Leviticus 25:13-34

The effects of the year on the possession of property 25:13-34

The people were to buy and sell property in view of the upcoming year of jubilee since in that year all property would revert to its original tribal leasees. This special year reminded the Israelites that they did not really own the land but were tenants of God, the true owner (Leviticus 25:23).

"The relationship of land and people under God is of fundamental importance for understanding the Old Testament and the Jewish people. . . . The Promised Land was a gift from God, not an inalienable right of anyone’s to sell or incorporate as they wished." [Note: Walter Riggans, Numbers, p. 200.]

Only extreme hardship was to force a tenant-owner to release (redeem, Leviticus 25:24) his land. Moses gave three cases in Leviticus 25:25-28 that explain how the people were to do this. A kinsman redeemer could recover the lost property, the seller himself could do so, and the year of jubilee would return it to him. God granted exceptions to the normal rules of release in the cases of property in a walled city (Leviticus 25:29-30) and property of the Levites (Leviticus 25:32-34).

There are three Old Testament references to the responsibilities of a human kinsman redeemer (Heb. goel) in Israel. Additionally the psalmists and other prophets also referred to Yahweh as Israel’s redeemer.

1. When a person sold himself or his property because of economic distress, his nearest kinsman should buy back (redeem) the person and or his property if he could afford to do so (Leviticus 25:25).

2. Perhaps an Israelite could not afford to pay the ransom price so that he could keep a first-born unclean animal for his own use. In this case his nearest kinsman could do so for him if he could afford it (Leviticus 27:11-13).

3. When someone killed a person, the victim’s kinsman redeemer could take the life of the killer under certain circumstances (Numbers 35:10-29).

Bible students sometimes confuse the levirate marriage custom with the kinsman redeemer custom. Levirate marriage involved the marriage of a widow and her husband’s brother or nearest relative. This provision existed so God could raise up a male heir who could perpetuate the family line of the widow’s former husband (cf. Genesis 38).