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NASB | 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Leviticus 25:33 'Therefore, what is [purchased] from the Levites may be redeemed [by a Levite], and the house that was sold in the city they possess reverts in the Year of Jubilee, for the houses in the Levite cities are their [ancestral] property among the Israelites. |
Subject: Year of Jubilee possible in capitalism? |
Bible Note: Thanks melchizedekau and Steve for attempting to answer this question.. :) The various ordinances of Jewish law in Leviticus differ greatly in character and in detail; and it is also true here when speaking of the "Year of Jubilee" or a "Sabbatical Year".. In Ex. 23:10-11, an entire cessation of all fieldwork is ordered to take place in every 7th year.. This is said to be dictated by a regard for the poor and the beasts of the field. In effect, the gift of one year's produce to the poor is prescribed, that the landless may receive the usufruct of the soil. In Exodus 21:2-6, it is laid down that a Hebrew slave can be kept in bondage only for six years. After this period he was automatically emancipated, though his wife and children must remain in servitude, if he had married after his term of service began. But provision was made for cases where a slave might desire to remain in this condition. A public ceremony took place which signified his acceptance of the position in perpetuity. Nothing here is said which leads us to suppose that there was one simultaneous peroid of emancipation all over the country, and no reference is made to redemption of land or remission of debts in Scripture. Could this happen in a capitalist country such as the one that we live in today? It would be impossible! First of all, this nation has already dealt with the issue of slavery, so no emancipation is needed here. As for land and fieldwork, could you imagine what would happen if our country practiced cessation from all fieldwork? The Gross National Product would plummet, people would starve, and the lower class would swell, only forcing production to begin again.. (The demand would exceed the supply) So it would be impossible for this country or any other capitalist country, since we are so integrated in the trade and economy of other countries that we simply couldn't risk it! Ancient Israel depended upon no other country's trade, economy, or continuous supply of production in order to keep their 'economy' stable, so there was no limit to what they could do, and their economy in no way hindered (or was an excuse for them) the law of God. Therefore, they could accomplish these subtle but noble and far-reaching acts of grace towards a slave, former landowner, or poor person, which helped to balance out their society and give reprieve to the 'have-nots'. However, the people of this country never began in this way, and we are slaves to our economical system- there is no way that we could give reprieve to the poor or the former landowner, since our system wouldn't allow it. |