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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Leviticus 25:1-7

The law of Moses laid a great deal of stress upon the sabbath, the sanctification of which was the earliest and most ancient of all divine institutions, designed for the keeping up of the knowledge and worship of the Creator among men; that law not only revived the observance of the weekly sabbath, but, for the further advancement of the honour of them, added the institution of a sabbatical year: In the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, Lev. 25:4. And hence the Jews... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 25:6

And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you ,...., That is, that which grew up of itself but of the land, or on trees, vines, olives, &c.; undressed, should be the meat or food on which they should live that year: and this comprehends everything that is fit for food, and also for drink, and for anointing, and even for the lighting of lamps, as in the Misnah F17 Sheviith, c. 8. sect. 2. : for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid ; the owner of the fields and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 25:1-7

The fallow year. cf. Deuteronomy 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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 25:1-7

Divine discipline. This was certainly one of the most striking institutions which God gave to Israel. It was, in a high degree, disciplinary. Rightly taken, it would engrave sacred truth on their minds more deeply and effectually than either word or rite. It was calculated— I. TO TEACH THEM THE TRUTH AS TO THE DIVINE OWNERSHIP . God claimed to be the One Proprietor of the land. He had given it to the nation by his direct guidance, and by his interposing power. To... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 25:1-7

The sabbatical year. Rest of the land, as the physical source of blessings, as the consecrated portion of God's people. I. THE NATURAL BASIS OF RELIGION . Creation. Providence. Moral government. "Man is one world, and hath another to attend him" (George Herbert). The ascent of the higher nature from the lower. The subordination of the material and temporary to the immaterial and eternal. Care of all life involved in the covenant of God with his people. The life of the vegetable... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 25:1-22

The sabbatic year. At the close of the original week the sabbath of the seventh day was given; that of the seventh year, on the entrance of the Hebrews into Canaan. The former was a memorial of creation; the latter, of redemption. These are intimately related. There are correspondences between the old creation and the new—the material and the spiritual. The grand effect of redemption will be the constitution of a new creation, in which the mundane system will participate. I. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 25:1-55

The sabbatical year was instituted not for any supposed physical benefit accruing from it to the land, but, first, as serving for a link between the sabbath and the jubilee by means of the sacred number seven—the sabbatical year being the seventh year, and the jubilee being the year following the seven-times-seventh year; and secondly, and chiefly, as enforcing the lesson of the weekly sabbath in a manner that could not be overlooked, and symbolically, teaching the universal application of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 25:2-7

The sabbath of the seventh year could only be observed when ye come into the land which I give you. The habit of making no distraction in the seventh year during the whole of the life in the wilderness may have led to the neglect of the law after the settlement in Canaan. Another excuse for the neglect may have been a difficulty which would have presented itself of fixing the date from which to count up to the seventh year, as different parts of the land were conquered at different times.... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Leviticus 25:6

The sabbath of the land shall be meat for you - That is, the produce of the untilled land (its “increase,” Leviticus 25:7) shall be food for the whole of you in common, rich and poor without distinction Exodus 23:11. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Leviticus 25:6

Leviticus 25:6. The sabbath of the land That is, the accidental crop that grew in the sabbatical year. Shall be meat for you For all promiscuously, to take food from thence as you need. It is true the land would produce little corn without being tilled and sown, but the vines and other fruit-trees which abounded in the country, even without pruning, would yield a considerable increase, so that the poorer sort might thus enjoy many comforts, together with rest, of which they were... read more

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