35<\/strong>. be waxen poor<\/em> ] See on Lev 25:25<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n his hand fail with thee<\/em> ] i.e. if he lose his power of self-support by personal effort, and thou art able as a neighbour to help him.<\/p>\n uphold<\/em> ] The text gives the literal sense of the Heb. verb, and the mg., relieve<\/em>, its application in this context.<\/p>\n as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee<\/em> ] The Heb. rather connects the first words of the clause with that which precedes, and so Dillm. and Driver (with the LXX.) suppose that the two substantives are a later insertion here under the influence of Lev 25:23<\/em><\/span> ; Lev 25:47<\/em><\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n 35 38. Prohibition of usury in the case of a poor Israelite<\/em> (H with perhaps a slight admixture of P)<\/p>\n Rather, And if thy brother (an Israelite) becomes poor and falls into decay with thee, thou shalt assist him and let him live with thee like a resident foreigner. He was not to be regarded as an outcast, but was to be treated with the same respect and consideration as a resident foreigner who, like him, could possess no land, but could accumulate property and live in comfort as a free man. See Lev 16:29<\/span> note.<\/P><\/p>\n Lev 25:35<\/span><\/p>\n And if thy brother be waxen poor.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jewish benevolence<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. William Gilbert, describing in Good Words <\/em>the cases of mendicancy which he saw appear before the Jewish Board of Guardians, tells of a Prussian Jew, quite blind, who was <\/strong>led into the room by a child of one of the lodgers of the house he lived in. He informed the Board that he had been some weeks in England, and was utterly <\/strong>destitute. On being asked how he had contrived to live, he replied that the poor Jews in Petticoat Lane had made a subscription for him, and he had received about eight shillings a week from the pence they had subscribed.<\/p>\n Fallen in decay, <\/B>Heb. his hand wavereth, of faileth<\/I> <\/P> or is decayed<\/B> so that he hath not power to get or keep wealth, as the phrase is, Deu 8:18<\/span>; as on the contrary, when a man is able, his hand<\/I> is said to attain and find sufficiency<\/I>, as here above, Lev 25:26<\/span>. <\/P> Relieve him, <\/B>Heb. strengthen him<\/I>, comfort his heart, and strengthen his hand. <\/P> A sojourner; <\/B>understand it of proselytes only, for of other strangers they were permitted to take usury, Deu 23:20<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n 35-38. if thy brother be waxen poor,. . . relieve him<\/B>This was a most benevolent provision for thepoor and unfortunate, designed to aid them or alleviate the evils oftheir condition. Whether a native Israelite or a mere sojourner, hisricher neighbor was required to give him food, lodging, and a supplyof money without usury. Usury was severely condemned (Psa 15:5<\/span>;Eze 18:8<\/span>; Eze 18:17<\/span>),but the prohibition cannot be considered as applicable to the modernpractice of men in business, borrowing and lending at legal rates ofinterest.<\/P><\/p>\n And if thy brother be waxen poor<\/strong>,…. 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:<\/p>\n and fallen in decay with thee<\/strong>; in his worldly substance: or “his hand wavers”, or “fails” p; 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:<\/p>\n then thou shalt relieve him<\/strong>; 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:<\/p>\n [yea, though he be] a stranger or a sojourner<\/strong>; 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:<\/p>\n that he may live with thee<\/strong>; 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.<\/p>\n p “et nutaverit manus ejus”, Montanus, Vatablus, Fagius; “vacillabit”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.<\/p>\n Verses 35-38:<\/strong><\/p>\n Israel was commanded to relieve the poverty of their brethren who might become destitute. This was designed to prevent their being sold into slavery. It made no difference if the impoverished Israeli was an acquaintance or a stranger, the treatment was to be the same in either case.<\/p>\n None might charge interest on any money loaned or given to the poor Israelite. And he could not avoid this provision by requiring repayment of more food than was loaned or given.<\/p>\n “Usury,” neshek, <\/strong>“biting, to exact, to lend upon usury.” The modern definition of usury is “the practice of lending money at a rate higher than the lawful rate; exorbitant interest paid on borrowed money.” However, the term originally denoted any interest charged on borrowed money.<\/p>\n The prohibition of usury applied only to an impoverished brother Israelite. It did not apply to lending money at interest to a foreigner, or to the wealthy, De 23:19, 20; Isa 24:2.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n TREATMENT OF THE POOR 25:3555 35<\/p>\n And if thy brother be waxed poor, and his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee.<\/p>\n 36<\/p>\n Take thou no interest of him or increase, but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.<\/p>\n 37<\/p>\n Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase.<\/p>\n 38<\/p>\n I am Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.<\/p>\n 39<\/p>\n And if thy brother be waxed poor with thee, and sell himself unto thee; thou shalt not make him to serve as a bondservant.<\/p>\n 40<\/p>\n As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee; he shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee:<\/p>\n 41<\/p>\n then shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.<\/p>\n 42<\/p>\n For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.<\/p>\n 43<\/p>\n Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God.<\/p>\n 44<\/p>\n And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou shalt have; of the nations that are round about you, of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.<\/p>\n 45<\/p>\n Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land: and they shall be your possession.<\/p>\n 46<\/p>\n And ye shall make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them shall ye take your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigor.<\/p>\n 47<\/p>\n And if a stranger or sojourner with thee be waxed rich, and thy brother be waxed poor beside him, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner with thee, or to the stock of the strangers family;<\/p>\n 48<\/p>\n after that he is sold he may be redeemed: one of his brethren may redeem him;<\/p>\n 49<\/p>\n or his uncle, or his uncles son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be waxed rich, he may redeem himself.<\/p>\n 50<\/p>\n And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he sold himself to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years; according to the time of a hired servant shall he be with him.<\/p>\n 51<\/p>\n If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.<\/p>\n 52<\/p>\n And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according unto his years shall he give back the price of his redemption.<\/p>\n 53<\/p>\n As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him: he shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight.<\/p>\n 54<\/p>\n And if he be not redeemed by these means, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his children with him.<\/p>\n 55<\/p>\n For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God.<\/p>\n THOUGHT QUESTIONS 25:3555<\/strong><\/p>\n 612.<\/p>\n A special type of poverty seems to be described in Lev. 25:35<\/span>. What is it? What is to be done?<\/p>\n 613.<\/p>\n What does the fear of God have to do with offering free board and room to our neighbor?<\/p>\n 614.<\/p>\n What is meant by the phrase, . . . nor give him thy victuals for increase?<\/p>\n 615.<\/p>\n God used His deliverance of Israel as a motivation for kindness and hospitality. How so?<\/p>\n 616.<\/p>\n Selling of ones self into slavery is one thing not discussed in Lev. 25:39<\/span>. What is discussed?<\/p>\n 617.<\/p>\n What circumstances could cause such a condition as that described in Lev. 25:39-40<\/span>?<\/p>\n 618.<\/p>\n Why insist that the servants and family return at the year of Jubilee? Cf. Lev. 25:42<\/span>.<\/p>\n 619.<\/p>\n If a master did rule over his servants with rigor what would happen to him?<\/p>\n 620.<\/p>\n Does God approve of slavery in Lev. 25:44<\/span> through 46? Discuss. (Notice the careful regulations for the continuance of this practice.)<\/p>\n 621.<\/p>\n Could we infer from Lev. 25:46<\/span> that Israel was permitted to rule over their slaves with rigor?<\/p>\n 622.<\/p>\n What good would money be to a slave? i.e. if an Israelite sold himself to a stranger or sojourner, what would he do with the money?<\/p>\n 623.<\/p>\n Why identify the possible redeemers as in Lev. 25:49<\/span>?<\/p>\n 624.<\/p>\n Once again the year of Jubilee controls the redemption. Explain.<\/p>\n 625.<\/p>\n Did the owner of the Hebrew slave have the right of life and death over him? Discuss. Cf. Lev. 25:53<\/span>.<\/p>\n 626.<\/p>\n There was no perpetual slavery among the Hebrews, but they could perpetually own slaves. Is this right? Discuss.<\/p>\n 627.<\/p>\n How does deliverance from Egyptian bondage relate to this section?<\/p>\n PARAPHRASE 25:3555<\/strong><\/p>\n If your brother becomes poor, you are responsible to help him; invite him to live with you as a guest in your home. Fear your God and let your brother live with you; and dont charge him interest on the money you lend him. Rememberno interest; and give him what he needs, at your cost: dont try to make a profit! For I, the Lord your God, brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. If a fellow Israelite becomes poor and sells himself to you, you must not treat him as an ordinary slave, but rather as a hired servant or as a guest; and he shall serve you only until the Year of Jubilee. At that time he can leave with his children, and return to his own family and possessions. For I brought you from the land of Egypt, and you are My servants; so you may not be sold as ordinary slaves, or treated harshly; fear your God. However, you may purchase slaves from the foreign nations living around you, and you may purchase the children of the foreigners living among you, even though they have been born in your land. They will be permanent slaves for you to pass on to your children after you; but your brothers, the people of Israel, shall not be treated so. If a foreigner living among you becomes rich, and an Israelite becomes poor and sells himself to the foreigner or to the foreigners family, he may be redeemed by one of his brothers, his uncle, nephew, or anyone else who is a near relative. He may also redeem himself if he can find the money. The price of his freedom shall be in proportion to the number of years left before the Year of Jubileewhatever it would cost to hire a servant for that number of years. If there are still many years until the Jubilee, he shall pay almost the amount he received when he sold himself; if the years have passed and only a few remain until the Jubilee, then he will repay only a small part of the amount he received when he sold himself. If he sells himself to a foreigner, the foreigner must treat him as a hired servant rather than as a slave or as property. If he has not been redeemed by the time the Year of Jubilee arrives, then he and his children shall be freed at that time. For the people of Israel are My servants; I brought them from the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.<\/p>\n COMMENT 25:3555<\/strong><\/p>\n Lev. 25:35-55<\/span> Again we are indebted to S. H. Kellogg for a splendid exposition of these verses:<\/p>\n The relation of the jubilee law to personal rights in the land having been thus determined and expounded, in the next place (Lev. 25:35-55<\/span>) is considered the application of the law to slavery. Quite naturally, this section begins (Lev. 25:35-37<\/span>) with a general injunction to assist and deal mercifully with any brother who has become poor. If thy brother be waxen poor, and his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee. Take thou no usury of him or increase; but fear thy God: that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give thy money upon usury, nor give him thy victuals for increase.<\/p>\n The evident object of this law is to prevent, as far as possible, that extreme of poverty which might compel a man to sell himself in order to live. Debt is a burden in any case, to a poor man especially; but debt is the heavier burden when to the original debt is added the constant payment of interest. Hence, not merely usury in the modern sense of excessive interest, but it is forbidden to claim or take any interest whatever from any Hebrew debtor. On the same principle, it is forbidden to take increase for food which may be lent to a poor brother; as when one lets a man have twenty bushels of wheat on condition that in due time he shall return for it twenty-two. This command is enforced (Lev. 25:38<\/span>) by reminding them from whom they have received what they have, and on what easy terms, as a gift; from their covenant God, who is Himself their security that by so doing they shall not lose: I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God. They need not therefore have recourse to the exaction of interest and increase from their poor brethren in order to make a living, but are to be merciful, even as Jehovah their God is merciful.<\/p>\n Even with the burdensomeness of debt lightened as above, it was yet possible that a man might be reduced to poverty so extreme that he should feel compelled to sell himself as a slave. Hence arises the question of slavery, and its relation to the law of the jubilee. Under this head two cases were possible: the first, where a man has sold himself to a fellow-Hebrew (Lev. 25:39-46<\/span>): and second, where a man had sold himself to a foreigner resident in the land (Lev. 25:47-55<\/span>).<\/p>\n With the Hebrews and all the neighboring peoples, slavery was, and had been from of old, a settled institution. Regarded simply as an abstract question of morals, it might seem as if the Lord might once for all have abolished it by an absolute prohibition; after the manner in which many modern reformers would deal with such evils as the liquor traffic, etc. But the Lord was wiser than many such. As had been remarked already, in connection with the question of concubinage, that law is not in every case the best which may be the best intrinsically and ideally. That law is the best which can be best enforced in the actual moral status of the people, and consequent condition of public opinion. So the Lord did not at once prohibit slavery; but He ordained laws which would restrict it, and modify and ameliorate the condition of the slave wherever slavery was permitted to exist; laws, moreover, which have had such an educational power as to have banished slavery from the Hebrew people.<\/p>\n In the first place, slavery, in the unqualified sense of the word, is allowed only in the case of non-Israelites. That it was permitted to hold these as bondmen is explicitly declared (Lev. 25:44-46<\/span>). It is, however, important, in order to form a correct idea of Hebrew slavery, to observe that, according to Exo. 21:16<\/span>, man-stealing was made a capital offence; and the law also carefully guarded from violence and tyranny on the part of the master the non-Israelite slave lawfully gotten, even decreeing his emancipation from his master in extreme cases of this kind (Exo. 21:20-21<\/span>; Exo. 21:26-27<\/span>).<\/p>\n With regard to the Hebrew bondman, the law recognizes no property of the master in his person; that a servant of Jehovah should be a slave of another servant of Jehovah is denied; because they are His servants, no other can own them (Lev. 25:42<\/span>; Lev. 25:55<\/span>). Thus, while the case is supposed (Lev. 25:39<\/span>) that a man through stress of poverty may sell himself to a fellow-Hebrew as a bondservant, the sale is held as affecting only the masters right to his service, but not to his person. Thou shalt not make him to serve as a bondservant: as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee.<\/p>\n Further, it is elsewhere provided (Exo. 21:2<\/span>) that in no case shall such sale hold valid for a longer time than six years; in the seventh year the man was to have the privilege of going out free for nothing. And in this chapter is added a further alleviation of the bondage (Lev. 25:40-41<\/span>): He shall serve with thee unto the year of jubilee: then shall he go out from thee, he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. For they are My servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.<\/p>\n That is, if it so happened that before the six years of his prescribed service had been completed the jubilee year came in, he was to be exempted from the obligation to service for the remainder of that period.<\/p>\n The remaining verses of this part of the law (Lev. 25:44-46<\/span>) provide that the Israelite may take to himself bondmen of the children of the strangers that sojourn among them; and that to such the law of the periodic release shall not be held to apply. Such are bondmen for ever. Ye shall make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them shall ye take your bondmen for ever.<\/p>\n It is to be borne in mind that even in such cases the law which commanded the kind treatment of all the strangers in the land (Lev. 19:33-34<\/span>) would apply; so that even where permanent slavery was allowed it was placed under humanising restriction.<\/p>\n In Lev. 25:47-55<\/span> is taken up, finally, the case where a poor Israelite should have sold himself as a slave to a foreigner resident in the land. In all such cases it is ordered that the owner of the man must recognize the right of redemption. That is, it was the privilege of the man himself, or of any of his near kindred, to buy him out of bondage. Compensation to the owner is, however, enjoined in such cases according to the number of the years remaining to the next jubilee, at which time he would be obliged to release him (Lev. 25:54<\/span>), whether redeemed or not. Thus we read (Lev. 25:50-52<\/span>): He shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he sold himself to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years; according to the time of an hired servant shall he be with him. If there be yet many years, according unto them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him; according unto his years shall he give back the price of his redemption. As a servant hired year by year shall he be with him.<\/p>\n Furthermore, it is commanded (Lev. 25:53<\/span>) that the owner of the Israelite, for so long time as he may remain in bondage, shall not rule over him with rigour; and by the addition of the words in thy sight it is intimated that God would hold the collective nation responsible for seeing that no oppression was exercised by any alien over any of their enslaved brethren. To which it should also be added, finally, that the regulations for the release of the slave carefully provided for the maintenance of the family relation. Families were not to be parted in the emancipation of the jubilee; the man who went out free was to take his children with him (Lev. 25:41<\/span>; Lev. 25:54<\/span>). In the case, however, where the wife had been given him by his master, she and her children remained in bondage after his emancipation in the seventh year; but of course only until she had reached her seventh year of service. But if the slave already had his wife when he became a slave, then she and their children went out with him in the seventh year (Exo. 21:3-4<\/span>). The contrast in the spirit of these laws with that of the institution of slavery as it formerly existed in The Southern States of America, and elsewhere in Christendom, is obvious.<\/p>\n These, then, were the regulations connected with the application of the ordinance of the jubilee year to rights of property, whether in real estate or in slaves. In respect to the cessation from the cultivation of the soil which was enjoined for the year, the law was essentially the same as that for the sabbatic year, except that, apparently, the right of property in the spontaneous produce of the land, which was in abeyance in the former case, was in so far recognized in the latter that each man was allowed to eat the increase of the jubilee year out of the field (Lev. 25:12<\/span>).<\/p>\n FACT QUESTIONS 25:3555<\/strong><\/p>\n 623.<\/p>\n What is the total subject of Lev. 25:35-55<\/span>? What is the subject of Lev. 25:35-37<\/span>?<\/p>\n 624.<\/p>\n What was the purpose of the provision of the law in Lev. 25:35-37<\/span>?<\/p>\n 625.<\/p>\n Why no interest at all upon what is given to a poor brother? What is meant by increase as in Lev. 25:36-37<\/span>?<\/p>\n 626.<\/p>\n Israel had been charged no interest by God on the gifts they received from Him. When? Where? What is the principle?<\/p>\n 627.<\/p>\n Two cases of slavery are to be considered. What are they?<\/p>\n 628.<\/p>\n Why not pass a law to forbid slavery? How was slavery banished from the Hebrew people?<\/p>\n 629.<\/p>\n Show how Exo. 21:16<\/span>; Exo. 21:20-21<\/span>; Exo. 21:26-27<\/span> relate to slavery.<\/p>\n 630.<\/p>\n When one Hebrew sold himself to another Hebrew he was yet not the property of his master. Explain why.<\/p>\n 631.<\/p>\n For how long would a Hebrew be held as a slave? i.e., what was the total time of his slavery? Cf. Exo. 21:2<\/span>.<\/p>\n 632.<\/p>\n There were exceptional cases when even this time was shortened. Explain.<\/p>\n 633.<\/p>\n When was permanent human slavery allowed? What were the restrictions on it?<\/p>\n (35) And if thy brother be waxen poor.<\/strong>This <\/strong>part of the jubile laws which relates to the manumission of the Israelites who through poverty are compelled to sell themselves as bondsmen (Lev. 25:39-55<\/span>) is introduced by a pathetic appeal to the benevolence of the people to bestow brotherly help to the poor (Lev. 25:35-38<\/span>).<\/p>\n And fallen in decay with thee.<\/strong>Literally, and his hand wavered with thee, <\/em>that is, when it is weak and can no longer render support, or gain a livelihood. As the laws of jubile guard the future interests of the Israelite who is driven by stress of poverty to sell his patrimony, the Lawgiver now points out the duties of each member of the community to the impoverished brother who has to wait till the year of jubile for the restoration of his property, but who in the meantime is unable to support himself.<\/p>\n Then thou shalt relieve him.<\/strong>Literally, thou shalt lay hold of him. <\/em>When his hand is thus trembling, it is the duty of every Israelite to support his weak hand, and enable it to gain a livelihood.<\/p>\n Though he be a stranger, or a sojourner.<\/strong>Better, as a stranger and a sojourner, <\/em>that is, he is not to be treated like an outcast because he has been compelled by poverty to sell his patrimony, but is to receive the same consideration which strangers and sojourners receive, who, like the unfortunate Israelite, have no landed property. (See Lev. 19:33-34<\/span>.)<\/p>\n MERCY TO THE POOR ENJOINED, Lev 25:35-43<\/span>.<\/p>\n 35<\/strong>. <\/strong> Thy brother <\/strong> Of the seed of Abraham. <\/p>\n Thou shalt relieve him <\/strong> The singular number here seems to signify an individual obligation to relieve the poor, though systematic relief by the commonwealth is by no means excluded. <\/p>\n That he may live <\/strong> Bare existence is not here intended, but a happy life. This explains the significance of the terms “life” and “eternal life.” The more abundant life which Jesus Christ came to inspire in the believer, (Joh 10:10<\/span>, note,) is fulness of joy. The annihilationists, whose fundamental error is that immortality is a gift of grace and not inherent in human nature, take their first false step in their definition of life as mere animate being, and not a blissful existence.<\/p>\n What The People of Israel’s Attitude Must Be Towards Their Brothers ( Lev 25:35-43<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n “Brothers”<\/strong> here means fellow-Israelites who got into financial difficulties, who were to be treated with especial loving concern. <\/p>\n They Must Assist The Recovery Of Their Brother Who Falls On Hard Times Without Seeking To Gain From Him ( Lev 25:35-38<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n Lev 25:35<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n “And if your brother has grown poor, and his hand fail with you, then you shall uphold him. As a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with you.” <\/p>\n If a fellow-Israelite grew poor and failed financially among them for one reason or another, he was to be ‘upheld’. He must be shown the same loving concern as a resident alien or foreigner (compare Lev 19:34<\/span>), whom the laws of hospitality required should be welcomed (although not always carried out the principle was firm). He must not be downgraded and made to feel a failure. He must be given opportunities to work and to earn a living. <\/p>\n Lev 25:36-37<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “Take no interest of him or increase, but fear your God; that your brother may live with you. You shall not give him your money on interest, nor give him your victuals for increase.” <\/p>\n If money was lent to him, as it should be if he needed it (Deu 15:8<\/span>), then interest must not be charged. The loan must not be reduced in any way. And in fact at the end of the seven years relief period described in Deu 15:1-2<\/span>, the loan was to be written off (Deu 15:2<\/span>). If victuals were given to him no profit must be made out of them. No additional charge must be made. They must fear their God, the great Deliverer Who stooped to deliver them all from hardship in Egypt when they were all failing financially, and give the fellow-Israelite every opportunity for a recovery. <\/p>\n The fact that the seventh year of release resulted in loans being written off was not, however, to prevent lending. They were to lend out of compassion. Compare here Deuteronomy 7-11, ‘If there be with you a poor man, one of your brethren, within any of your gates in your land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother; but you shall surely open your hand to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need of what he wants. Beware that there be not a base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cry to Yahweh against you, and it be sin to you. You shall surely give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work, and in all that you put your hand to. For the poor will never cease out of the land. Therefore I command you, saying, You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor, in your land.’ <\/p>\n Jesus put it this way, ‘Give to him who asks of you, and from him who would borrow from you, do not turn away’ (Mat 5:42<\/span>), and again ‘let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven’ (Mat 5:16<\/span>). The point is not that we should be soft touches but that we should be concerned enough to help those in real need. Giving a drunkard or a drug addict a handout is not a kindness, taking them for a meal is. <\/p>\n Lev 25:38<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.” <\/p>\n And this the reason why they should behave in this way was because they recognised that what they were doing they did under the eye of Yahweh their God, Who brought them out of the land of Egypt with the purpose of giving them the land of Canaan. He would not be charging them interest or gaining any profit out of them. He was revealing His love and compassion towards them. Thus they must do the same for their fellow-Israelites in accordance with His covenant. For He is their covenant God. <\/p>\n They Must Not Treat Fellow-Israelites As Bondservants ( Lev 25:39-43<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/strong> <\/p>\n Lev 25:39<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “And if your brother be grown poor with you, and sell himself to you, you shall not make him to serve as a bondservant.” <\/p>\n In days when there was no state aid a man could through bad luck or illness or violence easily find that he had to sell his land, and after a time be left with little money to keep his family alive. He could reach such a stage that his only option was to sell himself as a bondservant so as to provide for his wife and children. If that happened to a fellow-Israelite he was not to be treated as a bondservant. He should simply be taken into service. Note that only he could be taken into service, not his family. <\/p>\n Lev 25:40<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “As a hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with you. He shall serve with you to the year of yubile,” <\/p>\n For he should be treated in the same way as a hired-servant or a resident alien, as a free man while enjoying the security enjoyed by a bondservant, until at the year of Yubile he would receive back his land. <\/p>\n Lev 25:41<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “Then shall he go out from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers shall he return.” <\/p>\n Once the year of Yubile came he would be free to go back to his land, once more totally free, together with his wife and children, (the wife as ever always assumed as part of himself). They were not to be put in bondservice. <\/p>\n The same principle applies between Christians. We should treat fellow-Christians well, whether we employ them, or are responsible for them, remembering that they are our brothers and God’s men. But they too should not take advantage of the situation. Responsibility lies on both sides. <\/p>\n Lev 25:42<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.” <\/p>\n And the reason that fellow-Israelites should not be treated as bondservants was that they were of those whom Yahweh had delivered from bondage. He had brought them from the land of Egypt. He had declared them free, therefore they could never again be put in bondage while the covenant remained firm. <\/p>\n Lev 25:43<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “You shall not rule over him with rigor, but shall fear your God.” <\/p>\n Thus their Israelite masters were not to treat them roughly or severely as they had all been treated in Egypt, but as fellow members of the covenant, because as masters they feared God. <\/p>\n Lev 25:35<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>And if thy brother be waxen poor<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> The two great benefits of the year of jubilee were, a restoration to possessions and to freedom, Lev 25:10<\/span>. Such particulars as respect possessions being settled, the case of freedom, or the release of servants and slaves, comes next to be considered: wherein the benevolence of the divine Lawgiver is very observable, inculcating upon the people the utmost compassion and charity towards their brethren in decay, to proselytes and strangers, as well as to native Jews: for so the sacred writer himself here explains the word brother.<\/em> <\/p>\n Lev 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: [yea, though he be] a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.<\/p>\n Ver. 35. That he may live with thee,<\/strong> ] i.e., <\/em> Live in good fashion; for a necessitous life is a lifeless life. Thus shall ye say to him that liveth. 1Sa 25:6 So Joh 4:50<\/span> , “Thy son liveth.”<\/p>\n fallen in decay = “his hands have become shaky” or become feeble. <\/p>\n Freedom in the Year of Jubilee <\/p>\n Lev 25:35-55<\/p>\n If a man, through misfortune, were forced to sell himself into serfdom to meet his debts, he could not be legally retained after the trumpet had sounded; but was free to return to his home and family. His rich neighbor, during the time of his distress, was not to exact usury on any loan that he might make, but must give him food, lodging, and help, without charge. The poor man was to be treated not as a slave, but as a hired servant and fellow-citizen whose engagement was of a temporary character, and who might be redeemed at any time before the jubilee, through friendly interposition of a relative.<\/p>\n Nothing in modern legislation equals the jubilee in the interests of religion, social order, and liberty. Is it to be believed that when we, in our various distresses, go to our Heavenly Father, we shall fare any worse than the poor peasant did at the hands of his rich neighbor? And in Jesus have we not one nigh of kin who will redeem us at all costs?<\/p>\n thy brother: Lev 25:25, Deu 15:7, Deu 15:8, Pro 14:20, Pro 14:21, Pro 17:5, Pro 19:17, Mar 14:7, Joh 12:8, 2Co 8:9, Jam 2:5, Jam 2:6 <\/p>\n fallen in decay: Heb. his hand faileth <\/p>\n then: Psa 37:26, Psa 41:1, Psa 112:5, Psa 112:9, Pro 14:31, Luk 6:35, Act 11:29, Rom 12:13, Rom 12:18, Rom 12:20, 2Co 9:1, 2Co 9:12-15, Gal 2:10, 1Jo 3:17 <\/p>\n relieve: Heb. strengthen <\/p>\n a stranger: Lev 19:34, Exo 23:9, Deu 10:18, Deu 10:19, Mat 25:35, Heb 13:2 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Exo 22:21 – vex a stranger Exo 22:25 – General Lev 25:48 – General Deu 23:19 – General Neh 5:1 – their brethren Neh 5:3 – mortgaged Psa 15:5 – putteth Pro 29:13 – meet Eze 18:8 – hath not Eze 22:12 – thou hast 1Ti 5:10 – if she have relieved<\/p>\n 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and {r} fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: [yea, though he be] a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.<\/p>\n (r) In Hebrew it is, if his hand shake: meaning if he stretch forth his hand for help as one in misery.<\/p>\n The effects of the year on the personal freedom of the Israelites 25:35-55<\/span><\/p>\n The Israelites were not to exploit one another (Lev 25:35-38). Specifically they were not to charge one another interest on loans (Lev 25:37; cf. Exo 22:25; Deu 23:19-20). This policy would have helped a poor farmer to buy enough seed for the next year. This law was evidently unique among the ancient Near Eastern nations, though not among smaller tribal groups. [Note: See Edward Neufeld, "The Prohibitions Against Loans at Interest in Ancient Hebrew Laws," Hebrew Union College Annual 26 (1955):355-412.] <\/span><\/p>\n When poor Israelites sold themselves as servants to wealthier Israelites, their masters were to treat them as brothers and not as slaves (Lev 25:39-43).<\/p>\n ". . . the original law in the Book of the Covenant [Exo 21:1-6 and Deu 15:12-18] had to do with the ’Hebrew’ in the social, not ethnic sense, i.e., with the landless man who survived by selling his services to an Israelite household. Lev 25:39 ff., by contrast, deals with the man who is an Israelite landholder but who has been forced by poverty to mortgage it and then to sell his family and himself into the service of a fellow-Israelite." [Note: Christopher Wright, "What Happened in Israel Every Seven Years?" Evangelical Quarterly 56:3 (October 1984):196.] <\/span><\/p>\n God permitted the Israelites to own slaves from other nations (Lev 25:44-46). That they were not to mistreat them goes without saying. Slavery in itself, as the Mosaic Law regulated it, did not violate basic human rights, but the abuse of slaves did.<\/p>\n "In the first place, for one people or person to enslave another is, by that very act, to claim the other as one’s own<\/span>; it is in a fundamental sense to claim another’s life as belonging<\/span> to oneself. Such a claim, however, flies in the face of the biblical story that we have heard thus far. If the creation narratives of Genesis tell us anything, they tell us that the sovereign source and lord of life is God-and God alone. It is in just that sense that to God-and God alone-all life, ’the work of his hands,’ ultimately rightly belongs. Therefore, from the standpoint of these biblical narratives, anyone besides God laying such ultimate claims to another’s life would in effect be arrogating to oneself another’s prerogatives. In essence, such a one would be making the most presumptuous claim any human being could make-the claim to be God." [Note: Michael Goldberg, "Expository Articles: Exodus 1:13-14," Interpretation 37:4 (October 1983):390-91.] <\/span><\/p>\n Israelites could also buy back (redeem) their countrymen who had sold themselves as slaves to non-Israelites who were living in the land (Lev 25:47-55). An Israelite slave could also buy his own freedom. In these cases the Israelites were to calculate the cost of redemption in view of the approaching year of jubilee when all slaves in the land went free anyway.<\/p>\n "The jubilee release does not apply to foreign slaves (Lev 25:44-46). A theological reason underlies this discrimination: God redeemed his people from Egyptian slavery, to become his slaves (Lev 25:42; Lev 25:55). It is unfitting, therefore, that an Israelite should be resold into slavery, especially to a foreigner (cf. Rom 6:15-22; Gal 4:8-9; Gal 5:1). The jubilee law is thus a guarantee that no Israelite will be reduced to that status again, and it is a celebration of the great redemption when God brought Israel out of Egypt, so that he might be their God and they should be his people (Lev 25:38; Lev 25:42; Lev 25:55; cf. Exo 19:4-6)." [Note: Wenham, The Book . . ., pp. 322-23.] <\/span><\/p>\n The provision of redemption by a kinsman (Lev 25:47-55) is a very important legal point in the Book of Ruth (cf. also Jer 32:7-15). Boaz fulfilled the responsibility of a kinsman redeemer by buying Mahlon’s land for Ruth. Furthermore he fulfilled the duty of a levir by marrying Ruth. [Note: See Mike Mitchell, "The Go’el: Kinsman Redeemer," Biblical Illustrator 13:1 (Fall 1986):13-15.] <\/span><\/p>\n The system of land ownership in Israel prevented complete capitalism or complete socialism economically. There was a balance of state (theocratic) ownership and private ownership.<\/p>\n We who live under the New Covenant also have a promise from God that if we put His will first He will provide for our physical needs (Mat 6:25-33). [Note: See North, pp. 213-31, for additional lessons regarding social justice, social worship, personal virtues, and messianic typology that Christians may learn from Israel’s jubilee legislation.] <\/span><\/p>\n "The acceptance of God’s sovereignty over his people and all their possessions leads to the magnanimous and compassionate treatment of the poor and the destitute, because at the end of the age everyone will be released from bondage." [Note: Ross, p. 463.] <\/span><\/p>\n And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: [yea, though he be] a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. 35. be waxen poor ] See on Lev 25:25. his hand fail with thee ] i.e. if he lose his power of … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 25:35”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
TEXT 25:3555<\/strong><\/p>\nFuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"