The Seventh Year
(Exodus 23:10–13; Deuteronomy 15:1–6)
Just as seven days made a week ending...
Just as seven days made a week ending in a Sabbath day, every seven years ended with a Sabbath year. After seven Sabbath years, or 49 years, came a special year called the Year of Jubilee. Like so many holy days, these times were meant for reflecting on Israel's shared identity and their relationship with God.
Every Israelite, both free and servant, had a place in God’s kingdom. So, those bound in servitude were set free during the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:39–43). To reduce poverty and protect families, land sales were limited to fifty years. After that, the land returned to the original owner's family or clan.
The land belonged to God, and the Israelites were only "residents" (25:23). But it is unlikely that they actually used these laws. The best land ended up belonging to wealthy landowners (Isaiah 5:8–10; compare Amos 5:11).
1Then the LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
during the Sabbath year, people did not formally...
during the Sabbath year, people did not formally farm or harvest the land. Landowners could gather what naturally grew for their daily household needs. They left any uneaten food for the poor and foreigners (Exodus 23:10–11). What remained provided food for both wild and domestic animals. See also Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:1–11.
2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.
3For six years you may sow your field and prune your vineyard and gather its crops. 4But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the LORD.
You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5You are not to reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untended vines. The land must have a year of complete rest. 6Whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year shall be food for you—for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, the hired hand or foreigner who stays with you, 7and for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. All its growth may serve as food.
The Year of Jubilee
The Year of Jubilee occurred every fiftieth year,...
The Year of Jubilee occurred every fiftieth year, releasing people from obligations and slavery. This year was also a Sabbath year, meaning no farming took place.
Some scholars believe the forty-ninth year was both a Sabbath (seventh) and Jubilee (fiftieth) year. Counting fifty years would place the Year of Jubilee right after the seventh Sabbath year, leading to two years without harvests.
During each Year of Jubilee, the land returned to the original clan or tribe that received it under Joshua (Joshua 13–21).
Land had two purposes:
It provided an economic foundation for living.
It connected the landowner to ancestors. Through them it connected the land distribution under Joshua and the covenant with Moses.
Returning the land intended to prevent powerful land monopolies that could exclude the poor.
The Year of Jubilee occurred every fiftieth year, releasing people from obligations and slavery. This year was also a Sabbath year, meaning no farming took place.
Some scholars believe the forty-ninth year was both a Sabbath (seventh) and Jubilee (fiftieth) year. Counting fifty years would place the Year of Jubilee right after the seventh Sabbath year, leading to two years without harvests.
During each Year of Jubilee, the land returned to the original clan or tribe that received it under Joshua (Joshua 13–21).
Land had two purposes:
It provided an economic foundation for living.
It connected the landowner to ancestors. Through them it connected the land distribution under Joshua and the covenant with Moses.
Returning the land intended to prevent powerful land monopolies that could exclude the poor.
8And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to forty-nine years. 9Then you are to sound the horn far and wide on the tenth day of the seventh month, the Day of Atonement. You shall sound it throughout your land.
10So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.
The rules for the Sabbath year also applied...
The rules for the Sabbath year also applied to the Year of Jubilee.
11The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines. 12For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field.
Return of Property
13In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.
14If you make a sale to your neighbor or a purchase from him, you must not take advantage of each other.
the number of years: The law did not...
the number of years: The law did not allow permanent sale of the land. It belonged to God, and Israel was simply allowed to use it (Leviticus 25:23). If the owner had to give up the land because of financial problems, he could lease it for up to forty-nine years, until the next Jubilee. The price depended on the lease length. At the end of that period, the land returned to the original owner's family.
15You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining. 16You shall increase the price in proportion to a greater number of years, or decrease it in proportion to a lesser number of years; for he is selling you a given number of harvests.
17Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God; for I am the LORD your God.
The Blessing of Obedience
18You are to keep My statutes and carefully observe My judgments, so that you may dwell securely in the land. 19Then the land will yield its fruit, so that you can eat your fill and dwell in safety in the land.
20Now you may wonder, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not sow or gather our produce?’ 21But I will send My blessing upon you in the sixth year, so that the land will yield a crop sufficient for three years. 22While you are sowing in the eighth year, you will be eating from the previous harvest, until the ninth year’s harvest comes in.
The Law of Redemption
23The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me. 24Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
25If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26Or if a man has no one to redeem it for him, but he prospers and acquires enough to redeem his land, 27he shall calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and return to his property. 28But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee, however, it is to be released, so that he may return to his property.
A house in a village without walls was...
A house in a village without walls was treated the same as land. The family could buy it back. If they did not, it returned to the seller’s family in the Year of Jubilee.
But a house inside a walled town was different. No farmland or pasture was included in the sale of such a house. A house could even be built on the town wall without touching the ground (Josh 2:15). For this reason, the land was not part of the property.
Such a house could not be bought back unless the new owner chose to sell it. It also did not return to the original family in the Year of Jubilee.
29If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains his right of redemption until a full year after its sale; during that year it may be redeemed. 30If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its buyer and his descendants. It is not to be released in the Jubilee. 31But houses in villages with no walls around them are to be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.
The tribe of Levi did not inherit land...
The tribe of Levi did not inherit land like other tribes. As the priestly tribe, they lived throughout the land (Deuteronomy 18:1; see Genesis 49:5–7; Numbers 35:1–8; Josh 21:1–42). The Levites could only inherit specific cities and the surrounding pasturelands (Numbers 35:2).
The Levites were an exception to land ownership rules. They carefully protected their small holdings. They could redeem their houses even in walled cities. They could not sell the pasturelands outside their towns.
32As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the cities they possess. 33So whatever belongs to the Levites may be redeemed—a house sold in a city they possess—and must be released in the Jubilee, because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the Israelites. 34But the open pastureland around their cities may not be sold, for this is their permanent possession.
Redemption of the Poor
35Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.
The purpose of a loan was to help...
The purpose of a loan was to help a poor person financially recover, not to profit from their vulnerability. Israelites could not charge interest on loans to Israelites. But Israelites could charge interest on loans to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:19–20).
36Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you. 37You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit. 38I 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.
Redemption of Bondmen
39If a countryman among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, then you must not force him into slave labor. 40Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. 41Then he and his children are to be released, and he may return to his clan and to the property of his fathers.
42Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves. 43You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
In Mesopotamia and Egypt, people treated slaves like...
In Mesopotamia and Egypt, people treated slaves like property. They had no rights or protection. Among the Israelites, people could purchase non-Israelites as slaves. Yet God commanded that they be treated well and not abused. Sometimes a slave was even adopted into a childless family (Genesis 15:2–4).
Slavery continued in New Testament times. However, the Old Testament taught that all people share a common beginning because God created humankind. This belief laid the foundation for the later rejection of slavery.
Slavery began after the first humans sinned. This was the start of power-based relationships replacing those of friendship and communication (see Genesis 3:16).
In the New Testament, Christians promote fellowship and communication by calling themselves “a servant of Christ Jesus"(Romans 1:1; Colossians 4:12; 2 Peter 1:1). In Paul's teachings on "the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 4:12), all Christians share a common identity (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11; Philemon 1:16).
44Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them. 45You may also purchase them from the foreigners residing among you or their clans living among you who are born in your land. These may become your property. 46You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.
Redemption of Servants
An Israelite who sold himself or a family...
An Israelite who sold himself or a family member to a foreigner in Israel could buy himself or the family member back. If he lacked the resources to do so, he remained a slave in the seventh year. He had to wait for release in the Year of Jubilee (compare Exodus 21:2). While serving the foreigner, they must treat the Israelite slave as a hired servant, not as a slave (see Leviticus 25:53). The people of Israel belonged to God. No one could sell them as permanent slaves to anyone else.
47If a foreigner residing among you prospers, but your countryman dwelling near him becomes destitute and sells himself to the foreigner or to a member of his clan, 48he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his brothers may redeem him: 49either his uncle or cousin or any close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
50He and his purchaser will then count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years, based on the daily wages of a hired hand. 51If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption in proportion to his purchase price. 52If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to calculate and pay his redemption according to his remaining years. 53He shall be treated like a man hired from year to year, but a foreign owner must not rule over him harshly in your sight.
54Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee. 55For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.