down at the harvest, as well as from old roots, are not to be gathered, or no harvest is to be made of it. NEITHER GATHE... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SABBATH OF THE LAND. — That is, the growth or produce during this sabbath of the land. For the figure of speech see Lev. 18:38. SHALL BE MEAT FOR YOU. — That is, it shall serve as your food, but you must not trade with it, or store it up. Hence, during the second Temple the produce of the s... [ Continue Reading ]
AND FOR THY CATTLE. — In accordance with the benign legislation which obtained during the second Temple, the administrators of the law inferred from this verse, and hence enacted, that the fruit of the seventh year may only be eaten by man at home, as long as the kind is found in the field. _“_As lo... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THOU SHALT NUMBER. — Better, _And thou shalt count unto thee,_ as the Authorised Version renders the same phrase in Leviticus 23:15. NUMBER SEVEN SABBATHS OF YEARS. — Better, _count seven weeks of years_ (see Leviticus 23:15). The seven days of each week stand for so many years, so that seven we... [ Continue Reading ]
CAUSE THE TRUMPET OF THE JUBILE TO SOUND. — Better, _cause the blast of the cornet to sound;_ literally, _cause to resound the cornet of loud sound._ According to the authorities during the second Temple, the cornets used on this occasion, like those of the Feast of Trumpets or New Year, were of ram... [ Continue Reading ]
AND YE SHALL HALLOW THE FIFTIETH YEAR. — Because it is here said “Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year,” the authorities during the second Temple inferred that the good work of the jubile is to begin with the first day of Tishri, which is the beginning of the year, and which ought to be hallowed. Hence... [ Continue Reading ]
A JUBILE SHALL THAT FIFTIETH YEAR BE UNTO YOU. — According to the unanimous testimony of the authorities during the second Temple, including Philo (ii. 287-290) and Josephus (_Antt. iii._ 12, § 3), the jubile was observed every fiftieth year, as is plainly enjoined both in the verse before us and in... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL EAT THE INCREASE THEREOF OUT OF THE FIELD. — Better, _Ye shall eat its produce from the field._ Because it is the jubile, which must be observed as a sacred institution, the spontaneous produce of this year is not to be stored, but as much of it must each time be taken direct from the field... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL RETURN EVERY MAN UNTO HIS POSSESSION. — In the year of jubile every man is to be restored to his landed property, whether he had disposed of it by sale or by gift.... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL NOT OPPRESS ONE ANOTHER. — Better, _ye shall not overreach any man his brother._ Not only does the Law provide against the poor man losing his land for ever, but enjoins that in the temporary sales the buyer and seller are not to take undue advantage of each other’s circumstances. Hence it... [ Continue Reading ]
ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF YEARS... THOU SHALT BUY. — The promised land, according to the Law, was to be divided by lot in equal parts among the Israelites. The plot which should thus come into the possession of each family is to be absolutely inalienable, and for ever continue to be the property of... [ Continue Reading ]
ACCORDING TO THE MULTITUDE OF YEARS... AND ACCORDING TO. — Better, _in proportion to the multitude of years_... _and in proportion to,_ as the words in the original here are not the same which are used in Leviticus 25:15 and at the end of this verse, which are translated “according” in the Authorise... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL NOT THEREFORE OPPRESS ONE ANOTHER. — Better, _And ye shall not overreach any man his neighbour._ (See Leviticus 25:14.) BUT THOU SHALT FEAR THY GOD — who pleads the cause of the oppressed, and avenges every injustice. (See Leviticus 19:14.)... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEREFORE YE SHALL DO MY STATUTES. — Better, _And ye shall do_... that is, the above named statutes and ordinances respecting the sabbatical year and the jubile, which required great sacrifices. YE SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND IN SAFETY. — As God is Israel’s strong tower and wall of defence, it is by ke... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT SHALL WE EAT THE SEVENTH YEAR ? — The Lawgiver here anticipates an objection on the part of those who are called upon to abstain from cultivating the land in the sabbatical year, and who are overanxious about the provisions of their families. BEHOLD, WE SHALL NOT SOW. — That is, are forbidden... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN I WILL COMMAND MY BLESSING. That is, He will send out His Divine command to the soil in the sixth year that it should be a blessing to them, and it shall be done. (See Deuteronomy 28:8; Psalms 42:8; Psalms 44:4; Psalms 68:29.) IT SHALL BRING FORTH FRUIT FOR THREE YEARS. — Better, _it shall brin... [ Continue Reading ]
AND YE SHALL SOW THE EIGHTH YEAR, AND EAT YET OF OLD FRUIT. — Better, _And when ye shall sow in the eighth year, ye shall yet eat of the old produce,_ that is, when at the termination of the sabbatical year the Israelites resume the cultivation of the soil in the eighth year, the abundant crop of th... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAND SHALL NOT BE SOLD FOR EVER. — That is, no plot of the land of Israel must be absolutely alienated from the original proprietor, who has been driven by poverty to sell his patrimony. We have here a resumption of the laws relating to the sale and purchase of land, which have already been brie... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL GRANT A REDEMPTION FOR THE LAND. — Being simply tenants at will, and having obtained possession of it on such terms, the land is not even to remain with the purchaser till the year of jubile, but the buyer is to grant every opportunity to the seller to redeem it before that time.... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THY BROTHER BE WAXEN POOR, AND HATH SOLD... — As poverty is the only reason which the Law here supposes might lead one to part with his field, the authorities during the second Temple concluded, and hence enacted, that it is not allowable for any one to sell his patrimony on speculation. This wil... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IF THE MAN HAVE NONE TO REDEEM IT. — In case, however, he has either no nearest of kin, or if his nearest of kin is himself too poor to perform this duty, which is incumbent upon him, “and himself be able to redeem it,” that is, after he was compelled, by stress of poverty, to sell the property... [ Continue Reading ]
COUNT THE YEARS OF THE SALE THEREOF. — To regulate the price of the redemption money the crops were valued which the purchaser had enjoyed since he had acquired the property. This was deducted from what he originally paid for the plot of land, and the difference was returned to him by the vendor, to... [ Continue Reading ]
NOT ABLE TO RESTORE IT TO HIM. — That is, if the vendor is unable to return to the purchaser the probable value of the crops between the contemplated redemption and the next jubile year. THEN THAT WHICH IS SOLD. — In that case the land thus sold is to continue with the purchaser till jubile, when it... [ Continue Reading ]
A DWELLING HOUSE IN A WALLED CITY. — IT is, however, quite different in the case of houses in walled cities. These are not the creation of God (see Leviticus 25:23), allotted by His command to the different tribes of Israel; they are the work of man, who build them up and raze them to the ground at... [ Continue Reading ]
IF IT BE NOT REDEEMED WITHIN THE SPACE OF A FULL YEAR. — That is, either by the vendor or his son. According to the interpretation which obtained during the second Temple, the phrase “full year” is here used for the benefit of the seller, inasmuch as _it_ gives him the advantage of an intercalary ye... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE HOUSES OF THE VILLAGES WHICH HAVE NO WALL. — Houses in villages, however, form an exception. They are part of the landed property, and hence, like the cultivated land on which they are erected, are subject to the law of jubile.... [ Continue Reading ]
NOTWITHSTANDING THE CITIES OF THE LEVITES, AND THE HOUSES. — Better, _And as to the cities of the Levites, the houses,_ that is, the houses which belong to the Levites, in the forty-eight cities given to them (see Numbers 35:1; Joshua 21:1), are to be exempt from this general law of house property.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IF A MAN PURCHASE OF THE LEVITES. — Better, _And if one of the Levites redeem it,_ that is, even if a Levite redeemed the house which his brother Levite was obliged to sell through poverty, the general law of house property is not to obtain even among the Levites themselves. They are to treat ea... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE FIELD OF THE SUBURBS OF THEIR CITIES MAY NOT BE SOLD. — The Levitical cities had both suburbs or commons for their cattle, &c, and fields which they cultivated (Numbers 35:4). These outlying fields, which were beyond the suburbs, they are here forbidden to sell. According to the authorities... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IF THY BROTHER BE WAXEN POOR. — This part of the jubile laws which relates to the manumission of the Israelites who through poverty are compelled to sell themselves as bondsmen (Leviticus 25:39) is introduced by a pathetic appeal to the benevolence of the people to bestow brotherly help to the p... [ Continue Reading ]
TAKE THOU NO USURY OF HIM, OR INCREASE. — The first thing to be done to the impoverished Israelite is to supply him with the means to recover himself without any interest. The authorities during the second Temple defined the words which are translated “usury” (_nesheck_) and “increase” (_tarbith,_ o... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SHALT NOT GIVE HIM. — This is simply an emphatic repetition of the declaration in the foregoing verse, and favours the ancient distinction between the two terms.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH BROUGHT YOU FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT. — For this appeal to the signal act of redemption from Egypt, see Lev. 12:45.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IF THY BROTHER THAT DWELLETH BY THEE BE WAXEN POOR. — Better, _And if thy brother be waxen poor by thee,_ that is, after supporting his tottering hand, as prescribed in Leviticus 25:35, and making all the charitable efforts to help him, they fail, and he still finds himself in extreme poverty, a... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT AS AN HIRED SERVANT. — The master is in all respects to treat him as one who disposes of his service for wages for a certain time, and will then be his own master again. SHALL SERVE THEE UNTO THE YEAR OF JUBILE. — Nor could he be kept beyond the year of jubile. This terminated the sale of his s... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEN SHALL HE DEPART FROM THEE. — At the same time that he regains his liberty, and takes with him his family, the patrimony which he sold also reverts to him.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THEY ARE MY SERVANTS. — This is a clue to the whole system of Hebrew servitude. These poverty-stricken men, who are driven to sell themselves to their fellow-Israelites, God claims as His servants. God is their Lord as well as their master’s Lord. He delivered them both alike from bondage to ser... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU SHALT NOT RULE OVER HIM WITH RIGOUR. — The master is forbidden to tyrannise over him as if he were a slave without any rights.... [ Continue Reading ]
BOTH THY BONDMEN, AND THY BONDMAIDS, WHICH THOU SHALT HAVE, SHALL BE OF THE HEATHEN. — Rather, _As for thy bondmen and bondmaids which thou must have of the heathen,_ &c. As the Law forbids the Israelites to have their brethren as bondmen, or employ them in menial work which belongs to the slaves, t... [ Continue Reading ]
MOREOVER OF THE CHILDREN OF THE STRANGERS. — Besides the surrounding nations, the Hebrews are also permitted to obtain their slaves from those strangers who have taken up their abode in the Holy Land. By these strangers the ancient authorities understand those who have been permitted to settle down... [ Continue Reading ]
AND YE SHALL TAKE THEM AS AN INHERITANCE FOR YOUR CHILDREN. — That is, they may appropriate them to themselves, as their personal property, which is transmissible as inheritance to posterity with the family land. THEY SHALL BE YOUR BONDMEN FOR EVER. — These are not subject to the laws of jubile. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IF A SOJOURNER OR STRANGER WAX RICH BY THEE. — Better, _And if the hand of a stranger, and that a sojourner, attain riches by thee,_ that is, a stranger who has become a sojourner, or who has taken up his abode among the Israelites, and become prosperous by trading. Such a one had only to submit... [ Continue Reading ]
HE MAY BE REDEEMED AGAIN. — The law which applies to a heathen who sold himself to a Hebrew is reversed in this case. Whilst the heathen cannot be redeemed, and is to remain a bondman for ever, the Israelite who sells himself to a heathen may be redeemed. Indeed, according to the interpretation whic... [ Continue Reading ]
EITHER HIS UNCLE, OR HIS UNCLE’S SON, MAY REDEEM HIM. — That is, any of his relatives are to redeem him, which is not the case when an Israelite sells himself to one of his own nation. Hence the Jewish canons enacted that “if a Hebrew is sold to a stranger, and is unable to redeem himself, his kinsm... [ Continue Reading ]
(50-52) AND HE SHALL RECKON WITH HIM. — That is, either the man himself when he is able to redeem himself, or his kindred. The authorities during the second Temple rightly point out that this passage enjoins the Hebrew to treat the heathen master fairly by duly compensating and compounding for the n... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AS A YEARLY HIRED SERVANT SHALL HE BE. — Better, _As a yearly servant,_ &c, without the “and,” which is not in the original, and is not wanted. That is, as long as he is in service his master must not treat him like a slave, but is to behave to him as if he were simply one who hires out his serv... [ Continue Reading ]
IF HE BE NOT REDEEMED IN THESE YEARS. — Better, _If he be not redeemed by these,_ that is, by the relations or the means indicated in Leviticus 25:48, he is to go out free in the year of jubile. (See Leviticus 25:41.) The heathen is to submit to the laws of jubile as much as the Hebrew.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR UNTO ME THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ARE SERVANTS. — See Leviticus 25:38; Leviticus 25:42.... [ Continue Reading ]