25:4 a Sabbath of complete rest This phrase is repeated at the end of v. 5, functioning as a bracket around specific prohibitions. Thus, the text is clear that the land is not to be farmed in the sabbatical year.

25:6 shall be for food for you The expectation is that the natural yield of the land will sustain the entire household. This testifies to expectation of Yahweh’s provision for His people.

hired worker The Hebrew term used here, sakhir, refers to someone working for an earned wage.

temporary residents The Hebrew word used here, toshav, denotes someone who was temporarily living among the Israelites. The label of toshav could also apply to people indentured because they were in debt; they were thus forced to live in the home of the person to whom they owed the debt. They would be released from the debt in the Jubilee Year (see vv. 8–22).

25:9 on the seventh month on the tenth See 16:29; 23:24, 27. The blast on the shofar before the Festival of Booths (Tabernacles) announced the advent of the Jubilee. This day was also the Day of Atonement.

25:10 you shall return. You must return—everyone to his property A family that was not able to pay its debts may have had to sell its property or have the property seized in lieu of payment (vv. 25–28). The practice of Jubilee essentially reversed this transfer of ownership and restored the property to the family. See note on vv. 1–7.

property The Hebrew word used here, achuzzah, refers to “tenured land” or “land holding.” The land of Canaan is actually a grant from God; the Israelites are His tenants, not landowners. Consequently, Israelites do not have the right to do what they want with the land.

to his clan In the context of Exod 21:2 and Deut 15:12, this directive means that Israelites who had sold themselves as estate laborers could return to their families.

25:11 unpruned vines What the land produces naturally will be the provision.

25:14 you must not oppress one another These instructions relate to honest dealings in financial transactions. They begin and end with the command to not deal wrongly with one another (Lev 24:14, 17).

25:15 according to the number of years after the Jubilee A property’s value was linked to the number of crop years remaining until the next Jubilee Year—when ownership would be transferred back to the original landholder.

25:17 you must not oppress one another An echo of v. 14, which emphasizes that taking advantage of someone financially because of the year of Jubilee is prohibited.

25:23 in perpetuity The Hebrew term used here, tsemithuth, denotes a final and permanent sale. The concept is known from Akkadian land contracts (which use a related Akkadian term). The land cannot be sold off permanently, for it is God’s land. See note on v. 10.

25:25 his nearest redeemer The Hebrew word used here, go'el—which is often rendered redeemer—refers to the nearest relative responsible for acquiring the property on behalf of the family.

Go’el Word Study

he shall redeem the thing sold by his brother See note on vv. 23–28

25:31 in the Jubilee it shall go out Houses in unwalled villages are classified as being a part of the fields of the land, which explains why homes in walled cities were not redeemed after a year (compare note on vv. 29–31).

25:32 the Levites Property within cities allotted to the Levites could be redeemed. However, enclosed areas in the near vicinity of such cities could not be sold (vv. 33–34).

25:33 are their property Because land was not a familial inheritance for the tribe of Levi, homes could be redeemed. The practical outcome of this was permanent housing for the Levites divorced from economic activity (in Levitical cities; see Josh 21; Num 35:1–8).

25:35 he shall live with you When a family member came on hard times, they were not to be disgraced or shunned. Israelites were commanded to be as generous to family members in need as they would be to resident aliens. They were not to be mistreated or abused in any way. The law also prevented family members from becoming indentured servants (Lev 25:39–46).

25:36 You must not take interest or usury from him Compare Exod 22:21, 25; 23:9. This prohibition is associated syntactically with the positive command to fear the Lord.

25:40 until the Year of Jubilee Even being bound by labor is not to be absolute.

25:41 he shall return to his clan See note on Lev 25:10.

25:42 I brought out from the land of Egypt Yahweh redeemed the people of Israel when they were slaves in Egypt (Exod 12–15). Israelites should not enslave a fellow Israelite because they had no right to each other; they all belonged to Yahweh (compare Exod 22:21, 25; 23:9).

25:43 You shall not rule over him with ruthlessness Such a command ensures a sense of dignity and tempers naturally occurring shame.

25:44 nations that are all around you Israelites were allowed to have non-Israelite slaves. Slavery was common in the ancient Near East, which means this could have been an accommodation for other ancient Near Eastern practices. Accommodation in general seems to have been present in the law; Jesus, for example, notes that divorce was allowed because of the obstinateness of the Israelites (Matt 19:8). Unlike Israel’s neighboring cultures, it was prohibited in Israel to mistreat a non-Israelite (Exod 23:9; compare Deut 21:10–14), which would have included foreign slaves, and there are laws meant to protect slaves (Exod 21:20–21,26–27). Compare note on Phlm 10; note on 1 Pet 2:18; Gal 3:28.

25:46 take possession of The rights of Israelite slaveholders over foreign slaves were akin to the rights of landownership. Slaves could be passed down, inherited, and kept within the family. However, this law does not encourage slavery, but instead regulates an already common practice (compare note on Lev 25:44).

25:48 may redeem him If an Israelite had to become an indentured servant to a foreigner living in Israel (a resident alien), the Israelite’s family members were responsible for redeeming the indentured servant—they had to pay the debt to release their fellow family member.

25:49 he may redeem himself This would depend on what his owner allowed him to keep and accumulate.

25:50 he shall calculate The same computation system described in vv. 15–16. The value of leases on the land was calculated by crop years. Since all leased (“sold”) land would revert to the original owners, the price was determined by the amount of crops harvested before the land reverted. It was the same with indentured servants. The price was based on the years remaining until the Jubilee Year.

25:51 in keeping with them he shall restore his redemption The act of redemption was not intended to undermine or cripple the system of servitude. Rather, its goal was to remove one from the system.

25:53 he shall not rule over him with ruthlessness The relatives should not allow the situation to continue. Redeeming an Israelite relative was a duty.

25:54 shall go out in the Year of Jubilee The Jubilee system ensured that Israelites would not remain enslaved by non-Israelites within the land.

25:55 the Israelites are servants The rationale for redeeming people and families from a life of servitude comes from the outcome of the exodus. God redeemed Israel from servitude in Egypt, so the nation belongs to Him.