“ ‘If your brother has become poor, and his hand can’t support himself among you, then you shall uphold him. He shall live with you like an alien and a temporary resident. Take no interest from him or profit; but fear your God, that your brother may live among you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
Parallel Translations
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“ ‘If your brother has become poor, and his hand can’t support himself among you, then you shall uphold him. He shall live with you like an alien and a temporary resident.
Take no interest from him or profit; but fear your God, that your brother may live among you.
You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.
I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
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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.
Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
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And if thy brother be waxen poor, and his means fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a settler shall he live with thee.
Take thou no interest of him or increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase.
I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (49)
- Exodus 22:25 (v36) “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be to him as a creditor. You shall not charge him interest.
- Deuteronomy 15:7-8 (v35) If a poor man, one of your brothers, is with you within any of your gates in your land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not…
- Leviticus 11:45 (v38) For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
- Deuteronomy 23:19-20 (v36) You shall not lend on interest to your brother: interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest. You may…
- Ezekiel 18:8 (v36) he who hasn’t lent to them with interest, hasn’t taken any increase from them, who has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true…
Show all 49 cross-references
- Acts 11:29 (v35) As any of the disciples had plenty, each determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea;
- Exodus 20:2 (v38) “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
- Exodus 23:9 (v35) “You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- Leviticus 19:34 (v35) The stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you…
- Leviticus 25:17 (v36) You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am Yahweh your God.
- Leviticus 25:25 (v35) “ ‘If your brother becomes poor, and sells some of his possessions, then his kinsman who is next to him shall come, and redeem that which…
- Numbers 15:41 (v38) I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am Yahweh your God.”
- Deuteronomy 10:18-19 (v35) He executes justice for the fatherless and widow and loves the foreigner in giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the foreigner, for…
- Ezekiel 18:13 (v36) has lent with interest, and has taken increase from the poor; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations. He…
- Ezekiel 18:17 (v36) who has withdrawn his hand from the poor, who hasn’t received interest or increase, has executed my ordinances, has walked in my statutes;…
- Luke 6:35 (v35) But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most…
- Genesis 17:7 (v38) I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to…
- Leviticus 22:32-33 (v38) You shall not profane my holy name, but I will be made holy among the children of Israel. I am Yahweh who makes you holy, who brought you…
- Deuteronomy 24:14-15 (v35) You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your…
- Nehemiah 5:7-10 (v36) Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, “You exact usury, everyone of his brother.” I…
- Nehemiah 5:15 (v36) But the former governors who were before me were supported by the people, and took bread and wine from them, plus forty shekels of silver;…
- Psalms 15:5 (v36) he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken.
- Psalms 37:26 (v35) All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed.
- Psalms 41:1 (v35) Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.
- Psalms 112:5 (v35) It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment.
- Psalms 112:9 (v35) He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor.
- Proverbs 14:31 (v35) He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.
- Proverbs 28:8 (v36) He who increases his wealth by excessive interest gathers it for one who has pity on the poor.
- Jeremiah 31:1 (v38) “At that time,” says Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
- Jeremiah 31:33 (v38) “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward…
- Jeremiah 32:38 (v38) Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.
- Ezekiel 22:12 (v36) In you have they taken bribes to shed blood. You have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by…
- Hebrews 11:16 (v38) But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for he has…
- 1 John 3:17 (v35) But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, then closes his heart of compassion against him, how does God’s love remain…
- Proverbs 14:20-21 (v35) The poor person is shunned even by his own neighbor, but the rich person has many friends. He who despises his neighbor sins, but he who…
- Proverbs 17:5 (v35) Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
- Proverbs 19:17 (v35) He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.
- Matthew 25:35 (v35) for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in.
- Mark 14:7 (v35) For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want to, you can do them good; but you will not always have me.
- John 12:8 (v35) For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
- Romans 12:13 (v35) contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.
- Romans 12:18 (v35) If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.
- Romans 12:20 (v35) Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 (v35) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty…
- 2 Corinthians 9:1 (v35) It is indeed unnecessary for me to write to you concerning the service to the saints,
- 2 Corinthians 9:12-15 (v35) For this service of giving that you perform not only makes up for lack among the saints, but abounds also through much giving of thanks to…
- Galatians 2:10 (v35) They only asked us to remember the poor—which very thing I was also zealous to do.
- Hebrews 13:2 (v35) Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it.
- James 2:5-6 (v35) Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v35 In Hebrew it is, if his hand shake: meaning,…
In Hebrew it is, if his hand shake: meaning, if he stretch forth his hand for help as one in misery.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv35, 36, 38 Lev 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor,…
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.
Ver. 35. That he may live with thee,] i.e., 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, "Thy son liveth."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv35–36 Fallen in decay, Heb. his hand wavereth, of faileth
Fallen in decay, Heb. his hand wavereth, of faileth
or is decayed so that he hath not power to get or keep wealth, as the phrase is, Deu 8:18; as on the contrary, when a man is able, his hand is said to attain and find sufficiency, as here above, Lev 25:26.
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Relieve him, Heb. strengthen him, comfort his heart, and strengthen his hand.
A sojourner; understand it of proselytes only, for of other strangers they were permitted to take usury, Deu 23:20.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv35–38 And if thy brother be waxen poor,.... An Israelite,…
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" (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:
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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.
(p) "et nutaverit manus ejus", Montanus, Vatablus, Fagius; "vacillabit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv35–36 A sojourner - Understand it of proselytes only, for…
A sojourner - Understand it of proselytes only, for of other strangers they were permitted to take usury, Deut. xxiii, 20.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v36 Verse 36. Take thou no usury of him] Usury,…
Verse 36. Take thou no usury of him] Usury, at present, signifies unlawful interest for money. Properly, it means the reward or compensation given for the use of a thing, but is principally spoken of money. For the definition of the original term, See Clarke on Ex 22:25.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v36 Lev 25:36. Take no usury of him — That…
Lev 25:36. Take no usury of him — That is, of thy brother, whether he be Israelite or proselyte. Or increase — All kinds of usury are in this case forbidden, whether of money, or of victuals, or of any thing that is commonly lent by one man to another upon usury, or upon condition of receiving the thing lent with advantage and overplus. If one borrow in his necessity, there can be no doubt this law is binding still. But it cannot be thought to bind where money is borrowed for purchase of lands, trade, or other improvements. For there it is reasonable that the lender should share with the borrower in the profit.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv35, 37, 38 Rather, And if thy brother (an Israelite) becomes poor…
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 note.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v35 And thou. Hebrew, "thou shalt receive him: and of…
And thou. Hebrew, "thou shalt receive him: and of the stranger....(ver. 36,) take no usury." There are two precepts; to relieve those in distress, and not to injury any one. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v35 if thy brother be waxen poor, . . .…
if thy brother be waxen poor, . . . relieve him--This was a most benevolent provision for the poor and unfortunate, designed to aid them or alleviate the evils of their condition. Whether a native Israelite or a mere sojourner, his richer neighbor was required to give him food, lodging, and a supply of money without usury. Usury was severely condemned (Psa 15:5; Eze 18:8, Eze 18:17), but the prohibition cannot be considered as applicable to the modern practice of men in business, borrowing and lending at legal rates of interest.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv35–38 MERCY TO THE POOR ENJOINED, Lev_25:35-43.
MERCY TO THE POOR ENJOINED, Lev_25:35-43.
35. Thy brother — Of the seed of Abraham.
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Thou shalt relieve him — 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.
That he may live — 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, 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.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv35–37 35. be waxen poor] See on Lev_25:25.
35. be waxen poor] See on Lev_25:25.
his hand fail with thee] i.e. if he lose his power of self-support by personal effort, and thou art able as a neighbour to help him.
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uphold] The text gives the literal sense of the Heb. verb, and the mg., relieve, its application in this context.
as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee] 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; Lev_25:47.
35–38. Prohibition of usury in the case of a poor Israelite (H with perhaps a slight admixture of P)
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv35–38 (35) And if thy brother be waxen poor.—This part…
(35) 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 (Lev_25:39-55) is introduced by a pathetic appeal to the benevolence of the people to bestow brotherly help to the poor (Lev_25:35-38).
And fallen in decay with thee.—Literally, and his hand wavered with thee, 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.
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Then thou shalt relieve him.—Literally, thou shalt lay hold of him. 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.
Though he be a stranger, or a sojourner.—Better, as a stranger and a sojourner, 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.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v35 Vers. 35-38. Slavery. It is presumed that no Hebrew…
Vers. 35-38. Slavery. It is presumed that no Hebrew will become a slave except on the pressure of poverty, and this poverty his brethren are commanded to relieve; but foreseeing that either want of charity on the part of the rich or unthrift on the part of the poor would certainly bring about slavery, the legislator makes regulations so as to soften its character as far as possible. The literal translation of verse 35 is as follows: If thy brother becomes poor, and his hand faileth by thee, thou shalt lay hold of him; a stranger or a sojourner that he may live with thee. The translation of the latter clause adopted by the Authorized Version, yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee, makes the duty of giving charitable support and loans of money to apply to the case of the stranger and sojourner as well as of the Israelite. The other and more probable rendering confines its application to native Israelites. If thy brother becomes poor, and his hand faileth, thou shalt support him as a stranger or a sojourner, that is, treat him with the forbearance shown to resident foreigners, to whose state he had reduced himself by the loss of his land. The command in verse 36, Take thou no usury of him, or increase, does not bear upon the general question of taking interest for money when lent to wealthy men or companies for business purposes. It simply forbids the taking of interest or increase of a brother Israelite who had become poor. The history of Rome shows how much cruelty and revolution such an injunction may have prevented. The words, or increase, added to usury, forbid the exaction of any greater quantity of food or clothing (a method of evading the law against usury) than that which had been lent. The injunction was transgressed in the time of Nehemiah, when "he rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother.... Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer". (Neh_5:7, Neh_5:8)
Vers. 35-55. The power of slavery was undermined, not at once destroyed, by the Bible.
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I IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. It is accepted as a fact, not denounced or approved, but recognized and gradually ameliorated.
1. Hebrew slaves are not to be treated with rigour (verses 43, 53), but as hired servants. How different from the state of slaves in the workshops of Greece and Rome!
2. In the ease of Hebrew slaves, the duration of slavery was not to be perpetual. At the end of six years every slave was to be restored to liberty, and at the end of fifty years at the utmost he was to be replaced in a social position which might equal his master"s (verses 28, 54).
II IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. It is still accepted as a fact. But:
1. A principle is laid down, which, like leaven leavening the whole lump, could not but cause its destruction. "Ye masters... your Master also" (or, as it would be better translated, "your and their Master") "is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him". (Eph_6:9) "Ye call me Master and Lord: and say ye well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another"s feet. (For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you" Joh_13:13-15) "Art thou called being a servant (slave)? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant (slave), is the Lord"s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ"s servant (slave)". (1Co_7:21, 1Co_7:22) "There is neither... bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all". (Col_3:11)
2. An example is given. St. Paul thus speaks of Onesimus, the runaway slave, now converted to Christianity: "I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:... thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels.... For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; not now as a servant (slave), but above a servant (slave), a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself". (Phm_1:10-17) Contrast the feeling entertained contemporaneously towards slaves in the Roman Empire. "Their growing power was sometimes restrained by legalized murder; they were sold without remorse; they were tortured and beaten and crucified without pity. Even Cicero apologizes to Atticus for being affected by the death of his slave" (Wordsworth, "Church History," chapter 23).
III TEACHING IN THE SECOND CENTURY. "We ought," says Clement of Alexandria, "to treat our slaves as ourselves. They are men as we are; and there is the same God of bond and free; and we ought not to punish our brethren when they sin, but to reprove them. Whatever we do to the lowest and meanest of Christ"s brethren, we do to him" ("Paedag.," page 307, as quoted by Wordsworth).
IV SLOW BUT CERTAIN EXTINCTION OF SLAVERY. There was a long battle to be fought between the selfish and the Christian instinct; but slavery could not coexist with Christianity, and wherever Christianity now stretches, slavery, though it may still linger here and there, is condemned by public sentiment and doomed to extinction.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-7The fallow year.
Cf. Deu_31:10-13. We have here a ceremonial appendix to the fourth commandment. The land must have its sabbath as well as man, and so every seventh year was to be fallow year for the ground. The necessity of giving land rest is recognized still in agriculture. Continual cropping impoverishes a soil, and reduces it eventually to barrenness. This was one of the grave charges made by political economists against the slavery of North America, that, in consequence of the inefficiency of slave labour, the land was subjected to a monotonous process of cropping, and in consequence killed. The finest virgin soil was being reduced to wilderness, for the land was allowed neither variety nor rest. This arrangement in Israel, therefore, was economically most wise. But "the sabbath of the fields" had a wider basis than this mere natural one. It was attended by most important religious results.
I THE FALLOW YEAR PROCLAIMED THAT THE LAND BELONGED TO THE LORD. For if the fourth commandment really implies that the people, called from their own work to do God"s work on God"s day, belong to him, and so are under obligation to obey this call, in the very same way the claim that the land should rest proclaims that the land is his. What was thus claimed in Canaan is only part of a still wider claim; for "the earth is the Lord"s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods". (Psa_24:1, Psa_24:2) The demand for "a sabbath of rest unto the land" is for "a sabbath for the Lord." He thus stamps the land as his, and had we the clear vision, we might see the "sign manual" of the Lord upon all the world.
II THE FALLOW YEAR CHANGED AGRICULTURAL INTO PASTORAL LIFE. The people of necessity gave greater attention to the rearing and the tending of cattle. It is evident from verse 7 that the care of the cattle and of the beasts of the field was specially contemplated by the arrangement. National life would become in consequence more idyllic. A wholesome change would thus be introduced every seventh year, and the people would morally be improved. The population would become more and more humane, and the whole country profit thereby.
Now, in pastoral countries there is of necessity more time for pensive meditation and thought. Pastoral life is in the interests of reflection. It is a providential aid thereto. Hence we see in the sabbatic year the condition supplied for greater thoughtfulness and reflection. If we compare the blank intellectual condition of agricultural labourers, ground down by ceaseless toil, with the thoughtful, poetic mood often met with among shepherds, we can have no difficulty in recognizing the great moral importance of a pastoral year.
III THE FALLOW YEAR WAS A FINE EXERCISE FOR THE NATIONAL FAITH, For men would naturally ask, "What shall we eat the seventh year?" (verse 20). And to this the Lord made answer, "Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years" (verse 21). For a nation to prepare for this fallow year required great faith in God. The sixth year was a year of "great expectations;" they looked to God to provide for the coming year of rest, and thus were drawn up to an exercise of faith and hope of the most profitable description. Amid our multiplied methods of livelihood we are in danger of losing sight of the Divine hand altogether, and of living a low life of sight. And yet, by periodic returns of hard times and difficulties, the Lord is still calling on us for faith in him, to enable us to serve him. He still desires us to exercise this faith in him, that none of us shall ever suffer real loss in seeking to serve him. "So those who abstain from their labours upon the sabbath," says an old writer in this connection, "it shall never impoverish them, for the blessing of God upon the week-days shall supply all their wants; so the Lord promised, when they shall go up to Jerusalem to serve him at their feasts, that he would keep their land from the incursion of their enemies. (Exo_34:24) We see also, (Jos_5:1, Jos_5:2) when they were circumcised, the Lord struck such a fear and terror into the hearts of the Canaanites, that they durst not touch them, as Simeon and Levi killed the Shechemites when they were newly circumcised. Never man yet got hurt in the service of God; he shall still find the Lord"s protecting hand and blessing in his service.
IV THE FALLOW YEAR BROUGHT INTO PROMINENCE THE GREAT TRUTH ABOUT THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN. Although the land was to lie fallow, it gave much in the way of spontaneous growth. This became public and common property, so that servant, and maid, and hired servant, and stranger, as well as the rightful owner, "had all things common." In fact, there was, to adopt the modern phraseology, a "commune" established in Canaan so far as the produce of the sabbatic year was concerned. Was this not a recognition of the brotherhood of man, and of the obligation to make some provision for poorer brethren? It was thus the year of charity, when all alike sat at the table of the Divine bounty, and realized thereat their common relation.
It was a similar outcome of the religious spirit which occurred at Pentecost. Then "the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common". (Act_4:32) And although the Christian commune did not work well, but broke down speedily, it showed the true tendency of inspired men. The obligation under which they live to do their best for all about them, especially for those of the household of faith, is cheerfully and gladly recognized. And possibly, in the perfect world and sabbath of the spirit, this community of goods will be found workable, the selfish elements which now cause friction having entirely disappeared.
V THE FALLOW YEAR AFFORDED SPECIAL FACILITIES FOR PROMOTING NATIONAL EDUCATION. It is evident from Deu_31:10-13 that the sabbatic year was to be a season of special study of the Law. The Feast of Tabernacles with which it began was to be devoted to the public reading of it. Not only the adults, male and female, but also the children, were to be instructed in it. So that the national desire might very properly find its expression in the words of the Psalm, (Psa_119:19) which celebrates the Divine Law, "I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me." A pilgrim people in extemporized tents applied themselves in the sabbatic year to the study of God"s commandments.
Thus national education was promoted, and this education was of such a character that "the revival of religion" must have resulted if the sabbatic years had been faithfully kept. It would seem from such a passage as Jer_34:14, however, that Israel was not careful about the sabbatic year, and the result was judgment without mercy. (Jer_34:17-22) The institution was most valuable, morally and spiritually, but it was disregarded by an apostatizing people, who came in consequence into an inheritance of judgment rather than of blessing. R.M.E.
Vers. 35-55. Justice and mercy.
The equity of the Mosaic laws has striking illustrations in the words now under review. We see it
I IN THE KINDNESS ENJOINED TOWARDS THE POOR.
1. Their necessities are to be relieved.
(1) Though they be strangers. The stranger "with" the Hebrew, and so, subject to his law, is recognized as a brother (see verses 35, 36).
(2) Usury is not to be taken from the poor. "That thy brother may live." Rights of property must not override those of existence. (Mat_6:25) "That thy brother may live with thee." The hands of the poor are as necessary to the rich as is the wealth of the rich to the poor.
2. The reasons for mercy are edifying.
(1) "I am the Lord your God." I stand in covenant relationship to you. I have a right to require this of thee.
(2) I "brought thee out of the land of Egypt." The remembrance of thy miseries in Egypt should influence thee to consider those of the poor stranger by thee.
(3) I "gave you the land of Canaan." Gratitude to me should move thee. I can yet more gloriously reward thy mercy in giving thee inheritance in the heavenly Canaan.
II IN THE KINDNESS ENJOINED TOWARDS THE SLAVE.
1. The Hebrew must show it.
(1) Not to his brother only, but also towards the stranger.
(2) Yet there is a difference. The Hebrew slave goes out in the jubilee; but the power of a Hebrew master over the stranger is not then removed. This law prefigured the dominion which the righteous will have over the wicked in the morning, viz. of the resurrection. (see Psa_49:14)
(3) The stranger, by becoming a proselyte, might claim the privilege of the Hebrew. So may the wicked, by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus, become a Christian, and enjoy the privileges of the righteous.
2. The stranger must show it.
(1) The stranger is presumed to be not so merciful as the Hebrew. Privileges of grace should make men generous.
(2) The cruelty of the wicked must be restrained by the laws of the good.
III IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE RANSOM PRICE. In this determination:
1. The rate of wages is an element. The principles of hired service should be remembered by masters in the treatment of slaves.
2. This rate was then multiplied into the years prospective to the jubilee.
(1) This determination of the rate was in favour of the slave; for if the law had not settled it, then it must be settled by agreement, in which case the master would be in a position to drive a hard bargain to the prejudice of the slave. Law should, for the same reason, control the claims of landlords where they prejudice the rights of their tenantry.
(2) In this law there is equity also with respect to the master. Any difference in the value to him of a slave over that of a hired servant is compensated in the risk of life, in which, after the redemption, he has now no pecuniary concern.
IV IN THE DIFFERENCE OF THE LAW RELATING TO A COUNTRY HOUSE AS COMPARED WITH A HOUSE IN A WALLED CITY.
1. The country house returned to the owner of the land.
(1) This house is presumed to be simply a residence. The inconvenience of removal of residence is not formidable.
(2) To a Christian the removal of residence from this world should not be formidable.
2. The house in the walled city did not so return.
(1) Such a house may be presumed to be a place of business. In this case, establishment in a locality is often of great importance. Landlords should consider the interests of their tenants as well as their own.
(2) But within the first twelve months after the sale of a house in a walled city, the owner bad a power of redemption. This was before the business could be said to be established. It gave the seller an opportunity to repent of a bargain which may have been forced upon him by the pressure of a temporary necessity.
(3) What a mercy that the sinner has space for repentance! J.A.M.
Vers. 35-55. The law of personal servitude.
I GENERAL PRINCIPLE, love of our neighbour. Servitude admitted in that early stage of the world, but limited and modified, and its extinction provided for in that principle of love and compassion which was seized and exalted by the gospel. God"s method to subdue and extinguish effects of man"s fall by the vital force of higher motive. Distinction between strangers and fellow-Israelite preserved the covenant, therefore the religion which taught love and saved the stranger.
II LESSON OF UNSELFISHNESS AND UNWORLDLINESS. All servants of the Lord. All property his. The underlying facts of redemption, "bought with a price, therefore glorify God," etc. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v35 And if thy brother be waxen poor.
Lev_25:35
And if thy brother be waxen poor.
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Jewish benevolence
Mr. William Gilbert, describing in Good Words the cases of mendicancy which he saw appear before the Jewish Board of Guardians, tells of a Prussian Jew, quite blind, who was 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 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.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v36 (See Scofield "Psa 19:9")
fear
(See Scofield "Psa 19:9")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v35 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses what the people must do.
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Do not charge him interest
"Do not make him pay you back more than what you lend him"
translationWords
alien
life
honor
God
brother
profit
Yahweh
Egypt
Canaan
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv35, 36, 38 25:35 Impoverished Israelites first looked to family for help…
25:35 Impoverished Israelites first looked to family for help (see study note on 25:25). Second, they relied on the community, which was commanded to help them rather than exploit their vulnerability.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.