Levítico 25

Levítico 25

Meyer - Our Daily Homily - Leviticus 25:25 His kinsman that is next unto him. (R.V.) In the case of Naomi this was Boaz; in our case it is Jesus Christ. Redemption, as described in this chapter, had to do with persons and lands; and each illustrates Christ’s work on behalf of believers throughout all ages. He has redeemed our Persons. — It often happened that a Hebrew waxed poor, and was compelled to sell himself to some wealthy Gentile who sojourned in the land. He who had owned his own patrimony now wrought as a bondservant for another. But after he had sold himself he might be redeemed by his next kinsman. So we had sold ourselves for nought; we wrought the will of the flesh; we were enslaved to the fashions of the world; we obeyed the promptings of the prince of the power of the air. Alas for us! But we have been redeemed, not with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ. We have been made free by right, and have only to claim and act upon the freedom with which the risen Christ has made us free. He has redeemed our Inheritance. — What we lost in the first Adam we have more than regained in the second. For innocence, we have purity; for external fellowship with God, his indwelling; for the delights of an earthly paradise, the fulness of God’s blessedness and joy. He is our nearest Kinsman. — “My brother, my sister,” He says of each who will do the will of his Father. He has made Himself one with us by taking on Himself our nature, and identifying Himself with our race. We know that Jesus, our Göel and Redeemer, liveth; and that He will come to redeem us from the power of the grave, and receive us to Himself. QUESTION - What is a kinsman redeemer? ANSWER - The kinsman-redeemer is a male relative who, according to various laws of the Pentateuch, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need. The Hebrew term (goel) for kinsman-redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues (Genesis 48:16; Exodus 6:6) or redeems property or person (Leviticus 27:9–25, Lev 25:47–55). The kinsman who redeems or vindicates a relative is illustrated most clearly in the book of Ruth, where the kinsman-redeemer is Boaz. The story of Ruth and Boaz begins when Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, return to Bethlehem from Moab where they had been living. Naomi’s husband and both sons, one the husband of Ruth, had died, leaving the women penniless and without a male protector. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, Naomi sends Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi to whom they, through a series of divinely appointed circumstances, appeal as their go el. Boaz acquiesces, willingly takes Ruth as his wife, and together they bear a son named Obed who became the grandfather of David, the forefather of Jesus. Yahweh is Israel’s Redeemer, the one who promises to defend and vindicate them. He is both Father and Deliverer (Exodus 20:2). There are numerous Old Testament appeals to God as rescuer of the weak and needy (Psalm 82:4; Daniel 6:27; Jeremiah 20:13) and preserver of the sheep of Israel (Ezekiel 34:10–12, 22). In the New Testament, Christ is often regarded as an example of a kinsman-redeemer because, as our brother (Hebrews 2:11), He also redeems us because of our great need, one that only He can satisfy. In Ruth 3:9, we see a beautiful and poignant picture of the needy supplicant, unable to rescue herself, requesting of the kinsman-redeemer that he cover her with his protection, redeem her, and make her his wife. In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ bought us for Himself, out of the curse, out of our destitution; made us His own beloved bride; and blessed us for all generations. He is the true kinsman-redeemer of all who call on Him in faith.GotQuestions.org Leviticus 25:26 'Or in case a man has no kinsman, but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption, REDEMPTION ACHIEVED BY ONE'S SELF NLT If there is no one to redeem the land but the person who sold it manages to get enough money to buy it back, This verse describes the situation where an individual is able to accumulate enough funds to pay his own redemption price for his property. This OT truth about the Go'el does not apply to believers today who could never accumulate enough good deeds to merit redemption from bondage to the power of sin and Satan. Why? Because it only takes one sin and only One Person lived a sinless life and He is the only One Who can redeem us and set us free from the enslavement of sin and Satan (cp Jn 8:31-32, 36) Or in case a man has no kinsman - Kinsman is the Hebrew goel/ga'al. In this verse kinsman (go'el) is translated in the Septuagint with the Greek verb agchisteuo (not found in NT) which means to be next of kin, to exercise the rights and responsibilities of a kinsman, to redeem. Related Study - Kinsman-Redeemer - The Goel but so recovers his means as to find sufficient for its redemption - The idea is that this person later prospers enough and gets enough funds to pay the redemption price himself. The Hebrew word for redemption here is Geullah is the passive participle of gaal/goel but is always translated as a noun, either redemption or redemption right. Note that although geullah is related to gaal/goel it is assigned a Strong's number (01353 different than (ga'al) (01350) but both Strong's definition and the respected Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament state that geullah is a feminine passive participle of gaal and functions as a feminine noun in the Hebrew text. Don't let this technical explanation sidetrack you from the essence of the meaning of this word geullah, which expresses the action of a relative in setting free a member of his family or the buying back his property. Geullah was also used in general of purchasing something for a price. A ransom-price was paid to secure the release of that which would otherwise be forfeited. Geullah is used 9 times in Leviticus 25 - Lev 25:24, 26, 29, 31, 32, 48, 49, 51, 52). There are 2 uses of geullah in Ruth (Ru 4:6,7) and 2 in Jeremiah (Jer 32:7, 8). The Septuagint translates Geullah with the noun lutron which refers to the price paid for release (as from captivity or slavery). Figuratively, in the NT lutron is used of the cost Christ paid in order to provide deliverance from the power of (enslavement to) sin. Lutron is used only twice in the NT Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Leviticus 25:27 then he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and so return to his property. NLT then that person has the right to redeem it from the one who bought it. The price of the land will be based on the number of years until the next Year of Jubilee. After buying it back, the original owner may then return to the land. REDEMPTON PRICE CALCULATED Tthen he shall calculate the years since its sale and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it: Calculate is the Hebrew word (02803) chasab/hasab in the Piel Perf and is an "accounting" or "bookkeeping" term. In the Mosaic legislation, the word is used several times in respect to the "accounting" necessary for figuring the fluctuating value of properties and produce, in the light of an approaching year of Jubilee (Lev 25:27, 50, 52; Lev 27:18, 23). The basic idea of the word is the employment of the mind in thinking activity. The most significant use of chasab/hasab in the OT is when God imputed righteousness to Abraham when he believed God's promise. See discussion in note on Genesis 15:6. and so return to his property: The Hebrew word for property is 'achuzzah which is from the Hebrew word meaning to take hold of as when Jacob "took hold" of Esau's heel (Ge 25:26). Leviticus 25:28 'But if he has not found sufficient means to get it back for himself, then what he has sold shall remain in the hands of its purchaser until the year of jubilee; but at the jubilee it shall revert, that he may return to his property. and in the (KJV): Lev 25:13 he shall (KJV): Isa 35:9,10 Jer 32:15 1Co 15:52-54 1Th 4:13-18 1Pe 1:4,5 NLT But if the original owner cannot afford to redeem it, then it will belong to the new owner until the next Year of Jubilee. In the jubilee year, the land will be returned to the original owner. OF ITS PURCHASER: Qal Participle Active: (the one buying it) "to buy" is expressed by qanah frequently in contexts where one person makes a purchase agreement with another. The word is used to refer to "buying" a slave (Ex21:2) and land (Ge47:20). UNTIL THE YEAR OF JUBILEE: Jubilee is derived from the Hebrew jobel or yobel, the joyful shout or clangor of trumpets (e.g. it is found in the phrase "horn of a ram" in Josh 6:5). Jubilee was celebrated every 50th year and announced by the blowing of trumpets on the Day of Atonement (about the 1st of October), the tenth day of the first month of the Israelites' civil year and was to be accompanied by: (a) Rest for the soil. Lev 25:11,12 (b) Reversion of landed property. (c) The freedom of Israelites who were slaves. JUBILEE - some significant effects of the year of Jubilee... (a) The jubilee tended to abolish poverty. (b) It tended to abolish slavery, and in fact did abolish it; "The effect of this law was at once to lift from the heart the terrible incubus of a life-long bondage --that sense of a hopeless doom which knows no relief till death." (c) "As an agricultural people, they would have much leisure; they would observe the sabbatic spirit of the year by using its leisure for the instruction of their families in the law (cf to Dt 31:10) (d) "This law of entail, by which the right heir could never be excluded, was a provision of great wisdom for preserving families and tribes perfectly distinct, and their genealogies faithfully recorded, in order that all might have evidence to establish their right to the ancestral property. Hence the tribe and family of Christ were readily discovered at his birth." IT SHALL REVERT: This Hebrew verb (yoset) basically means to go out or to come in. It is used in many settings and contexts and is nuanced by those settings. In the present context "movement away" from some point means to revert back to a previous owner. THAT HE MAY RETURN TO HIS PROPERTY: In the jubilee year, the land will be returned to the original owner. Wake the song of jubilee, Let it echo o’er the sea! Now is come the promised hour, Jesus reigns with sov’reign power. All ye nations, join and sing, Christ of lords and kings is King. Let it sound from shore to shore Jesus reigns forevermore. Now the desert lands rejoice, And the islands join their voice, Yea, the whole creation sings, Jesus is the King of kings. See the ransomed millions stand, Palms of conquest in their hands, This before the throne their strain, Hell is vanquished, death is slain. Blessing, honor, glory, might Are the conqueror’s native right; Thrones and powers before Him fall, Lamb of God and Lord of all. Time has nearly reached its sum; All things with the bride say, Come. Jesus, whom all worlds adore, Come, and reign forevermore. Leviticus 25:29 'Likewise, if a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, then his redemption right remains valid until a full year from its sale; his right of redemption lasts a full year. INSTRUCTION REGARDING SELLING HOUSES Leviticus 25:29–34. NLT "Anyone who sells a house inside a walled city has the right to redeem it for a full year after its sale. During that time, the seller retains the right to buy it back. TSK - A very proper difference is here made between houses in a city and houses in the country. The former might be redeemed any time in the course of a year; but after that time could not be redeemed, or go out with the Jubilee: the latter might be redeemed at any time; and if not redeemed must go out with the jubilee. The reason in both cases is sufficiently evident; the house in the city might be built merely for the purposes of trade or traffic--the house in the country was builded on, or attached to, the inheritance which God had divided to the respective families. It was therefore necessary that the same law should apply to the house as to the inheritance; which necessity did not exist with regard to the house in the city. And, as the house in the city might be purchased for the purpose of trade, it would be very inconvenient for the purchaser, when his business was established, to be obliged to remove. Note that a dwelling house in a walled city is not regulated by the same redemption right as were houses in unwalled cities because houses in cities were not to be returned in the year of Jubilee and as stated in this verse their redemption only lasts a full year (and not in perpetuity). The houses of the Levites were an exception Longman comments that Lev 29:29-30 "considers several categories of property not included under the general category of fields, vineyards, and the like discussed thus far. First, houses in walled cities are not returnable at the Year of Jubilee. This is first of all because the patrimonies given to Israelite families and clans are not urban but agrarian; therefore, such dwellings will have been purchased in addition to the family property. Further, their presence in a walled city suggests a locus in the context of limited space as well as the privilege of greater security. Thus they represent luxuries for early Israel. The one-year date for the option of redeeming the property may imply a recognition that at least in some cases this will become the only property of a (displaced?) Israelite. Hence, to ensure against the eventuality that such a person cannot find another place to live, there is a year’s allowance to buy it back. The same may be true for those mercantile Israelites who will leave the country for long periods of time." (Expositor's Bible Commentary) Ross - The exception to the rule of redemption was the sale of a house in a walled city (Lev. 25:29–31). If the seller did not reclaim it within the first year, then it stayed with the buyer forever. This exception was because no farm land was connected to the sale, as in the case of the sale of a house in a farming village. The exception to the exception was Levitical cities, which had the right of redemption (25:32–34). Priests and Levites had no other possessions, and so they had to have the right to reclaim their houses. Their fields could not be sold. God was preserving the priestly properties because if they were lost then the Levites had nothing. Leviticus 25:30 'But if it is not bought back for him within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city passes permanently to its purchaser throughout his generations; it does not revert in the jubilee. NLT But if it is not redeemed within a year, then the house within the walled city will become the permanent property of the buyer. It will not be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. Leviticus 25:31 'The houses of the villages, however, which have no surrounding wall shall be considered as open fields; they have redemption rights and revert in the jubilee. they may be redeemed (KJV): Heb. redemption belongeth unto it, Ps 49:7,8 NLT But a house in a village--a settlement without fortified walls--will be treated like property in the open fields. Such a house may be redeemed at any time and must be returned to the original owner in the Year of Jubilee. The houses of the villages - The property within the unwalled cities were distinct from houses in walled cities for these (latter) houses became permanent property of the buyer and did not have to be returned in the Year of Jubilee. Leviticus 25:32 'As for cities of the Levites, the Levites have a permanent right of redemption for the houses of the cities which are their possession. the cities (KJV): As the Levites had no inheritance in Israel, but only cities to dwell in; and consequently the houses in these cities were all they could call their own, therefore they could not be ultimately alienated. Nu 35:2-8 Jos 21:1-45 NLT "The Levites always have the right to redeem any house they have sold within the cities belonging to them. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LEVITES It is surprising that this is the only mention of the Levites in Leviticus. The NLT paraphrase simplifies this verse - "The Levites always have the right to redeem any house they have sold within the cities belonging to them." The city property of the Levites could always be redeemed and was also covered by the release in the year of Jubilee. The Levites —The proper name for the tribe of Levi occurs only 3x in the book of Leviticus (twice in this verse and once in the following verse). This may appear somewhat odd since the English title of this book seems to indicate that this would be a book pertaining to the Levites. Nevertheless, much in this book pertains to the Aaronic priests who came from Aaron's family within the tribe of Levi. The Levites were chosen to replace the firstborn of each family in the incident of the golden calf when they showed their fidelity to the LORD (Ex. 32:26-29; Nu 3:11-13). In this action they redeemed themselves from the earlier unspiritual action of their forefathers (Ge 49:5-7). Aaron was descended from Levi through Kohath and Amram (Ex 6:16, 18, 20). As such, the sacrificial system that Aaron's descendants administered is generally regarded as "Levitical." Here in Lev. 25:32-33, the reference is not to just Aaron's descendants who were priests but to all descendants of Levi, which would include the "nonpriestly" Levites (Nu 3-4). Aaron and his sons as priests were to bear the major responsibilities for the tabernacle and its services but the entire tribe of Levi was to assist the priests in carrying out this duty though they could never act as officiating priests (Nu 18:1-2; Deut. 18:1-8). The duties of assistance by the Levites included bearing the ark (1 Sa 6:15; 2 Sa 15:24), performing various services in the tabernacle (Ex. 38:21; Nu 1:50-53), and ministering to Aaron and his sons (Nu 3:9; 8:19). Later David placed Levites in charge of music (1 Chr. 15:16, 17, 22), and the guarding of the temple (1 Chr 9:26; 26:17). In the postexilic period they also taught the people the law (Neh. 8:7-8). (The Bible Knowledge Key Word Study) Leviticus 25:33 'What, therefore, belongs to the Levites may be redeemed and a house sale in the city of this possession reverts in the jubilee, for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel. a man purchase of the Levites (KJV): or, one of the Levites redeem them shall go (KJV): Lev 25:28 for the houses (KJV): Nu 18:20-24 De 18:1,2 NLT And any property that can be redeemed by the Levites--all houses within the Levitical cities--must be returned in the Year of Jubilee. After all, the cities reserved for the Levites are the only property they own in all Israel. Cities of the Levites - see Nu 35:1–8; The NET NOTE gives a long discussion of this difficult verse - “And which he shall redeem from the Levites shall go out, sale of house and city, his property in the jubilee.” Although the end of this verse is clear, the first part is notoriously difficult. There are five main views. (1) The first clause of the verse actually attaches to the previous verse, and refers to the fact that their houses retain a perpetual right of redemption (v. 32b), “which any of the Levites may exercise” (v. 33a; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 418, 421). (2) It refers to property that one Levite sells to another Levite, which is then redeemed by still another Levite (v. 33a). In such cases, the property reverts to the original Levite owner in the jubilee year (v. 33b; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 321). (3) It refers to houses in a city that had come to be declared as a Levitical city but had original non-Levitical owners. Once the city was declared to belong to the Levites, however, an owner could only sell his house to a Levite, and he could only redeem it back from a Levite up until the time of the first jubilee after the city was declared to be a Levitical city. In this case the first part of the verse would be translated, “Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites” (NRSV, NJPS). At the first jubilee, however, all such houses became the property of the Levites (v. 33b; P. J. Budd, Leviticus [NCBC], 353). (4) It refers to property “which is appropriated from the Levites” (not “redeemed from the Levites,” v. 33a) by those who have bought it or taken it as security for debts owed to them by Levites who had fallen on bad times. Again, such property reverts back to the original Levite owners at the jubilee (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 177). (5) It simply refers to the fact that a Levite has the option of redeeming his house (i.e., the prefix form of the verb is taken to be subjunctive, “may or might redeem”), which he had to sell because he had fallen into debt or perhaps even become destitute. Even if he never gained the resources to do so, however, it would still revert to him in the jubilee year. The present translation is intended to reflect this latter view. Nu 35:1-8 — Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, 2 "Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their possession cities to live in; and you shall give to the Levites pasture lands around the cities. 3 "The cities shall be theirs to live in; and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle and for their herds and for all their beasts. 4 "The pasture lands of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits around. 5 "You shall also measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities. 6 "The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. 7 "All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, together with their pasture lands. 8 "As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the sons of Israel, you shall take more from the larger and you shall take less from the smaller; each shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his possession which he inherits." Dt 18:1-2 — "The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the LORD'S offerings by fire and His portion. 2 "They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them. Dt 19:2-9 — you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess. 3 "You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the LORD your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there. 4 "Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously— 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6 otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in the heat of his anger, and overtake him, because the way is long, and take his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously. 7 "Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.' 8 "If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— 9 if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. Leviticus 25:34 'But pasture fields of their cities shall not be sold, for that is their perpetual possession. Lev 25:23 Ac 4:36,37 NLT The strip of pastureland around each of the Levitical cities may never be sold. It is their permanent ancestral property. John