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Leviticus 7: BeHar-BeChukatai
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BeHar-BeChukatai
Sabbatical Year, Jubilee, Inheritance, Economical and Social Principles
Leviticus 25:1-27:34
s.1
This week we have a double portion "BeHar-BeChukatai". Since not every year has the same number of Shabatot on some years "BeHar" and "BeChukatai" are separate portions. This year they are joined together.
The portion begins with a discussion of the Shemittah Year i.e. the Sabbatical.
The land was to be worked for six years and on the seventh year to lie fallow. We were promised that if we followed this law we would be blessed.
In Hebrew the Sabbatical year is called "Shanat [Year-of-] Ha-Shemittah"; Shemittah means "letting drop" i.e. leaving alone since agricultural work was forbidden.
The Shemittah Laws only applied in the Land of Israel. They were not applicable outside of it.
They also only applied according to most opinions when all the Twelve Tribes were settled in the Land in their own inheritances. Since the Ten Tribes were exiled the Shemittah does not apply according to strict Torah Law. The Sages however declared that we should keep Shemittah as if it was still in force. We are commanded to do whatever the Sages tell us. Even so there is a difference between what the Sages decreed and what the Torah says. The Sages themselves emphasized this distinction. In practice the distinction usually means that in extreme circumstances we do not need to be as strict with a Rabbinical Law as we are with a direct Torah Commandment.
Nowadays in the State of Israel very many keep the Shemittah Laws.
[Leviticus 25:1] AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES IN MOUNT SINAI, SAYING,
[Leviticus 25:2] SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND SAY UNTO THEM, WHEN YE COME INTO THE LAND WHICH I GIVE YOU, THEN SHALL THE LAND KEEP A SABBATH UNTO THE LORD.
[Leviticus 25:3] SIX YEARS THOU SHALT SOW THY FIELD, AND SIX YEARS THOU SHALT PRUNE THY VINEYARD, AND GATHER IN THE FRUIT THEREOF;
[Leviticus 25:4] BUT IN THE SEVENTH YEAR SHALL BE A SABBATH OF REST UNTO THE LAND, A SABBATH FOR THE LORD: THOU SHALT NEITHER SOW THY FIELD, NOR PRUNE THY VINEYARD.
[Leviticus 25:5] THAT WHICH GROWETH OF ITS OWN ACCORD OF THY HARVEST THOU SHALT NOT REAP, NEITHER GATHER THE GRAPES OF THY VINE UNDRESSED: FOR IT IS A YEAR OF REST UNTO THE LAND.
[Leviticus 25:6] AND THE SABBATH OF THE LAND SHALL BE MEAT FOR YOU; FOR THEE, AND FOR THY SERVANT, AND FOR THY MAID, AND FOR THY HIRED SERVANT, AND FOR THY STRANGER THAT SOJOURNETH WITH THEE.
#MEAT# Hebrew "oclah" i.e. food.
[Leviticus 25:7] AND FOR THY CATTLE, AND FOR THE BEAST THAT ARE IN THY LAND, SHALL ALL THE INCREASE THEREOF BE MEAT.
[Leviticus 25:8] AND THOU SHALT NUMBER SEVEN SABBATHS OF YEARS UNTO THEE, SEVEN TIMES SEVEN YEARS; AND THE SPACE OF THE SEVEN SABBATHS OF YEARS SHALL BE UNTO THEE FORTY AND NINE YEARS.
[Leviticus 25:9] THEN SHALT THOU CAUSE THE TRUMPET [Shofar] OF THE JUBILE TO SOUND ON THE TENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH, IN THE DAY OF ATONEMENT SHALL YE MAKE THE TRUMPET SOUND THROUGHOUT ALL YOUR LAND.
[Leviticus 25:10] AND YE SHALL HALLOW THE FIFTIETH YEAR, AND PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF: IT SHALL BE A JUBILE UNTO YOU; AND YE SHALL RETURN EVERY MAN UNTO HIS POSSESSION, AND YE SHALL RETURN EVERY MAN UNTO HIS FAMILY.
On the fiftieth year at Yom Kippur a shofar was blown. Indentured Hebrew servants were set free. Someone who had sold their ancestral portion of land would have it returned to them.
[Leviticus 25:11] A JUBILE SHALL THAT FIFTIETH YEAR BE UNTO YOU: YE SHALL NOT SOW, NEITHER REAP THAT WHICH GROWETH OF ITSELF IN IT, NOR GATHER THE GRAPES IN IT OF THY VINE UNDRESSED.
The Jubilee (Yovel) Year came just after the 49th year in a cycle of seven times seven with a shemittah year every seven. The Jubille Year followed straight after a shemittah year so that there would have been two years running on which no agricultural work would be performed.
[Leviticus 25:12] FOR IT IS THE JUBILE; IT SHALL BE HOLY UNTO YOU: YE SHALL EAT THE INCREASE THEREOF OUT OF THE FIELD.
[Leviticus 25:13] IN THE YEAR OF THIS JUBILE YE SHALL RETURN EVERY MAN UNTO HIS POSSESSION.
[Leviticus 25:14] AND IF THOU SELL OUGHT UNTO THY NEIGHBOUR, OR BUYEST OUGHT OF THY NEIGHBOUR'S HAND, YE SHALL NOT OPPRESS ONE ANOTHER:
[Leviticus 25:15] ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF YEARS AFTER THE JUBILE THOU SHALT BUY OF THY NEIGHBOUR, AND ACCORDING UNTO THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF THE FRUITS HE SHALL SELL UNTO THEE:
[Leviticus 25:16] ACCORDING TO THE MULTITUDE OF YEARS THOU SHALT INCREASE THE PRICE THEREOF, AND ACCORDING TO THE FEWNESS OF YEARS THOU SHALT DIMINISH THE PRICE OF IT: FOR ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF THE YEARS OF THE FRUITS DOTH HE SELL UNTO THEE.
[Leviticus 25:17] YE SHALL NOT THEREFORE OPPRESS ONE ANOTHER; BUT THOU SHALT FEAR THY GOD:FOR I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.
[Leviticus 25:18] WHEREFORE YE SHALL DO MY STATUTES, AND KEEP MY JUDGMENTS, AND DO THEM; AND YE SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND IN SAFETY.
From this system it is possible to learn several social and economic principles.
Every person had their own land which was inalienable. It could not be sold permanently but only for limited period depending on how many years remained until the Yovel. Everyone therefore was guaranteed a basic economic foundation. By having all ancestral land returned in the Jubilee Year it meant a periodical partial redistribution of wealth. The means of wealth was expressed in land and nobody could acquire the land of others for an extended period of time.
By enforcing the Sabbatical Shemittah it would have allowed the land to reset and replenish its fertility.
It would also have allowed a redistribution and planning of resources. The agricultural workforce was freed up and available for public projects and new orientations in how the land was to be utilised could be planned and prepared for. Perhaps less crops of a certain type were needed but more of another or more grazing of sheep and cattle. Perhaps too many people were on the land but more were needed in the cities to work as craftsmen etc.
Forcibly preventing agricultural work every seven years would have allowed for economic revisions.
s.2
[Leviticus 25:19] AND THE LAND SHALL YIELD HER FRUIT, AND YE SHALL EAT YOUR FILL, AND DWELL THEREIN IN SAFETY.
[Leviticus 25:20] AND IF YE SHALL SAY, WHAT SHALL WE EAT THE SEVENTH YEAR? BEHOLD, WE SHALL NOT SOW, NOR GATHER IN OUR INCREASE:
[Leviticus 25:21] THEN I WILL COMMAND MY BLESSING UPON YOU IN THE SIXTH YEAR, AND IT SHALL BRING FORTH FRUIT FOR THREE YEARS.
[Leviticus 25:22] AND YE SHALL SOW THE EIGHTH YEAR, AND EAT YET OF OLD FRUIT UNTIL THE NINTH YEAR; UNTIL HER FRUITS COME IN YE SHALL EAT OF THE OLD STORE.
[Leviticus 25:23] THE LAND SHALL NOT BE SOLD FOR EVER: FOR THE LAND IS MINE, FOR YE ARE STRANGERS AND SOJOURNERS WITH ME.
[Leviticus 25:24] AND IN ALL THE LAND OF YOUR POSSESSION YE SHALL GRANT A REDEMPTION FOR THE LAND.
[Leviticus 25:25] IF THY BROTHER BE WAXEN POOR, AND HATH SOLD AWAY SOME OF HIS POSSESSION, AND IF ANY OF HIS KIN COME TO REDEEM IT, THEN SHALL HE REDEEM THAT WHICH HIS BROTHER SOLD.
[Leviticus 25:26] AND IF THE MAN HAVE NONE TO REDEEM IT, AND HIMSELF BE ABLE TO REDEEM IT;
[Leviticus 25:27] THEN LET HIM COUNT THE YEARS OF THE SALE THEREOF, AND RESTORE THE OVERPLUS UNTO THE MAN TO WHOM HE SOLD IT; THAT HE MAY RETURN UNTO HIS POSSESSION.
[Leviticus 25:28] 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: AND IN THE JUBILE IT SHALL GO OUT, AND HE SHALL RETURN UNTO HIS POSSESSION.
s.3
[Leviticus 25:29] 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; WITHIN A FULL YEAR MAY HE REDEEM IT.
City-dwelling was designed to be more transient.
[Leviticus 25:30] AND IF IT BE NOT REDEEMED WITHIN THE SPACE OF A FULL YEAR, THEN THE HOUSE THAT IS IN THE WALLED CITY SHALL BE ESTABLISHED FOR EVER TO HIM THAT BOUGHT IT THROUGHOUT HIS GENERATIONS: IT SHALL NOT GO OUT IN THE JUBILE.
[Leviticus 25:31] BUT THE HOUSES OF THE VILLAGES WHICH HAVE NO WALL ROUND ABOUT THEM SHALL BE COUNTED AS THE FIELDS OF THE COUNTRY: THEY MAY BE REDEEMED, AND THEY SHALL GO OUT IN THE JUBILE.
[Leviticus 25:32] NOTWITHSTANDING THE CITIES OF THE LEVITES, AND THE HOUSES OF THE CITIES OF THEIR POSSESSION, MAY THE LEVITES REDEEM AT ANY TIME.
The Levites had their own cities. Outsiders or other Levites could buy the house of Levite but it would always return to him in the Jubilee year. For the Levite the house in the Levitical was the equivalent of what the ancestral plot of land was for the other Tribes. The same applied to areas of open and cultivated land around the Levitical cities.
[Leviticus 25:33] AND IF A MAN PURCHASE OF THE LEVITES, THEN THE HOUSE THAT WAS SOLD, AND THE CITY OF HIS POSSESSION, SHALL GO OUT IN THE YEAR OF JUBILE: FOR THE HOUSES OF THE CITIES OF THE LEVITES ARE THEIR POSSESSION AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.
[Leviticus 25:34] BUT THE FIELD OF THE SUBURBS OF THEIR CITIES MAY NOT BE SOLD; FOR IT IS THEIR PERPETUAL POSSESSION.
[Leviticus 25:35] AND IF THY BROTHER BE WAXEN POOR, AND FALLEN IN DECAY WITH THEE; THEN THOU SHALT RELIEVE HIM: YEA, THOUGH HE BE A STRANGER, OR A SOJOURNER; THAT HE MAY LIVE WITH THEE.
We were commanded to help our fellow Israelites, to give them loans when they needed it and not to take interest from them.
[Leviticus 25:36] TAKE THOU NO USURY OF HIM, OR INCREASE: BUT FEAR THY GOD; THAT THY BROTHER MAY LIVE WITH THEE.
[Leviticus 25:37] THOU SHALT NOT GIVE HIM THY MONEY UPON USURY, NOR LEND HIM THY VICTUALS FOR INCREASE.
[Leviticus 25:38] I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHICH BROUGHT YOU FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, TO GIVE YOU THE LAND OF CANAAN, AND TO BE YOUR GOD.
s.4
[Leviticus 25:39] AND IF THY BROTHER THAT DWELLETH BY THEE BE WAXEN POOR, AND BE SOLD UNTO THEE; THOU SHALT NOT COMPEL HIM TO SERVE AS A BONDSERVANT:
[Leviticus 25:40] BUT AS AN HIRED SERVANT, AND AS A SOJOURNER, HE SHALL BE WITH THEE, AND SHALL SERVE THEE UNTO THE YEAR OF JUBILE.
Another Israelites could hire himself out as an indentured servant for a set period of time at the end of which he had to be released. A fellow Israelite was not to be treated as a slave. Those amongst us who employ people should be careful how they relate to them. Everybody should be respected and treated fairly.
[Leviticus 25:41] AND THEN SHALL HE DEPART FROM THEE, BOTH HE AND HIS CHILDREN WITH HIM, AND SHALL RETURN UNTO HIS OWN FAMILY, AND UNTO THE POSSESSION OF HIS FATHERS SHALL HE RETURN.
[Leviticus 25:42] FOR THEY ARE MY SERVANTS, WHICH I BROUGHT FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT: THEY SHALL NOT BE SOLD AS BONDMEN.
[Leviticus 25:43] THOU SHALT NOT RULE OVER HIM WITH RIGOUR; BUT SHALT FEAR THY GOD.
[Leviticus 25:44] BOTH THY BONDMEN, AND THY BONDMAIDS, WHICH THOU SHALT HAVE, SHALL BE OF THE HEATHEN THAT ARE ROUND ABOUT YOU; OF THEM SHALL YE BUY BONDMEN AND BONDMAIDS.
[Leviticus 25:45] MOREOVER OF THE CHILDREN OF THE STRANGERS THAT DO SOJOURN AMONG YOU, OF THEM SHALL YE BUY, AND OF THEIR FAMILIES THAT ARE WITH YOU, WHICH THEY BEGAT IN YOUR LAND: AND THEY SHALL BE YOUR POSSESSION.
Israelites were allowed to buy slaves from surrounding non-Israelite nations. These slaves had an intermediate status. They had to keep all the negative commandments e.g. they were forbidden to work on Shabat. They also had to be circumcised. Circumcision however was an exception. They did not have to keep most positive commandments.
[Leviticus 25:46] AND YE SHALL TAKE THEM AS AN INHERITANCE FOR YOUR CHILDREN AFTER YOU, TO INHERIT THEM FOR A POSSESSION; THEY SHALL BE YOUR BONDMEN FOR EVER: BUT OVER YOUR BRETHREN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, YE SHALL NOT RULE ONE OVER ANOTHER WITH RIGOUR.
[Leviticus 25:47] AND IF A SOJOURNER OR STRANGER WAX RICH BY THEE, AND THY BROTHER THAT DWELLETH BY HIM WAX POOR, AND SELL HIMSELF UNTO THE STRANGER OR SOJOURNER BY THEE, OR TO THE STOCK OF THE STRANGER'S FAMILY:
[Leviticus 25:48] AFTER THAT HE IS SOLD HE MAY BE REDEEMED AGAIN; ONE OF HIS BRETHREN MAY REDEEM HIM:
[Leviticus 25:49] EITHER HIS UNCLE, OR HIS UNCLE'S SON, MAY REDEEM HIM, OR ANY THAT IS NIGH OF KIN UNTO HIM OF HIS FAMILY MAY REDEEM HIM; OR IF HE BE ABLE, HE MAY REDEEM HIMSELF.
[Leviticus 25:50] AND HE SHALL RECKON WITH HIM THAT BOUGHT HIM FROM THE YEAR THAT HE WAS SOLD TO HIM UNTO THE YEAR OF JUBILE: AND THE PRICE OF HIS SALE SHALL BE ACCORDING UNTO THE NUMBER OF YEARS, ACCORDING TO THE TIME OF AN HIRED SERVANT SHALL IT BE WITH HIM.
[Leviticus 25:51] IF THERE BE YET MANY YEARS BEHIND, ACCORDING UNTO THEM HE SHALL GIVE AGAIN THE PRICE OF HIS REDEMPTION OUT OF THE MONEY THAT HE WAS BOUGHT FOR.
[Leviticus 25:52] AND IF THERE REMAIN BUT FEW YEARS UNTO THE YEAR OF JUBILE, THEN HE SHALL COUNT WITH HIM, AND ACCORDING UNTO HIS YEARS SHALL HE GIVE HIM AGAIN THE PRICE OF HIS REDEMPTION.
[Leviticus 25:53] AND AS A YEARLY HIRED SERVANT SHALL HE BE WITH HIM: AND THE OTHER SHALL NOT RULE WITH RIGOUR OVER HIM IN THY SIGHT.
[Leviticus 25:54] AND IF HE BE NOT REDEEMED IN THESE YEARS, THEN HE SHALL GO OUT IN THE YEAR OF JUBILE, BOTH HE, AND HIS CHILDREN WITH HIM.
[Leviticus 25:55] FOR UNTO ME THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ARE SERVANTS; THEY ARE MY SERVANTS WHOM I BROUGHT FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT: I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.
[Leviticus 26:1] YE SHALL MAKE YOU NO IDOLS NOR GRAVEN IMAGE, NEITHER REAR YOU UP A STANDING IMAGE, NEITHER SHALL YE SET UP ANY IMAGE OF STONE IN YOUR LAND, TO BOW DOWN UNTO IT: FOR I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.
[Leviticus 26:2] YE SHALL KEEP MY SABBATHS, AND REVERENCE MY SANCTUARY: I AM THE LORD.
BeChukatai
[Leviticus 26:3] IF YE WALK IN MY STATUTES, AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS, AND DO THEM;
[Leviticus 26:4] THEN I WILL GIVE YOU RAIN IN DUE SEASON, AND THE LAND SHALL YIELD HER INCREASE, AND THE TREES OF THE FIELD SHALL YIELD THEIR FRUIT.
[Leviticus 26:5] AND YOUR THRESHING SHALL REACH UNTO THE VINTAGE, AND THE VINTAGE SHALL REACH UNTO THE SOWING TIME: AND YE SHALL EAT YOUR BREAD TO THE FULL, AND DWELL IN YOUR LAND SAFELY.
[Leviticus 26:6] AND I WILL GIVE PEACE IN THE LAND, AND YE SHALL LIE DOWN, AND NONE SHALL MAKE YOU AFRAID: AND I WILL RID EVIL BEASTS OUT OF THE LAND, NEITHER SHALL THE SWORD GO THROUGH YOUR LAND.
[Leviticus 26:7] AND YE SHALL CHASE YOUR ENEMIES, AND THEY SHALL FALL BEFORE YOU BY THE SWORD.
[Leviticus 26:8] AND FIVE OF YOU SHALL CHASE AN HUNDRED, AND AN HUNDRED OF YOU SHALL PUT TEN THOUSAND TO FLIGHT: AND YOUR ENEMIES SHALL FALL BEFORE YOU BY THE SWORD.
[Leviticus 26:9] FOR I WILL HAVE RESPECT UNTO YOU, AND MAKE YOU FRUITFUL, AND MULTIPLY YOU, AND ESTABLISH MY COVENANT WITH YOU.
[Leviticus 26:10] AND YE SHALL EAT OLD STORE, AND BRING FORTH THE OLD BECAUSE OF THE NEW.
s.5
[Leviticus 26:11] AND I SET MY TABERNACLE AMONG YOU: AND MY SOUL SHALL NOT ABHOR YOU.
[Leviticus 26:12] AND I WILL WALK AMONG YOU, AND WILL BE YOUR GOD, AND YE SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
[Leviticus 26:13] I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHICH BROUGHT YOU FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, THAT YE SHOULD NOT BE THEIR BONDMEN; AND I HAVE BROKEN THE BANDS OF YOUR YOKE, AND MADE YOU GO UPRIGHT.
[Leviticus 26:14] BUT IF YE WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO ME, AND WILL NOT DO ALL THESE COMMANDMENTS;
[Leviticus 26:15] AND IF YE SHALL DESPISE MY STATUTES, OR IF YOUR SOUL ABHOR MY JUDGMENTS, SO THAT YE WILL NOT DO ALL MY COMMANDMENTS, BUT THAT YE BREAK MY COVENANT:
[Leviticus 26:16] I ALSO WILL DO THIS UNTO YOU; I WILL EVEN APPOINT OVER YOU TERROR, CONSUMPTION, AND THE BURNING AGUE, THAT SHALL CONSUME THE EYES, AND CAUSE SORROW OF HEART: AND YE SHALL SOW YOUR SEED IN VAIN, FOR YOUR ENEMIES SHALL EAT IT.
[Leviticus 26:17] AND I WILL SET MY FACE AGAINST YOU, AND YE SHALL BE SLAIN BEFORE YOUR ENEMIES: THEY THAT HATE YOU SHALL REIGN OVER YOU; AND YE SHALL FLEE WHEN NONE PURSUETH YOU.
[Leviticus 26:18] AND IF YE WILL NOT YET FOR ALL THIS HEARKEN UNTO ME, THEN I WILL PUNISH YOU SEVEN TIMES MORE FOR YOUR SINS.
[Leviticus 26:19] AND I WILL BREAK THE PRIDE OF YOUR POWER; AND I WILL MAKE YOUR HEAVEN AS IRON, AND YOUR EARTH AS BRASS:
[Leviticus 26:20] AND YOUR STRENGTH SHALL BE SPENT IN VAIN: FOR YOUR LAND SHALL NOT YIELD HER INCREASE, NEITHER SHALL THE TREES OF THE LAND YIELD THEIR FRUITS.
[Leviticus 26:21] AND IF YE WALK CONTRARY UNTO ME, AND WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO ME; I WILL BRING SEVEN TIMES MORE PLAGUES UPON YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR SINS.
[Leviticus 26:22] I WILL ALSO SEND WILD BEASTS AMONG YOU, WHICH SHALL ROB YOU OF YOUR CHILDREN, AND DESTROY YOUR CATTLE, AND MAKE YOU FEW IN NUMBER; AND YOUR HIGH WAYS SHALL BE DESOLATE.
[Leviticus 26:23] AND IF YE WILL NOT BE REFORMED BY ME BY THESE THINGS, BUT WILL WALK CONTRARY UNTO ME;
[Leviticus 26:24] THEN WILL I ALSO WALK CONTRARY UNTO YOU, AND WILL PUNISH YOU YET SEVEN TIMES FOR YOUR SINS.
[Leviticus 26:25] AND I WILL BRING A SWORD UPON YOU, THAT SHALL AVENGE THE QUARREL OF MY COVENANT: AND WHEN YE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER WITHIN YOUR CITIES, I WILL SEND THE PESTILENCE AMONG YOU; AND YE SHALL BE DELIVERED INTO THE HAND OF THE ENEMY.
[Leviticus 26:26] AND WHEN I HAVE BROKEN THE STAFF OF YOUR BREAD, TEN WOMEN SHALL BAKE YOUR BREAD IN ONE OVEN, AND THEY SHALL DELIVER YOU YOUR BREAD AGAIN BY WEIGHT: AND YE SHALL EAT, AND NOT BE SATISFIED.
[Leviticus 26:27] AND IF YE WILL NOT FOR ALL THIS HEARKEN UNTO ME, BUT WALK CONTRARY UNTO ME;
[Leviticus 26:28] THEN I WILL WALK CONTRARY UNTO YOU ALSO IN FURY; AND I, EVEN I, WILL CHASTISE YOU SEVEN TIMES FOR YOUR SINS.
[Leviticus 26:29] AND YE SHALL EAT THE FLESH OF YOUR SONS, AND THE FLESH OF YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL YE EAT.
This literally is referring to a situation where due to famine the starving Israelites will eat the bodies of their own dead children. It could also apply to abortions where often for economic reasons lving foetuses are torn from the womb of their mothers and murdered.
[Leviticus 26:30] AND I WILL DESTROY YOUR HIGH PLACES, AND CUT DOWN YOUR IMAGES, AND CAST YOUR CARCASES UPON THE CARCASES OF YOUR IDOLS, AND MY SOUL SHALL ABHOR YOU.
[Leviticus 26:31] AND I WILL MAKE YOUR CITIES WASTE, AND BRING YOUR SANCTUARIES UNTO DESOLATION, AND I WILL NOT SMELL THE SAVOUR OF YOUR SWEET ODOURS.
[Leviticus 26:32] AND I WILL BRING THE LAND INTO DESOLATION: AND YOUR ENEMIES WHICH DWELL THEREIN SHALL BE ASTONISHED AT IT.
[Leviticus 26:33] AND I WILL SCATTER YOU AMONG THE HEATHEN, AND WILL DRAW OUT A SWORD AFTER YOU: AND YOUR LAND SHALL BE DESOLATE, AND YOUR CITIES WASTE.
[Leviticus 26:34] THEN SHALL THE LAND ENJOY HER SABBATHS, AS LONG AS IT LIETH DESOLATE, AND YE BE IN YOUR ENEMIES' LAND; EVEN THEN SHALL THE LAND REST, AND ENJOY HER SABBATHS.
[Leviticus 26:35] AS LONG AS IT LIETH DESOLATE IT SHALL REST; BECAUSE IT DID NOT REST IN YOUR SABBATHS, WHEN YE DWELT UPON IT.
[Leviticus 26:36] AND UPON THEM THAT ARE LEFT ALIVE OF YOU I WILL SEND A FAINTNESS INTO THEIR HEARTS IN THE LANDS OF THEIR ENEMIES; AND THE SOUND OF A SHAKEN LEAF SHALL CHASE THEM; AND THEY SHALL FLEE, AS FLEEING FROM A SWORD; AND THEY SHALL FALL WHEN NONE PURSUETH.
Preciously everyone had fled in terror before the Israelites. Hebrew warriors had driven away powerful enemies who outnumbered them amny times over. As a punishment the opposite is liable to happen. A handful of puny opponents is liable to cause our armed forces to quake and flee.
[Leviticus 26:37] AND THEY SHALL FALL ONE UPON ANOTHER, AS IT WERE BEFORE A SWORD, WHEN NONE PURSUETH: AND YE SHALL HAVE NO POWER TO STAND BEFORE YOUR ENEMIES.
Even if the enemy is powerless and cannot hurt us we are liable to run away falling over one another as we do so.
[Leviticus 26:38] AND YE SHALL PERISH AMONG THE HEATHEN, AND THE LAND OF YOUR ENEMIES SHALL EAT YOU UP.
[Leviticus 26:39] AND THEY THAT ARE LEFT OF YOU SHALL PINE AWAY IN THEIR INIQUITY IN YOUR ENEMIES' LANDS; AND ALSO IN THE INIQUITIES OF THEIR FATHERS SHALL THEY PINE AWAY WITH THEM.
[Leviticus 26:40] IF THEY SHALL CONFESS THEIR INIQUITY, AND THE INIQUITY OF THEIR FATHERS, WITH THEIR TRESPASS WHICH THEY TRESPASSED AGAINST ME, AND THAT ALSO THEY HAVE WALKED CONTRARY UNTO ME;
[Leviticus 26:41] AND THAT I ALSO HAVE WALKED CONTRARY UNTO THEM, AND HAVE BROUGHT THEM INTO THE LAND OF THEIR ENEMIES; IF THEN THEIR UNCIRCUMCISED HEARTS BE HUMBLED, AND THEY THEN ACCEPT OF THE PUNISHMENT OF THEIR INIQUITY:
[Leviticus 26:42] THEN WILL I REMEMBER MY COVENANT WITH JACOB, AND ALSO MY COVENANT WITH ISAAC, AND ALSO MY COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM WILL I REMEMBER; AND I WILL REMEMBER THE LAND.
God will remember us. We are the descendants of the Patriarchs and the God of Israel will save us. One could dedicate something to Divine Service or the value of something and then redeem it after adding an external fifth (i.e. one quarter) to its value.
[Leviticus 26:43] THE LAND ALSO SHALL BE LEFT OF THEM, AND SHALL ENJOY HER SABBATHS, WHILE SHE LIETH DESOLATE WITHOUT THEM: AND THEY SHALL ACCEPT OF THE PUNISHMENT OF THEIR INIQUITY: BECAUSE, EVEN BECAUSE THEY DESPISED MY JUDGMENTS, AND BECAUSE THEIR SOUL ABHORRED MY STATUTES.
[Leviticus 26:44] AND YET FOR ALL THAT, WHEN THEY BE IN THE LAND OF THEIR ENEMIES, I WILL NOT CAST THEM AWAY, NEITHER WILL I ABHOR THEM, TO DESTROY THEM UTTERLY, AND TO BREAK MY COVENANT WITH THEM: FOR I AM THE LORD THEIR GOD.
[Leviticus 26:45] BUT I WILL FOR THEIR SAKES REMEMBER THE COVENANT OF THEIR ANCESTORS, WHOM IBROUGHT FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT IN THE SIGHT OF THE HEATHEN, THAT I MIGHT BE THEIR GOD: I AM THE LORD.
[Leviticus 26:46] THESE ARE THE STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS AND LAWS, WHICH THE LORD MADE BETWEEN HIM AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN MOUNT SINAI BY THE HAND OF MOSES.
s.6
The rest of our portion speaks of sanctification and redeeming vows. These concepts are a little foreign to us nowadays but in the Old Times they did work.
[Leviticus 27:1] AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING,
[Leviticus 27:2] SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND SAY UNTO THEM, WHEN A MAN SHALL MAKE A SINGULAR VOW, THE PERSONS SHALL BE FOR THE LORD BY THY ESTIMATION.
[Leviticus 27:3] AND THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE OF THE MALE FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD EVEN UNTO SIXTY YEARS OLD, EVEN THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE FIFTY SHEKELS OF SILVER, AFTER THE SHEKEL OF THE SANCTUARY.
[Leviticus 27:4] AND IF IT BE A FEMALE, THEN THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE THIRTY SHEKELS.
[Leviticus 27:5] AND IF IT BE FROM FIVE YEARS OLD EVEN UNTO TWENTY YEARS OLD, THEN THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE OF THE MALE TWENTY SHEKELS, AND FOR THE FEMALE TEN SHEKELS.
[Leviticus 27:6] AND IF IT BE FROM A MONTH OLD EVEN UNTO FIVE YEARS OLD, THEN THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE OF THE MALE FIVE SHEKELS OF SILVER, AND FOR THE FEMALE THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE THREE SHEKELS OF SILVER.
[Leviticus 27:7] AND IF IT BE FROM SIXTY YEARS OLD AND ABOVE; IF IT BE A MALE, THEN THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE FIFTEEN SHEKELS, AND FOR THE FEMALE TEN SHEKELS.
[Leviticus 27:8] BUT IF HE BE POORER THAN THY ESTIMATION, THEN HE SHALL PRESENT HIMSELF BEFORE THE PRIEST, AND THE PRIEST SHALL VALUE HIM; ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY THAT VOWED SHALL THE PRIEST VALUE HIM.
[Leviticus 27:9] AND IF IT BE A BEAST, WHEREOF MEN BRING AN OFFERING UNTO THE LORD, ALL THAT ANY MAN GIVETH OF SUCH UNTO THE LORD SHALL BE HOLY.
[Leviticus 27:10] HE SHALL NOT ALTER IT, NOR CHANGE IT, A GOOD FOR A BAD, OR A BAD FOR A GOOD: AND IF HE SHALL AT ALL CHANGE BEAST FOR BEAST, THEN IT AND THE EXCHANGE THEREOF SHALL BE HOLY.
[Leviticus 27:11] AND IF IT BE ANY UNCLEAN BEAST, OF WHICH THEY DO NOT OFFER A SACRIFICE UNTO THE LORD, THEN HE SHALL PRESENT THE BEAST BEFORE THE PRIEST:
[Leviticus 27:12] AND THE PRIEST SHALL VALUE IT, WHETHER IT BE GOOD OR BAD: AS THOU VALUEST IT, WHO ART THE PRIEST, SO SHALL IT BE.
[Leviticus 27:13] BUT IF HE WILL AT ALL REDEEM IT, THEN HE SHALL ADD A FIFTH PART THEREOF UNTO THY ESTIMATION.
[Leviticus 27:14] AND WHEN A MAN SHALL SANCTIFY HIS HOUSE TO BE HOLY UNTO THE LORD, THEN THE PRIEST SHALL ESTIMATE IT, WHETHER IT BE GOOD OR BAD: AS THE PRIEST SHALL ESTIMATE IT, SO SHALL IT STAND.
[Leviticus 27:15] AND IF HE THAT SANCTIFIED IT WILL REDEEM HIS HOUSE, THEN HE SHALL ADD THE FIFTH PART OF THE MONEY OF THY ESTIMATION UNTO IT, AND IT SHALL BE HIS.
s.7
[Leviticus 27:16] AND IF A MAN SHALL SANCTIFY UNTO THE LORD SOME PART OF A FIELD OF HIS POSSESSION, THEN THY ESTIMATION SHALL BE ACCORDING TO THE SEED THEREOF: AN HOMER OF BARLEY SEED SHALL BE VALUED AT FIFTY SHEKELS OF SILVER.
[Leviticus 27:17] IF HE SANCTIFY HIS FIELD FROM THE YEAR OF JUBILE, ACCORDING TO THY ESTIMATION IT SHALL STAND.
[Leviticus 27:18] BUT IF HE SANCTIFY HIS FIELD AFTER THE JUBILE, THEN THE PRIEST SHALL RECKON UNTO HIM THE MONEY ACCORDING TO THE YEARS THAT REMAIN, EVEN UNTO THE YEAR OF THE JUBILE, AND IT SHALL BE ABATED FROM THY ESTIMATION.
[Leviticus 27:19] AND IF HE THAT SANCTIFIED THE FIELD WILL IN ANY WISE REDEEM IT, THEN HE SHALL ADD THE FIFTH PART OF THE MONEY OF THY ESTIMATION UNTO IT, AND IT SHALL BE ASSURED TO HIM.
[Leviticus 27:20] AND IF HE WILL NOT REDEEM THE FIELD, OR IF HE HAVE SOLD THE FIELD TO ANOTHER MAN, IT SHALL NOT BE REDEEMED ANY MORE.
[Leviticus 27:21] BUT THE FIELD, WHEN IT GOETH OUT IN THE JUBILE, SHALL BE HOLY UNTO THE LORD, AS A FIELD DEVOTED; THE POSSESSION THEREOF SHALL BE THE PRIEST'S.
[Leviticus 27:22] AND IF A MAN SANCTIFY UNTO THE LORD A FIELD WHICH HE HATH BOUGHT, WHICH IS NOT OF THE FIELDS OF HIS POSSESSION;
[Leviticus 27:23] THEN THE PRIEST SHALL RECKON UNTO HIM THE WORTH OF THY ESTIMATION, EVEN UNTO THE YEAR OF THE JUBILE: AND HE SHALL GIVE THINE ESTIMATION IN THAT DAY, AS A HOLY THING UNTO THE LORD.
[Leviticus 27:24] IN THE YEAR OF THE JUBILE THE FIELD SHALL RETURN UNTO HIM OF WHOM IT WAS BOUGHT, EVEN TO HIM TO WHOM THE POSSESSION OF THE LAND DID BELONG.
[Leviticus 27:25] AND ALL THY ESTIMATIONS SHALL BE ACCORDING TO THE SHEKEL OF THE SANCTUARY: TWENTY GERAHS SHALL BE THE SHEKEL.
[Leviticus 27:26] ONLY THE FIRSTLING OF THE BEASTS, WHICH SHOULD BE THE LORD'S FIRSTLING, NO MAN SHALL SANCTIFY IT; WHETHER IT BE OX, OR SHEEP: IT IS THE LORD'S.
[Leviticus 27:27] AND IF IT BE OF AN UNCLEAN BEAST, THEN HE SHALL REDEEM IT ACCORDING TO THINE ESTIMATION, AND SHALL ADD A FIFTH PART OF IT THERETO: OR IF IT BE NOT REDEEMED, THEN IT SHALL BE SOLD ACCORDING TO THY ESTIMATION.
[Leviticus 27:28] NOTWITHSTANDING NO DEVOTED THING, THAT A MAN SHALL DEVOTE UNTO THE LORD OF ALL THAT HE HATH, BOTH OF MAN AND BEAST, AND OF THE FIELD OF HIS POSSESSION, SHALL BE SOLD OR REDEEMED: EVERY DEVOTED THING IS MOST HOLY UNTO THE LORD.
[Leviticus 27:29] NONE DEVOTED, WHICH SHALL BE DEVOTED OF MEN, SHALL BE REDEEMED; BUT SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH.
[Leviticus 27:30] AND ALL THE TITHE OF THE LAND, WHETHER OF THE SEED OF THE LAND, OR OF THE FRUIT OF THE TREE, IS THE LORD'S: IT IS HOLY UNTO THE LORD.
[Leviticus 27:31] AND IF A MAN WILL AT ALL REDEEM OUGHT OF HIS TITHES, HE SHALL ADD THERETO THE FIFTH PART THEREOF.
[Leviticus 27:32] AND CONCERNING THE TITHE OF THE HERD, OR OF THE FLOCK, EVEN OF WHATSOEVER PASSETH UNDER THE ROD, THE TENTH SHALL BE HOLY UNTO THE LORD.
[Leviticus 27:33] HE SHALL NOT SEARCH WHETHER IT BE GOOD OR BAD, NEITHER SHALL HE CHANGE IT: AND IF HE CHANGE IT AT ALL, THEN BOTH IT AND THE CHANGE THEREOF SHALL BE HOLY; IT SHALL NOT BE REDEEMED.
[Leviticus 27:34] THESE ARE THE COMMANDMENTS, WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED MOSES FOR THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN MOUNT SINAI.
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