Commentary on Leviticus, Book · Chapter 25
CHAP. XXV.
Ver. 1. Verſe 1 AND the LORD ſpake unto Moſes in Mount Sinai, ſaying.] That is, in the Wilderneſs of Sinai, I Numb. 1. For they ſtayed almoſt a whole year not far from this Mountain; from whence they did not remove till the twentieth day of the ſecond Month of the ſecond year after their coming out of Egypt. See X Numb. 11, 12. And thus the Hebrew Particle Beth is often uſed for by or near; as in XXXVII Gen. 13. V Joſh. 13. and we find this expreſſion again in the end of the next Chapter, and in the concluſion of this Book. Which ſhows that all here related was delivered to Moſes in the firſt month of the ſecond year after their coming out of Egypt, immediately after the Tabernacle was ſet up, XL Exod. 17.
Ver. 2. Verſe 2 Speak unto the Children of Iſrael, and ſay unto them.] For what follows was of univerſal concernment.
When ye come into the land which I give you.] This Law, though delivered before they left Mount Sinai, could not take place till they came into Canaan.
Then ſhall the land keep a Sabbath.] Reſt from being tilled, or ſowen, &c. See XXIII Exod. 11.
Ʋnto the LORD.] In obedience to him; and in honour of him. Some have underſtood the foregoing words, When ye ſhall come into the Land which I give you, as if they were to begin the Sabbatical year as ſoon as they entred into Canaan: which is very abſurd; for ſo, not the ſeventh, but the firſt, would have been the year of Reſt. And that had been very inconvenient, if not deſtructive; the War making ſuch great waſte, no doubt, that Proviſion would have been very ſcarce, if no care had been taken for the enſuing year. It is to be conſidered alſo, that the old ſtore upon which they lived when they entred into the Land of Promiſe, was the fruit of the labour of the Canaanites, and not of the Children of Iſrael. The meaning therefore is, that the ſeventh year after their entrance into Canaan, or rather, after they were ſettled, and had reſt in it, they ſhould let the Land reſt.
The only queſtion is, When this year was to begin? whether in the month of Tiſri, (which anſwers to our September) which was the ancient beginning of the year; or in Niſan, (anſwering to our March) which was made a new beginning of it, by an expreſs Law, XII Exod. 2. the former ſtill continuing the beginning of the year for Civil things, as this for Sacred. Now there is great reaſon to think that this Sabbatical year was to commence from September, when all their Harveſt was over, which began in March. Then they were not to ſow, as they were wont to do in October and the following Months; but to ſtay till the return of this Seaſon the next year. For if this year had been to begin in March, they could not have reaped the Harveſt of the ſixth year.
Ver. 3. Verſe 3 Six years ſhalt thou ſow thy fields, and prune thy Vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof.] XXIII Exod. 10. But what was allowed in other years, is forbidden in this.
Ver. 4. Verſe 4 But in the ſeventh year ſhall be a Sabbath of rest unto the Land, a Sabbath for the LORD.] Or, unto the LORD, (as we tranſlate it before v. 2.) who though he gave this Land to them, continued the Proprietor of it (as he declares v. 23.) and the LORD in chief, himſelf. Of whom they held it by this Tenure, that they ſhould till it, &c. only ſix years together, for their own uſe; and in the ſeventh, let it lye in common, for ſuch uſes as he appointed. And it was for the honour of the LORD, that they obſerved this Law: for as the weekly Sabbath was an acknowledgment that they were his, ſo this Sabbatical year was an acknowledgment that their Land was his.
Thou ſhalt neither ſow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.] By this he explains what he means by letting it reſt. And theſe two words, ſow and prune, comprehend all other things that were uſually done about their Fields or Trees; as plowing, digging, dunging, &c. And though a Vineyard be only mentioned, yet it is plain by XXIII Exod. 10. that Olive-yards are comprehended under the ſame Law: and theſe are mentioned only as examples of all other Fruit-trees, which were to be left in common, as theſe were.
Maimonides ſeems to be ſomething too curious in what he ſaith upon this Subject; for inquiring why Moſes mentions only theſe two things, ſowing and pruning, his reſolution is, That for theſe two, if Men offended in them this year, they were puniſhed with that ſcourging called Malkut; but if they offended in any other ſort of Labours belonging to the Culture of the Fields, or of Trees, they were not puniſhed with the ſcourging of Malkut (which was by a certain meaſure, not exceeding thirty nine ſtripes) but with the ſcourging called Mardut, i. e. of Contumacy and Rebellion, which was without number or meaſure. As if a Man digged or ploughed his ground; if he gathered out the ſtones, or dunged it, &c. if he planted Trees, or grafted, &c. he ſuffered the ſcourging of Rebellion. And more than this, he ſaith it was not lawful in the ſeventh year to plant any Tree, though it was not a Fruit-tree; nor to cut off the dead Branches; nor to make a ſmoak under them to kill the Worms; nor to anoint young Plants to preſerve them from the bitings of Birds, &c. If they did, they were liable to the ſcourging of Murdut. Nay, he is ſo nice, as to ſay it was unlawful to ſell to any Man any Inſtrument of Husbandry, in this year; as a Plough, a Yoke, a Sieve, &c. yet he allows them, when they were under the oppreſſion of the Gentiles, and bound to find Proviſion for their Armies, to ſow ſo much as would maintain them. Of which things he diſcourſes at large in his Treatiſe called Schemitta ve Jobel, cap. 1. and cap. 7.
Ver. 5. Verſe 5 That which groweth of it ſelf.] Either from Seed which fell caſually the year before; or from the old Root which ſprouted out again, as Maimonides expounds it in the ſame Treatiſe, cap. 4. which is wholly about ſuch things.
Of thy harvest.] Of the Corn ſcattered laſt Harveſt. He ſaith nothing of their Gardens; which, it is probable, every Man had to his own private uſe, and was not bound to lay them open to all.
Thou ſhalt not reap.] That is, ſaith he, not the whole Field, ſo as to gather it into Cocks, and to tread out the Corn with his Oxen, (if any did, they were ſcourged with thirty nine ſtripes) but they might cut down a little, in common with other Perſons, and ſhake it out, and eat it, as he there determines, ſect. 2.
Neither gather the grapes of thy Vine undreſſed.] In the Hebrew the words are, The Vine of thy Separation: for it was ſeparated this year from his dreſſing. And what he gathered in common with others, was not to be preſſed in a Wine-preſs, but with another Inſtrument; the like he ſaith of Olives, and of Figs, and other things, which were to be ordered after another manner in this year, then in the foregoing, ſect. 23.
For it is a year of reſt unto the Land.] This general reaſon is ſo oft repeated, to make them ſenſible they were no more to do any thing about their Land this ſeventh year, then they were to labour upon the ſeventh day. But he acknowledges, that if a Gentile hired Land in their Country, he was not bound to let it reſt, ſect. 29. of that Chapter.
Ver. 6. Verſe 6 And the Sabbath of the Land.] Here the word Sabbath ſignifies the Fruit that grew in the Sabbatical year; as the word Sabbaths is uſed before XXIII. 38. for the Sacrifices upon the Sabbaths.
Shall be meat for you.] This explains the prohibition of reaping any Corn this year, or gathering any fruit, not to be meant abſolutely; but only that they ſhould not look upon any thing that grew this year, as peculiarly theirs, becauſe it grew in their ground; but let all be common to others, as well as themſelves.
For thee, and for thy ſervant, and for thy maid, &c.] This, and the next Verſe, ſhow that all the Fruits of the Earth, were perfectly in common this year: for the very Beaſts were not excluded, and therefore much leſs any Man that dwelt among them, though he was uncircumciſed. But it is very plain likewiſe, that the Owner of the Land and his Family were not forbidden to take their ſhare; but might gather for their daily uſe as well as others: only not lay up any thing ſeparate for themſelves.
Ver. 7. Verſe 7 And for thy Cattle, and for the Beaſt that are in thy Land, ſhall all the increaſe thereof be meat.] For his own Cattle, and for other Mens: which were not to be fed with the Fruits which are proper to Men, (as Maimonides obſerves in the ſame Book, cap. 5. ſect. 5.) but if they came of themſelves, and eat Figs, for inſtance, they were not to be hindred. But it ſeems probable that wild Beaſts might be driven out of their Vineyards, &c. in this year, as well as others; becauſe they made ſuch waſte, as would have very much damaged the owner for the future. As for all other tame Creatures, the Jews (if we may believe Maimonides, cap. 7.) were ſo ſuperſtitiouſly careful they ſhould have an equal ſhare with themſelves; that when there was no Fruit any longer for the Beaſts in the Field, they ceaſed to eat what they had gathered for themſelves; and if they had any thing of it left, threw it out of their Houſes.
Ver. 8. Verſe 8 And thou ſhalt number ſeven Sabbaths of years unto thee, &c.] Which put together made XLIX years, as it follows in the reſt of this Verſe. They began their firſt Account (as Maimonides there obſerves) from the fourteenth year after their entrance into Canaan: for they were ſeven years in conquering the Land; and ſeven more in dividing to every one their portion; ſo that the firſt Sabbatical year was in the one and twentieth, and the firſt Jubile in the ſixty fourth year after they came to the Land of Promiſe: So he cap. 10. where he obſerves they numbred ſeventeen Jubiles from that time, to their Captivity in Babylon, which fell out in the end of a Sabbatical year, and the thirty ſixth of the Jubile.
Ver. 9. Verſe 9 Then ſhalt thou cauſe the Trumpet of the Jubile.] The word Jobel (which we tranſlate Jubile in the next Verſe) is not in the Hebrew, but Teruah, which in the Margin we tranſlate loud of ſound. For the Trumpet was blown after a different manner at this time, than upon other occaſions, that every one might underſtand the meaning of it.
To ſound.] In the Hebrew the word is, cauſe it to paſs, that it might be heard every where, throughout the Land. So theſe words may be moſt litterally tranſlated, Thou ſhalt cauſe to paſs the Trumpet loud of ſound.
On the tenth day of the ſeventh month, in the day of atonement.] This day was very fitly choſen, that this year might begin at the ſame time that a general Atonement was made for the Sins of the whole Nation. For they would be the better diſpoſed, to forgive their Brethren their Debts, when they craved Pardon for their own.
Shall ye make the Trumpet ſound (or paſs) throughout all your Land.] This is repeated, to make them careful to awaken every one to their duty, by the ſound of the Trumpet at every door; there being an unwillingneſs in moſt People, to part with their Servants, and their Lands, &c. which they had long enjoyed. And therefore every private Man, as Maimonides ſaith, was bound to blow with a Trumpet, and make this ſound nine times, that they might fulfil theſe words of this Precept, throughout all your Land. By this means, as R. Levi Barcelonita notes, every one was the better inclined to hearken, when he ſaw it was a duty incumbent on the whole Country, which all were to perform.
Ver. 10. Verſe 10 And ye ſhall hallow the fiftieth year.] Diſtinguiſh it from all other years, by doing what follows. Maimonides fancies that theſe two Precepts of numbering ſeven Sabbaths of years, v. 8. and of ſanctifying the fiftieth year, were delivered only to the Houſe of Judgment; whoſe buſineſs, no doubt, it peculiarly was, to give notice of this year, and to cauſe the Trumpet to be ſounded, and all the following Precepts to be obſerved. Schemitta ve jobel, cap. 10. num. 1.
And proclaim liberty.] Unto all Servants, who were this year made free.
Throughout all the Land.] Even in all the Highways, as Aben-Ezra gloſſes; that every one might have notice.
Ʋnto all the Inhabitants thereof.] That is, to all the Children of Iſrael who were Servants; or ſo poor that they had ſold their Eſtates, as it here follows. From theſe words the Jews gather, that after the Tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half Tribe of Manaſſeh were carried Captive, Jubiles ceaſed. They are the words of Maimonides in the fore-named Treatiſe; for then all the Inhabitants of the Land were not in it. And therefore much more …hen they were all carried Captive, they only numbred the reſt of every ſeventh year, without any Jubile.
It ſhall be a Jubile unto you.] Whence this year hath the name of Jobel; there are ſo many Opinions, that Bochartus himſelf ſcarce knew which to follow. Joſephus ſaith it ſignifies foreign, liberty; and the LXX and Aquila tranſlate it foreign, remiſſion: having a regard to the thing, rather than to the import of the word Jobel; which never ſignifies any thing of that nature. D. Kimchi tell us that R. Akiba, when he was in Arabia, heard them call a Ram by this name of Jobel; and thence ſome fancy this year was ſo called, becauſe it was proclaimed with Trumpets of Rams-horns. But what if there were no ſuch Trumpets? as Bochart thinks there were not, theſe Horns being not hollow. See Hierozoicon P. I. Lib. II. cap. 43. p. 425, &c. where ſeveral other Opinions are confuted. The moſt probable that I meet withal, is, that it was called Jobel from the peculiar ſound which was made with the Trumpet, when this year was proclaimed. For the Trumpet blowing for ſeveral purpoſes, viz. to call their Aſſemblies together; to give notice of the moving of their Camps; to excite Souldiers to fight, and to proclaim this year; there was a diſtinct ſound for all theſe ends, that People might not be confounded, but have a certain notice what the Trumpet ſounded for. And this ſound mentioned before (v. 9.) was peculiarly called Jobel; as Hottinger thinks, who conſiders a great many other Opinions, in his Analecta Diſſert. III. wherein he follows Joh. Forſterus, who, near an hundred years before, obſerved that Jobel, which we commonly tranſlate Trumpet (XIX Exod. 13. and other places) doth not ſignifie the Inſtrument it ſelf, but the ſound that it made. And when it is uſed abſolutely, alone, it ſignifies this year; which was called Jobel from that ſound which was then made; as the Feaſt of Unleavened Bread was called Peſach, from the Angel paſſing over them, when he ſlew the Egyptians. The Opinions of the Hebrew Writers about it, are collected and largely repreſented by Joſephus de Voiſin, Lib. I. de Jubilaeo, cap. 1.
And ye ſhall return every man unto his poſſeſſion.] Unto his Field, or his Houſe, which his Poverty had forced him to ſell; but now was reſtored to him without any price; becauſe they were not ſold abſolutely, but only till this year. By which means the Eſtates of the Iſraelites were ſo fixed, that no Family could ruin it ſelf, or grow too rich. For this Law provided againſt ſuch Changes; revoking once in fifty years all Alienations, and ſetting every one in the ſame Condition wherein they were at the firſt. By which means Ambition was retrenched; and every Man applied himſelf with affection, to the improvement of his Inheritance, knowing it could never go out of his Family. And this application was the more diligent, becauſe it was a religious duty, founded upon this Law of God.
And ye ſhall return every man unto his family.] From which he had been eſtranged by being ſold to another Family; either by himſelf, or by his Father, or by the Court of Judgment. So here are two parts of the liberty fore-named, more expreſly declared: Their Land, which was alienated, returned to the firſt Owner; and ſuch as were ſold for Servants into another Family, came home again to their own Family, being freed from their Servitude. Which was a figure of that acceptable year of the LORD, as St. Luke calls it, IV. 19. in the Prophet Iſaiah's Language; wherein our bleſſed Saviour preached Deliverance to all Mankind. The Jews themſelves are not ſo ſtupid, as to thin… nothing further was intended, but only freedom from bodily Servitude, in this year of Jubile: for Abarbanel himſelf, in this very Verſe, indeavours to diſcover ſomething of a Spiritual Happineſs. For the former part of the words now mentioned, Ye ſhall return every man to his poſſeſſion, he ſaith belong to the Body: but the latter part, And every man unto his family, belongs to the Soul, and its return to God. So ſeveral others, whom J. de Voiſin produces in the forenamed Book, cap. 2. And if our Dr. Lightfoot hath made a right Computation, the laſt year of the Life of our Saviour, who by his Death wrought an Eternal Redemption, and reſtored us to our heavenly Inheritance, fell in the year of Jubile; the very laſt that was ever kept. For if we count from the end of the Wars of Canaan, which was ſeven years after they came into it, (and I do not know why we ſhould not think they began to number then, and not ſeven years after, as Maimonides would have it) there were juſt fourteen hundred years to the thirty third of Jeſus Chriſt; that is, juſt XXVIII Jubiles. And it is the Confeſſion of the old Book called Zohar, as he obſerves, That the Divine Glory ſhould be freedom and redemption in a year of Jubile. See Harmony of the New Teſtament, ſect. 59. And Ʋſſerij Chronologia Sacra, cap. 13.
Ver. 11. Verſe 11 A Jubile ſhall that fiftieth year be unto you.] It is a queſtion whether the year of Jubile was the year following the forty ninth year; or the forty ninth year was the Jubile; which, reckoning the foregoing Jubile for one, was the fiftieth year. Joſephus Scaliger in his fifth Book de Emend. Temporum, and ſeveral other great Men are of this laſt opinion; to avoid a great inconvenience which otherwiſe would enſue, viz. That the forty ninth year being the Sabbatical year in which the Land was to reſt, if the next year to that had been the Jubile, two Sabbatical years would have come immediately one after another, for the Land was to reſt in the year of Jubile, as it here follows. One would have expected therefore that in the forty eighth year there ſhould have been a ſpecial Promiſe, that the Land ſhould bring forth Fruit for four years, and not for three only; as the Bleſſing is promiſed every ſixth year, v. 21. Thus Jacobus Capellus reaſons in his Hiſtoria Sacra & Exotica ad A. M. 2549. But others think this Objection not to be ſo great as to make them depart from the letter of this Law, which ſaith v. 10. Ye ſhall hallow the fiftieth year: and here in this Verſe, A Jubile ſhall that fiftieth year be unto you. Though a very learned Man, P. Cunaeus thinks this is of no great moment either way; for it is uſual in common ſpeech, Septimanam octidum appellare (and Hoſpinian in like manner, we call a Week octiduum (eight days) becauſe we reckon utramque Dominicam both the LORD's days) And the greateſt Writers anciently called an Olympiad, which contained but the ſpace of four compleat years, by the name of Quinquennium. See Lib. I. de Republ. Judaeorum, cap. 6. Yet, beſides the expreſs words of the Law, the Conſent of the Jews ſways very much the other way: for they accurately diſtinguiſh between the Schemitta, or Year of Remiſſion, and Jobel, the year of Jubile, even then when theſe two Solemnities immediately ſucceeded each other; as I ſhall have occaſion to obſerve on the next Verſe.
Ye ſhall not ſow, neither reap that which groweth of it ſelf in it.] Becauſe it was the Sabbatical year, (v. 4, 5.) as ſome will have it; from the obſervance of which they were not abſolved by its being the Jubile. But others think, as I obſerved, that the Jubile it ſelf, was a new Sabbatical year.
Ver. 12. Verſe 12 For it is the Jubile.] He doth not ſay it is the Sabbath of the Land, as he doth of the ſeventh year, v. 6. Which makes for their opinion who think the Jubile was not the ſame with that, but a new Sabbatical year: ſo that two years together they neither ſowed nor reaped. But they that maintain the other opinion, look upon this only as a new reaſon why they ſhould forbear ſuch labour this year; becauſe, beſides that it was the Sabbatical year, it was alſo the Jubile: a time of great joy, in regard of the Liberty to which every one was reſtored; which made it more neceſſary every one ſhould enjoy what the Earth brought forth of it ſelf, and none appropriate any thing to themſelves.
It ſhall be holy unto you.] Becauſe it was the LORD's Sabbath. v. 3. Separate from the common Employments of other years; being dedicated to the uſes expreſſed in this Law, v. 10. which are two, Manumiſſion of Servants, and Reſtitution of Men to their ancient Poſſeſſions. Unto which ſome add a third, viz. Remiſſion of Debts. But the Jews are of a quite contrary opinion; that in this the year of Jubile differed from the Sabbatical year; that Debts were remitted in the one, but not in the other. Whence thoſe words of Maimonides in the Treatiſe I have ſo often mentioned, cap. 10. ſect. 16. In this the Sabbatical year excels the Jubile, that it remits Debts, which the Jubile doth not: But the Jubile in this excels the Sabbatical year, that it ſets Servants free, and reſtores Poſſeſſions, which the other doth not. And the Jubile likewiſe reſtores Poſſeſſions in the very beginning of the year: but the Sabbatical year doth not releaſe Debts till it be ended.
Ye ſhall eat the increaſe thereof out of the field.] By plucking what they needed for every days uſe; but not by reaping, and gathering, and laying up in Barns.
Ver. 13. Verſe 13 In the year of this Jubile ye ſhall return every man to his poſſeſſion.] This being the moſt remarkable thing belonging to the Liberty of this year, it is therefore here again repeated. For it was ſo famous, that the Heathens themſelves took notice of it: inſomuch that Diodorus Siculus ſaith, Lib. XI. it was not lawful for the Jews foreign, to ſell their own Inheritances. Meaning, as Mr. Selden expounds it (Lib. de Succeſſ. ad Leges Hebr. cap. 14.) to ſell them quite, ſo as to alienate them for ever from their Families; which is expreſly forbidden v. 23. And ſo the Locrians, as is obſerved by Ariſtotle in his Politicks, were prohibited by their Laws to ſell their ancient Poſſeſſions. See P. Cunaeus Lib. I. de Repub. Jud. cap. 4.
Many Reaſons are given by learned Men for this Law among the Jews, (See Menochius Lib. III. de Repub. Hebraeor. Quaeſt. 3.) The moſt obvious is, that by this Law God fixed the Jews to the Land of Canaan: ſince all their Poſſeſſions were ſo entailed, that the right Heir of any of them could never be wholly excluded from his Eſtate; but it would intirely return to him after a certain number of years. And by this means alſo they preſerved a diſtinct knowledge of their ſeveral Tribes and Families to which they belonged: for which end their Genealogies were of neceſſity to be carefully kept, that they might be able to prove their right to the Inheritance of their Anceſtors. By which means, as Menochius notes, it was certainly known of what Tribe and Family the Meſſiah was when he was born. And M. Alix hath taken notice (which is worth obſerving) that God ordered things ſo, that they ſhould have the means of preſerving their Genealogies, by not ſuffering them to continue in Captivity out of their own Land, for the ſpace of two whole Jubiles. For they were but LXX years in Babylon; in which ſhort time their Genealogies could not be eaſily confounded; eſpecially ſince ſeveral who ſaw the firſt Temple burnt, lived to ſee the ſecond begin to be rebuilt. Two other Reaſons are moſt judiciouſly managed by Petrus Cunaeus, Lib. I. de Republ. Hebr. cap. 3. to which I refer the learned Reader.
Ver. 14. Verſe 14 If thou ſelleſt ought to thy Neighbour, or buyeſt ought of thy Neighbours hand, ye ſhall not oppreſs one another.] As Moſes took care that the Wealth of ſome ſhould not oppreſs the Poverty of others, by making the foregoing Law, that a poor Man ſhould not loſe his Land for ever; ſo in the buying of a poor Man's Land, he would not have the rich Man give leſs for it than it was worth; no more than the poor Man require more for it than its juſt value, till the year of Jubile. The Hebrew Doctors have formed a Rule about this: that if a Man bought any thing for a ſixth part leſs than its worth, or ſold it for a ſixth part more than its worth, he was bound to reſtore that ſixth part: but nothing at all if it were ſhort of a ſixth part, wherein he had damaged his Neighbour. But if the difference was more than a ſixth part, the Buyer might reſcind his Contract, if the Bargain was not quite finiſhed, and require his Money again. And the Seller (if the damage was on his ſide) might at any time require the thing to be returned to him, at the price for which he ſold it. See Selden, Lib. VI. de Jure Nat. & Gent. cap. 5.
Ver. 15. Verſe 15 According to the number of years after the Jubile, thou ſhalt buy of thy Neighbour.] They were to conſider how many years were gone ſince the laſt Jubile; and conſequently to purchaſe the Profits of the remaining years till the next. For they could not either by Sale, or any other Contract, transfer plenum fundi dominium (as Cunaeus ſpeaks) their full intereſt in the Land, to any other Man.
And according unto the number of years of the fruits, he ſhall ſell unto thee.] He that ſold the remaining term of years till the Jubile, was to conſider that every ſixth year there was no Fruit; and therefore he ſhould demand nothing for them: but ſet his price only according to the number of the other years, not reckoning thoſe.
Ver. 16. Verſe 16 According to the multitude of years thou ſhalt increaſe the price thereof, and according to the fewneſs of years thou ſhalt diminiſh the price.] This is added only to make what was ſaid before plainer; that the price ſhould riſe or fall, according as there were more or few years to come before the next Jubile. For example Maimonides puts this Caſe; If there be ten years to the Jubile, and a Man buy anothers Field for an Hundred pence; after which the Buyer having enjoyed it three years, the Seller hath a mind to redeem it, he muſt then give to him that bought it of him Seventy pence. In like manner if the Buyer have enjoyed it ſix years, the Seller muſt give him Forty pence.
For according to the number of the years of the Fruits doth he ſell unto thee.] Therefore if a Man, ſaith the ſame Maimonides (cap. 11. num. 6.) ſell another a Field full of Fruit, and after two years would redeem it, he muſt not demand him to reſtore the Field as he ſold it, full of fuit, becauſe it is ſaid here, according to the multitude of years, or fewneſs of years (and in the foregoing Verſe) according to the number of years after the Jubile) which ſhow the years only were to be conſidered in the Redemption, and not the Fruits.
Ver. 17. Verſe 17 Ye ſhall not therefore oppreſs one another.] The Seller by demanding too much; nor the Buyer by giving too little.
But thou ſhalt fear thy God.] For nothing could be ſo powerful as the Fear of God to reſtrain them from Oppreſſion; and to preſerve an equality between the Land to be ſold, and the price to be paid.
For I am the LORD your God.] Whoſe Land this is, and by whoſe Favour you enjoy it.
Ver. 18. Verſe 18 Wherefore ye ſhall do my ſtatutes, and keep my judgments.] Which are the Tenure whereby you hold this Land of me.
And ye ſhall dwell in the Land in ſafety.] And if you obey them, you ſhall not be diſturbed in it by your Enemies.
Ver. 19. Verſe 19 And the Land ſhall yield her increaſe, and ye ſhall eat your fill, and dwell therein in ſafety.] He incourages them in their Obedience, by a promiſe of Plenty and Abundance; as well as of Safety and Security in their Poſſeſſions.
Ver. 20. Verſe 20 And if ye ſhall ſay, what ſhall we eat the ſeventh year? &c.] To take away all diſtruſt of his Promiſe, he removes an obvious Objection which might ariſe in their Minds; that they might want food if they neither ſowed, nor gathered in their increaſe, in the ſeventh year, as he required.
Ver. 21. Verſe 21 Then will I command my bleſſing upon you in the ſixth year, and it ſhall bring forth fruit for three years.] This is the Anſwer to the doubt they might have of wanting Suſtenance, that he would bleſs them with ſuch a plentiful Crop in the ſixth year, as ſhould be ſufficient for that and for the two following years. From which Petrus Cunsus thinks the Argument very ſtrong, that there were not two Sabbatical years together, one in the forty ninth, and another in the fiftieth year; for then the Earth in the ſixth year, ſhould have brought forth not for three years, but for four; which was never heard of in any Country. Paleſtine indeed was a Country, to which God afforded an extraordinary bleſſing, beyond the common Laws of Nature; yet ſince there are no Teſtimonies of ſo great and frequent a Miracle in the Book of God, we ought not eaſily to believe this. Thus he Lib. I. de Republ. Hebr. cap. 6. To which it may be replyed, that this was not ſo frequent as he makes it, but only once in fifty years: and the reaſon why Moſes here ſaith, the Land ſhould bring forth fruit for three years, and not for four, is becauſe he ſpeaks only with reſpect to the common Sabbatical years (every ſeventh year) not to the great Sabbatical year, as they call the XLIXth. Before which God may very well be ſuppoſed to have bleſſed the Earth with a larger Crop than in any other preceding ſixth year. Beſides, though it is ſaid they ſhould not ſow in the Jubile, v. 11. yet it is not ſaid they might not prune their Trees, as it is of other Sabbatical years, v. 4. ſo that they might be dreſſed as in other common years, to yield a plentiful Increaſe for their ſupport in the ſucceeding year.
Ver. 22. Verſe 22 And ye ſhall ſow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit, until the ninth year.] Some have interpreted theſe words, as if they were to eat the old ſtore, till the Fruits of the ninth year came in; and bring it as an Argument that the Sabbatical year began in March: whereas the plain ſenſe is, that the Fruits of the eighth could not be thraſhed out for food till the ninth year. And then the next words,
Ʋntil her fruits come in, ye ſhall eat of the old ſtore.] Are not to be underſtood of the Fruits of the ninth year, but of the Fruits of the eighth, which were to be eaten in the ninth. Till then they were to live upon the old ſtore; which ſerved for two years, beſide the ſixth.
Ver. 23. Verſe 23 The Land ſhall not be ſold for ever.] Having mentioned the ſelling of their Land (v. 14, 15, 16.) he here again enacts it ſhould not be ſold for ever. Which may be called the Lex agraria of the Jews; whereby Eſtates were preſerved in the Family to which they belonged, at the diviſion of the Land by Joſhua. For they could not be quite cut off, as the words are in the Hebrew, which we tranſlate for ever; or as it is in the Margin, for cutting off: ſo that the Seller and his Heirs ſhould be cut off from it, as Mr. Selden interprets it. Or, as the LXX. foreign, by an alienation never to be reſcinded: but all Eſtates were at the Jubile to return to their firſt Owners, or their Heirs, though they had changed Poſſeſſors an hundred times, by being ſold ſo oft. And the ſame Law held in Donations, as much as in Sales, as Maimonides obſerves. Yet this is to be underſtood only of abſolute Alienations, without any mention of time: for if any Man ſold without fraud an Eſtate to his Neighbour for ſixty years, it was not to return to him or his Heirs in the year of Jubile, which came before the expiration of that term: for in the Jubile, ſaith he, nothing returns but that which was ſold for ever, Halicoth Schemitta ve Jobel, cap. 11. ſect. 2. And ſee Selden de Succeſſionibus ad Leges Hebr. cap. 24.
For the Land is mine.] I reſerve to my ſelf the Supream Dominion in it, and propriety of it; and have diſpoſed it to you, on ſuch terms as I thought fit.
For ye are ſtrangers and ſojourners with me.] Theſe words ſuggeſt another ſenſe of the foregoing; that their Land was God's, as he dwelt in a ſpecial manner there in the Sanctuary, which was his Royal Palace: And they were all his Tenants, who held the Land of him as long as he pleaſed; but were no more to him, than the Proſelytes were to them. The Land was his, and not theirs; and they did but enjoy the uſe and the fuits of it, but had not the property. See Mr. Mede pag. 157.
Ver. 24. Verſe 24 And in all the Land of your poſſeſſion, ye ſhall grant a Redemption for the Land.] If any Man whoſe Poverty had forced him to ſell his Land, grew afterward ſo rich, that he was able to redeem it before the year of Jubile, this Law provides he ſhould be permitted to do it, and the Buyer could not refuſe it. But then this was to be done honeſtly and truly: he was not to borrow Money of another Man to redeem it; no, nor ſell other Land to redeem that which he had ſold before, which they lookt upon as a Fraud to the Buyer. Therefore he had this right, only in caſe he was grown rich ſince the ſale: otherwiſe, he was to ſtay till the year of Jubile, when it returned to him for nothing. So Cunaeus out of the ſame Maimonides, Lib. I. cap. 2.
Ver. 25. Verſe 25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath ſold away ſome of his poſſeſſion.] No Man, if we may rely upon the ſame Maimonides, might ſell his Houſe or his Field till the time of Jubile, unleſs Poverty compelled him to it. For it was not lawful to ſell it, that he might lay up the price of it in his Coffer; or exerciſe Merchandize; or buy Goods, Servants, or Cattle; but only buy neceſſary Proviſion with it. But if any Man did tranſgreſs, and imploy the Money otherwiſe, the ſale notwithſtanding was held to be good.
And if any of his kin come to redeem it, then ſhall be redeemed what his brother ſold.] Here is a further enlargement of this Liberty, that if any of his near Relations would redeem the Land he had ſold (though he was not able to do it himſelf) it ſhould be allowed. For the deſign of Moſes in this Law was, Ne paucorum opulentia quandoque caeteros opprimeret, leſt the wealth of a few ſhould at any time oppreſs the reſt.
Ver. 26. Verſe 26 And if the Man have none to redeem it, and himſelf be able to redeem it.] In the Hebrew it is his hand hath attained and found ſufficiency: which juſtifies the limitation the Jews put upon this, (as I obſerved v. 24.) that he ſhould not have the right of Redemption, unleſs he was grown able to repurchaſe it, ſince the ſale of it.
Ver. 27. Verſe 27 Then let him count the years of the ſale thereof, and reſtore the overplus unto the man to whom he ſold it.] This was the manner of the Redemption: they counted how many years were gone ſince the Sale; and if there remained juſt ſo many more to the Jubile, then he paid the Buyer half the price at which he purchaſed it, for its Redemption. But if the number of years from the Sale to the Jubile, were not equal, then he deducted proportionable to the years he had enjoyed it ſince the purchaſe, and gave him as much as the years remaining till the Jubile were worth. And if he ſold a Field at firſt for an hundred pounds, ſuppoſe, and he that bought it, ſold it to another for two hundred, he was to redeem it, as Maimonides ſaith, according to what was firſt given for it, becauſe it is ſaid here he ſhall reſtore the overplus unto the man to whom he ſold it: In like manner, if a Man ſold a Field for an hundred pound, which in the hands of the Buyer ſo improved, that it might be ſold for Two hundred, the Redemption was to be according to what was firſt paid for it. But if he ſold it for Two hundred pound, and it was grown ſo much worſe that it was worth but an hundred, it was to be eſteemed in the Redemption according to the preſent value. His reaſon is, Becauſe the condition of him that ſold his Inheritance was always to be bettered; and the condition of him that bought it to be made worſe.
Ver. 28. Verſe 28 But if he be not able to reſtore it to him, then that which is ſold ſhall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it, until the year of Jubile.] If he could not pay him the Money it coſt him, according to the fore-mentioned proportion, nor any of his Kindred redeem it for him; then he that bought it was to enjoy all the Profits of it till the Jubile.
And in the Jubile he ſhall go out, and he ſhall return to his poſſeſſion.] The Purchaſer was to quit his poſſeſſion of the Land; and he that ſold it enjoy it again for nothing. And whoſoever he was that poſſeſſed the Land at the Jubile, though it had been ſold never ſo often before it came to him, the Jubile ejected him; and reſtored the Land to the firſt Owner or his Poſterity. For no Man, as was before obſerved, could either by Sale, or any other Contract, transfer the full Dominion of his Land to another Man; ſo that it ſhould be his for ever.
Ver. 29. Verſe 29 And if a man ſell a dwelling houſe in a walled City, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is ſold.] This Verſe and the next make a great difference between Houſes in walled Cities, and Lands in the Country. If ſuch Houſes were ſold, Men could not redeem them from the Purchaſer when they pleaſed, but muſt do it within the compaſs of a year, or elſe they were barred for ever: and the year of Jubile would not relieve them.
Within a full year may he redeem it.] He might redeem it the next day after he had ſold it, if he pleaſed; paying the full price that was given for it. And if he that ſold it was dead, his Son might redeem it; or if he that bought it was dead, it might be redeemed from his Son, if done within the year. But his Kindred could not redeem it; nor might he borrow Money to redeem it; nor redeem it by parcels: but he might ſell ſome of his Goods to redeem it. So Maimonides in the fore-mentioned Treatiſe, cap. 12. where he ſaith, If a Man ſold an Houſe in ſuch a City, and the Jubile fell out in the year of Sale, it did not reſtore the Houſe to the ſeller; but continued his that bought it, unleſs within a year from the day it was ſold it was redeemed.
Ver. 30. Verſe 30 And if it be not redeemed within the ſpace of a full year, then the houſe ſhall be eſtabliſhed for ever to him that bought it.] The Reaſons for this Law ſeem to be ſuch as theſe; That by this means (as Menochius obſerves, Lib. III. de Republ. Hebr. cap. 11.) Cities might be better filled with Inhabitants; who were invited thither, when they had hope of a Settlement there. And ſecondly, that Men might not raſhly and eaſily part with their Houſes, which they could never recover, after they had let one year ſlip, which was allowed for their redemption. And thirdly, Tribes and Families were not diſtinguiſhed by Houſes they had in Cities: from whence it was that the Levites might poſſeſs them, who otherwiſe are ſaid to have no poſſeſſion in the Land of Canaan. And laſtly, perhaps it was intended by this Law, that Proſelytes, who were not of the Hebrew Nation, and could have no Fields or Vineyards, might yet have ſomething of their own ſtable and certain; and not be forced always to want a perpetual poſſeſſion.
It ſhall not go out in the Jubile.] They ſay in the G… mara of Bava kama, that the Houſes in Jeruſalem were not ſubject to this Law; becauſe that City, as they pretend, did not belong to any certain Tribe. See L'Empereur upon that Book, cap. 7. p. 172.
Ver. 31. Verſe 31 But the houſes in the Villages, which have no walls round about them, ſhall be counted as the fields of the Country, &c.] The quite contrary Law is made for Country-houſes; which might be redeemed at any time: and if they were not, returned to their firſt Owners at the Jubile. The reaſon of this difference is very plain: for the Houſes in walled Cities were their own proper Goods; but in the Country they were accounted part of the Land which was God's. And ſo theſe words are to be underſtood, they ſhall be counted as the fields in the Country: that is, fall under the ſame Law with the Lands, v. 23.
Ver. 32. Verſe 32 Notwithſtanding the Cities of the Levites.] Of which we have an account XXXV Numb. 2. Theſe are accepted from the foregoing Law concerning Houſes in walled Cities, as it here follows.
And the Houſes of the Cities of their poſſeſſion, may the Levites redeem at any time.] Not any of their Houſes; but only thoſe which they poſſeſſed in the XLVIII Cities aſſigned to them for their Habitations. If they purchaſed Houſes in any other places, they were ſubject to the ſame Law with other Men, v. 29. Inſomuch that a Levite, who was Heir to his Mother who was an Iſraelite, was to redeem as other Iſraelites did, and not after the manner of the Levites; for the Levites had a Right different from other Men only in the Cities of their Poſſeſſions; as Maimonides obſerves in the forecited Book, cap. 13. But if an Iſraelite was Heir to his Mother a Levite, he redeemed as the Levites did, though he were not of that Tribe; becauſe the Right of their Redemption was tied to the places, and not to the perſons, as he there ſpeaks.
Ver. 33. Verſe 33 And if a man purchaſe of the Levites, then the Houſe that was ſold, and the City of his poſſeſſion (i.e. in the City of his poſſeſſion) ſhall go out in the year of Jubile.] If he did not redeem it before, it was to come back to him for nothing in this year. But there is another Tranſlation in the Margin, which the firſt words will bear, viz. If one of the Levites redeem them. Though he was not near of kin, (v. 25.) yet any Levite might redeem any of theſe Houſes: However, they were to be reſtored to that Tribe at the Jubile.
For the Houſes of the Cities of the Levites.] It is plain by this, that in the foregoing words he ſpeaks of the Houſes, and not of the Cities themſelves.
Are their poſſeſſion among the Children of Iſrael.] They were of the ſame nature of the Land that other Tribes had; which could not be alienated for ever. For they having no other Poſſeſſions that could be ſold, but Houſes, it was reaſon theſe Houſes ſhould return to their Owners at the Jubile, as other Mens Poſſeſſions did, v. 10.
Ver. 34. Verſe 34 But the field of the Suburbs of their Cities.] See XXXV Numb. 4, 5.
May not be ſold]. As their Houſes might be: but if any Man bought them, the Bargain was immediately void. The Tradition among the Jews (as Maimonides ſays in the ſame place) that not be ſold in this place ſignifies not be changed: ſo as to turn a Suburb into a Field, or a Field into a Suburb: but Fields, Suburbs, and Cities, were to continue perpetually in the ſame ſtate.
For it is their perpetual poſſeſſion.] Their Fields were to be always in their own hands. And the reaſon why Houſes may be ſold, when the Fields could not, ſeems to be this; becauſe the Houſes belonged to particular Levites, who might alienate them for a time, and not ſuffer much by it; but the Fields of the Suburbs were common to the whole Body of the Levites, who would have been undone, if they had wanted Paſture for their Flocks, which were all their Subſtance. Some indeed fancy that theſe Suburbs were encloſed, and every Family of them had its ſeveral Portion: but as there is no proof of this; ſo had it been thus, ſuch Families could not without great inconvenience, have wanted their Lands for the feeding of their Flocks.
Ver. 35. Verſe 35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen to decay with thee.] In the Hebrew it is, When his hand faileth: ſo that he is not able by his Labour to ſupport himſelf and his Family.
Then ſhalt thou relieve him.] By beſtowing Alms upon him (as the Jews interpret it) not by lending him Money: though the following words ſeem to incline this way. See Selden, Lib. VI. de Jure Nat. & Gent. cap. 6.
Yea, though he be a ſtranger or a ſojourner.] By a Stranger they underſtand a Proſelyte of Righteouſneſs; and by a Sojourner, a Proſelyte of the Gate, as Mr. Selden there obſerves out of Jarchi and Abarbanel, p. 694. They ſay Hyrcanus was the firſt that began foreign, to entertain Strangers of other Countries, by building Hoſpitals for their Reception.
That he may live with thee.] Have a comfortable Subſiſtance by the Relief of Charitable People: for every Jew, they ſay, was bound to contribute ſomething towards it; and this was to prevent their ſelling themſelves, as ſome did, through extream Poverty, v. 39.
Ver. 36. Verſe 36 Take thou no uſury of him, or increaſe.] Though theſe are promiſcuouſly uſed, yet the next Verſe ſeems here to expound Ʋſury to ſignifie that which is taken for Money; and Increaſe that which is taken for Corn, Fruits, or Goods. They that would ſee more of theſe two words, Neſek and Tarbith, may conſult Salmaſius de Ʋſuris, where he hath largely diſcourſed of them. I ſhall only further obſerve, that this Precept follows the other of Relieving poor People by Alms, very fitly: becauſe it is as great a Charity unto ſome to lend them Money without Uſury, as it is to give freely unto others. See Notes on XXII Exod. 25. XXIII Deut. 19.
But fear thy God.] Leſt he that is ſo good to thee, ſhould puniſh thee for thy inhumanity towards the Poor; of whom he hath a care, as well as thee.
That thy brother may live with thee.] This is repeated, to ſhow that by theſe Laws God intended to provide for the Poor ſuch a comfortable Subſiſtance in their own Country, that they might not be tempted to forſake it, and therewith perhaps forſake their Religion.
Ver. 37. Verſe 37 Thou ſhalt not give him thy money upon uſury, nor lend him thy victuals for increaſe.] Some thought if they lent Money freely, they might receive more than they lent of other things; therefore the latter Clauſe of this Verſe was added, to prevent ſuch Oppreſſions as St. Hierom mentions; who ſays, ſome would lend a Neighbour ten Buſhels, of Corn ſuppoſe, in Winter, to receive fifteen Buſhels for it the next Harveſt.
Ver. 38. Verſe 38 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the Land of Egypt.] Who have obliged you with far greater Bleſſings, then I command you to beſtow upon others.
To give you the Land of Canaan.] Under ſuch Covenants as have been mentioned.
And to be your God.] To preſerve you in the poſſeſſion of it, in Peace and Plenty, if you keep theſe Covenants, v. 18, 19.
Ver. 39. Verſe 39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee, be waxen poor, and be ſold unto thee.] Some were ſold by the Court of Judgment, when they had committed Theft, and were not able to make Satisfaction: of whom the Hebrews interpret that place XXI Exod. 2, &c. Others were ſold by their Parents, v. 7, 8. of that Chapter. But others ſold themſelves, being reduced to great Poverty, notwithſtanding the Alms that had been beſtowed upon them, and the Money or Goods that had been freely lent them. And of ſuch the Hebrew Doctors underſtand theſe words; and ſay, it was not lawful for a Man to ſell himſelf, till his Poverty was extream, and he had nothing at all left, but muſt preſerve his Life, by the price which was given for him. Thus Maimonides in theſe words, A man might not ſell himſelf to lay up the Money which was given for him; nor to buy Goods; nor to pay his Debts: but meerly that he might get Bread to eat. Neither was it lawful for him to ſell himſelf, as long as he had ſo much as a Garment left. See Selden, Lib. VI. de Jure Nat. & Gent. cap. 7. where he obſerves that the Court of Judgment might not ſell a Thief of their Nation, to any but to an Hebrew: not to a Proſelyte of either ſort; much leſs to a meer Gentile. But if an Hebrew ſold himſelf to a Proſelyte, or to a Gentile, (which he was admoniſhed not to do) the Bargain was good: but he was to be redeemed by his Kindred, or by the People, as it here follows, v. 48, 49. Which other People imitated, who derived their Laws from Moſes; particularly the ancient Indians (as Huetius obſerves out of Diodorus) whoſe Philoſophers commanded that none of their Nation ſhould ſubmit themſelves to Servitude, Demonſtr. Evang. Propoſ. IV. cap. 6.
Thou ſhalt not compel him to ſerve as a bond-ſervant.] As a Slave; which they bought of other Nations; or took in their Wars: over whom they had an abſolute Dominion (as they had over their Goods, or Cattle) and might bequeath them and their Children to their Sons and Poſterity for ever, (v. 45, 46.) or ſell them and their Children at their pleaſure.
Ver. 40. Verſe 40 But as an hired Servant, and as a ſojourner.] They were to treat him gently; as they did thoſe who let out their Service for Wages, for a certain time; and then were at their own diſpoſal again.
Shall he be with thee.] Some of the Jews have carried this very far in Speculation. For thus they gloſs upon this place in Jalkut: Let him be with thee in Meat and Drink; ſo that thou do not eat bread of fine flour, and he of bran; nor thou drink old Win…, and he new; nor thou lie on a ſoft Bed, and he upon Straw. But it is not likely that this was their practice.
And ſhall ſerve thee unto the year of Jubile.] Beyond which time it was not lawful to keep him in Service: for in the very beginning of this year all ſuch Servants were immediately diſmiſſed. Which made the year of Jubile ſuch a time of joy, that for nine days together before it began, theſe Servants kept a kind of Saturnalia, in proſpect of their approaching Happineſs. For as Maimonides ſaith in the latter end of the tenth Chapter of Schemitta ve Jobel, from the beginning of the year, until the Day of Atonement, Servants were neither diſmiſſed, nor yet ſerved their Maſters; but they did eat, and drink, and made merry; wearing Garlands on their heads. And when the Day of Atonement came, the Sanhedrim commanding the Trumpet to be ſounded, all Servants immediately went whether they pleaſed; as Lands were reſtored to their firſt Owners.
Ver. 41. Verſe 41 And then ſhall he depart from thee.] His Maſter to whom he was ſold might keep him till the Jubile: Whereas he that was ſold by the Court of Judgment might go free, if he pleaſed, in the ſeventh year of Releaſe, XXI Exod. v. 2.
Both he and his Children with him.] He that bought a Servant of the Court of Judgment, was bound to maintain his Wife and Children, if he had any, with Meat, Drink, and Clothes: and yet they were not bound to ſerve him, much leſs did they remain Servants, when their Fathers or Mothers Servitude was at an end; as Mr. Selden obſerves in the fore-named place: and therefore it was much more reaſonable in this caſe, that he and his Children ſhould go out together.
And ſhall return unto his whole family.] From which he was gone, while he remained a Servant.
And unto the poſſeſſion of his fathers ſhall he return.] If any was befaln him, ſince his Servitude.
Ver. 42. Verſe 42 For they are my ſervants, which I brought forth out of the Land of Egypt.] A good reaſon why they ſhould not be treated like Slaves; becauſe they were all redeemed by God out of the ſlavery of Egypt, into a ſtate of perfect liberty.
They ſhall not be ſold as bond-men.] Not publickly, and in the common place of Sale, or in the ſtreet; but privately, and in a way of honour, (as the Jewiſh phraſe is) So Maimonides alledged by Mr. Selden in the fore-named place, p. 705. But the plaineſt ſenſe is, they ſhould not be uſed like Slaves, while they continued in Servitude: for though they had the uſe of them in all bodily Employments, yet their Bodies or Perſons were not theirs, and therefore they might not uſe them as they pleaſed. So it follows in the next Verſe.
Ver. 43. Verſe 43 Thou ſhalt not rule over him with rigour.] As Pharaoh did over all the Iſraelites, I Exod. 13, 14. or as the Iſraelites were wont to do over their Servants of other Nations; but gently uſe their Service in ſuch Imployments, as would not be unworthy of them, if they were Freemen.
But ſhalt fear thy God.] Remembring that they were all Slaves in Egypt, and delivered by his wonderful goodneſs: which was thankfully and reverently to be acknowledged.
Ver. 44. Verſe 44 Both thy bond-men, and thy bond-maids, which thou ſhalt have, ſhalt be of the heathen.] If they would have any Slaves, they were to be ſuch of other Nations, as were ſold to them, or were taken by them in their Wars. Whence the very name of Mancipia came, as the Roman Lawyers tell us, quaſi manu capti: and the name of Servus alſo, which ſignifies one who was ſaved, when he might have been killed.
Round about thee.] He doth not ſay, in the midst of thee, for they were bound to deſtroy the People of Canaan.
Of them ſhall ye buy bond-men, and bond-maids.] If they had need of their Service. But it does not appear that they had any great number of them; nor had they any great occaſion for them, being themſelves ſo laborious, and breeding their Children to look after their Land and their Cattle (in which their Eſtates chiefly conſiſted) and being alſo ſo very numerous in a ſmall Country.
Ver. 45. Verſe 45 Moreover, of the children of the ſtrangers, that do ſojourn among you, of them ſhall ye buy.] Whether they were perfect Proſelytes by Circumciſion, or only Proſelytes of the Gate (as Mr. Selden obſerves, Lib. VI. de Jure Nat. & Gent. cap. 8.) their Children were not exempted from being made Slaves, if they ſold them to the Hebrews.
And of their families that are with you, which they begat in your Land.] If any of their Family or Kindred, as the LXX. tranſlate it, had begat Children in Judea, and would ſell them, the Jews might make a purchaſe of them.
They ſhall be your poſſeſſion.] Become your proper Goods, and continue with you as your Lands do; unleſs they have their Liberty granted to them. And the firſt ſort of Proſelytes obtained it three ways: either by purchaſing it themſelves, or by their Friends; or by being diſmiſſed by their Maſter, by a writing under his Hand; or, in the Caſe mentioned XXI Exod. 26. where the loſs of an Eye or a Tooth by the Maſter's Severity, ſerve only for Examples of other maims, which procured ſuch a Servant his Liberty. But the ſecond ſort of Proſelytes did not obtain their Liberty, if we may believe the Hebrew Doctors, by this laſt means, but only by the two firſt. And the year of Jubile gave no Servants of either ſort their Liberty.
Ver. 46. Verſe 46 And ye ſhall take them as an inheritance for your Children after you.] To whom they might bequeath the very Bodies of them and their Children.
To inherit them for a poſſeſſion.] That they might have the ſame power and dominion over them that they had over their Lands, Goods, or Cattle.
They ſhall be your bond-men for ever.] Not have the benefit of the year of Jubile, but be your Slaves as long as they live; unleſs they by any of the means before-mentioned obtained their Liberty.
But over your brethren the Children of Iſrael, ye ſhall not rule over one another with rigour.] As they did over the Slaves before-named; whoſe Maſters (as the Hebrew Doctors ſay) were not bound to find them Food and Raiment; and beſides, might treat them with the greateſt Severity, provided they did not ſtrike out an eye, &c.
Ver. 47. Verſe 47 If a ſojourner or ſtranger.] The Chaldee interprets theſe words, an uncircumciſed Proſelyte. And ſo Maimonides ſays, they ſignifie one who hath undertaken the Precepts of the Sons of Noah; whom they alſo call in their Books, the pious among the Gentiles. See Selden, Lib. II. de Jure Nat. & Gent. cap. 3. p. 153.
Wax rich by thee.] As many of them did by Trading; though they could not purchaſe Land.
And thy brother that dwelleth by him waxeth poor.] Which was a Caſe, Moſes ſuppoſes before v. 35. might happen.
And ſell himſelf unto the ſtranger and ſojourner by thee.] So I obſerved before v. 39. they might do; though they were admoniſhed not to do it: And the Bargain held good, though they ſold themſelves to a Gentile. So Onkelos here tranſlates it, if thy brother ſell himſelf to an Aramite, i. e. to an Idolater. For Idolatry was thought to have ſprung firſt from them: Terah and Nahor being Aramites, who were the firſt Idolaters mentioned in the holy Scripture.
Or to the ſtock of the ſtrangers family.] To one that ſprung out of the Family of a Profelyte: who though now incorporated into the Jewiſh Nation, yet being originally of a Strangers ſtock, was not to have the priviledge to keep a Hebrew ſold to him from the benefit of Redemption.
Ver. 48. Verſe 48 After that he is ſold.] And actually in the poſſeſſion of a Stranger.
He may be redeemed, &c.] The Hebrews underſtand this, as if ſome of his Kindred were bound to redeem him; or if they did not, he was to be redeemed at the Charge of the Country: And that, though he ſold himſelf a ſecond time, after he had been redeemed. But if he ſold himſelf a third time, they lookt upon him as unworthy of Redemption; unleſs it were meerly to ſave his Life. See Selden, Lib. VI. de Jure Nat. & Gent. cap. 7. But the 54th Verſe ſeems to ſuggeſt, that they were not bound to redeem him; though they might, if they pleaſed, and his Maſter could not refuſe it.
One of his brethren may redeem him.] This Redeemer (ſaith R. Bechai) is the MESSIAH the Son of David, of the Tribe of Judah. Which I mention to ſhow, that the Jews thought there was ſomething more Divine couched under this Law of the Jubile (as I obſerved v. 10.) then the very Letter of it imported. Though the truth is, they wretchedly miſtook the buſineſs of the MESSIAH: for the ſame R. Bechai (ſpeaking of this Section of the Law) ſaith, It contains a ſign and a hope to Iſrael of Redemption from the Captivity of the four Monarchies: as if the Meſſiah ſhould have nothing to do, but to put them in poſſeſſion of their own Country, and to make them Lords of the World.
Ver. 49. Verſe 49 Either his uncle, or his uncles ſon may redeem him, &c.] Here the Perſons are named by whom his Redemption might be made: which, in ſhort, was by any Man of his Family.
Or if he be able, he may redeem himſelf.] If, after his ſale, an Eſtate fell to him, whereby he became able to redeem his Liberty.
Ver. 50. Verſe 50 And he ſhall reckon with him that bought him, from the year that he was ſold to him, unto the year of Jubile, &c.] That no Injury might be done to his Maſter, they were to compute how long he had ſerved him, and how long he had ſtill to ſerve, and what price was paid for him: and then according to the number of years gone, and to come, he was to make his Demands. Which is the meaning of the following words, And the price of his ſale, ſhall be according to the number of years.
According to the time of an hired ſervant ſhall it be with him.] The labour and ſervice that he had done him, was to be valued, as they would do that of an Hireling, (who wrought for ſo much, by the day or the year) and deducting that from the price which was given for him, the remainder was the price of his Redemption.
Ver. 51. Verſe 51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he ſhall give again the price of his redemption.] If he had ſerved but a few years, and there were many to come before the Jubile; then there was leſs to be deducted from what his Maſter gave for him, and the price of his Redemption was higher. But if there remained but few years unto the year of Jubile, (as it follows in the next Verſe) then leſs was to be given for his Redemption, Verſe 52 becauſe he had had his Service a long time.
Ver. 53. And as a yearly hired ſervant ſhall he be with him.] His Maſter was to treat him as a hired Servant, who let out his Service for Wages by the year: and that both with reſpect to the price of his Redemption, and to his uſage while he remained in his Service; as appears by the next words.
And the other ſhall not rule with rigour over him.] Uſe him harſhly and ſeverely: for one Iſraelite was not permitted to uſe another in that manner, v. 43. and therefore much leſs was it to be ſuffered from a Stranger.
In thy ſight.] If they obſerved any ſuch rigorous uſage, they were to endeavour to get it remedied by the Authority of the Magiſtrate.
Ver. 54. Verſe 54 And he be not redeemed in theſe years, then he ſhall go out in the year of Jubile.] If neither his Kindred nor Country redeemed him, nor he was able to redeem himſelf (v. 49.) from the time he was ſold, to the year of Jubile, he was to ſtay till then: when he went out, as others did, without paying any thing for his Liberty. By which it is evident, that he had not the benefit of the ſeventh year of Releaſe, as Hebrew Servants had who ſerved Hebrew Maſters. For it had been unequal, if Hebrews ſold to Proſelytes, had been diſcarged from their Service ſo ſoon; when the Children of Proſelytes ſold to Hebrews (v. 45.) were to be their Inheritance for ever. It was more reaſonable (and therefore ſo here enacted) that the Hebrews ſold to Proſelytes ſhould not be free till the year of Jubile, unleſs they were redeemed by themſelves or their Friends. By which Law alſo they were made more careful not to ſell themſelves to Strangers.
He and his children with him.] It ſeems a Proſelyte was bound, when he bought a Hebrew Servant, to maintain his Family while he ſerved him: as the Hebrews were bound to do, when they bought one of their own Nation, v. 41.
Ver. 55. Verſe 55 For unto me the Children of Iſrael are ſervants, they are my ſervants, whom I brought forth out of the Land of Egypt.] He would not have them ſerve with rigour, nor beyond the year of Jubile, becauſe they were his Servants by a peculiar Title; being redeemed by him from the Egyptian Bondage; where they were held a long time in cruel Servitude, v. 38.
I am the LORD your God.] Your Soveraign; who will be ever kind to you, while you ſerve and obey me.