Leviticus 25:47

Lev 25:47. The stock of the strangers — Hebrew, root, that is, one of the root or stock. So the word root is elsewhere used for the branch or progeny growing from it. He seems to denote one of a foreign race and country, transplanted into the land of Israel, and there having taken root among the people of God; yet even such a one, though he hath some privilege by it, shall not have power to keep a Hebrew servant from the benefit of redemption.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE HEBREW SERVANT AND THE FOREIGN MASTER, Lev_25:47-55.

47. If a stranger wax rich — For his rights, see Lev_23:22, note. The ancient Hebrew master did not have a monopoly of money-making. His servant, “the stranger,” often amassed wealth. Foreigners and servants among them were in a much more privileged condition than they are at present in the same country under Mohammedan rule. A resident foreigner was allowed to purchase any pauper Hebrew who, in his distress, offered himself for sale. But no Christian or Jew in any land beneath the scepter of Islam is allowed to own a slave of any nationality, much less a Mohammedan. The latter only can enjoy the luxury of slave-holding, with the exception of some who are permitted to hold as slaves non-Mohammedan negroes.

Stock of the stranger’s family — His heirs. The person sold might become a fixture of the household.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25:47-55 An Israelite who sold himself or a family member to a foreigner in Israel retained the right to buy himself or the family member back. If he could not find the resources to do that, he was not released during the seventh year (cp. Exod 21:2) but had to await the Year of Jubilee. During his service to the foreigner, the Israelite slave was to enjoy the status of a hired servant and not be treated like a slave (Lev 25:53). The people of Israel belonged to God; they were not to be sold as permanent slaves to anyone else.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, his hand take hold.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(47) And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee.—Better, And if the hand of a stranger, and that a sojourner, attain riches by thee, that is, a stranger who has become a sojourner, or who has taken up his abode among the Israelites, and become prosperous by trading. Such a one had only to submit to the seven commandments given to Noah, and hence had not joined the Jewish religion. For this reason the Chaldee Version translates it, “And if the hand of an uncircumcised sojourner with thee wax strong.”

And thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor.—Better, and thy brother by him wax poor, that is, the Israelite who traded with him is unfortunate in business, and is reduced to poverty.

And sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee.—Better, and sells himself unto the stranger-sojourner by thee. The two terms as before describe the same person—the stranger who has become a sojourner. Hence the Chaldee Version translates it, “and sells himself to the uncircumcised stranger who is with thee.”

Or to the stock of the stranger’s family.—That is, the offshoot or descendant of a foreign family.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

47–55. The case of Israelites who are slaves of resident foreigners (H but with a large admixture of P)

Such a person might be redeemed, or, if he acquired the means, might redeem himself, the price of redemption to be calculated according to the number of years intervening before the Jubile, as in the case of the redemption of land (Lev_25:27). In any case the bondage was limited by the law of the Jubile.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee,.... An uncircumcised one, as the Targums, a proselyte of the gate, who by living among and trading with the Israelites, might grow rich and wealthy in money, at least so as to be able to purchase an Hebrew servant, though not his lands, which he might not buy:

and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor; comes into low circumstances, and is reduced to great poverty, even extreme poverty; for only in such a case might he sell himself to an Israelite, and much less to a stranger, if this was not the case. Jarchi suggests, as in the phrase, "by thee", points at the cause or occasion of the sojourner or stranger becoming rich, his nearness unto, or cleaving to all Israelite; and so here the phrase, "by him", directs to the cause or occasion of the Israelite's becoming poor, his being near and cleaving to the sojourner or stranger: but they seem rather to be used, to show the reason of the poor Israelite falling into the hands of a rich sojourner; they being near neighbours to one another, and having a familiarity, the following bargain is struck between them:

and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner thee; the uncircumcised sojourner, as the Targum of Jonathan:

or to the stock of a stranger's family; or "root" (a), one that sprung from a family, originally proselytes; which some understand of one, who though he be descended from such a family, was now rooted among the people of God, and incorporated into the commonwealth of Israel; and yet such an one could not detain an Hebrew servant longer than the year of jubilee: but the Jewish writers generally interpret it of an idolater (b).

(a) "radici", Vatablus, Piscator. (b) Targum Onk. Jon. Jarchi & Ben Melech, in loc. Kimchi in Sepher Shorash, rad.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A sojourner or stranger - Rather, a foreigner who has settled among you. See Lev 16:29, note; Exo 20:10, note.

Lev 25:54

In these years - More properly, by one of these means. The extreme period of servitude in this case was six years, as when the master was a Hebrew Exo 21:2.

Looking at the law of the Jubilee from a simply practical point of view, its operation must have tended to remedy those evils which are always growing up in the ordinary conditions of human society. It prevented the permanent accumulation of land in the hands of a few, and periodically raised those whom fault or misfortune had sunk into poverty to a position of competency. It must also have tended to keep alive family feeling, and helped to preserve the family genealogies.

But in its more special character, as a law given by Yahweh to His special people, it was a standing lesson to those who would rightly regard it, on the terms upon which the enjoyment of the land of promise had been conferred upon them. All the land belonged to Yahweh as its supreme Lord, every Israelite as His vassal belonged to Him. The voice of the Jubilee horns, twice in every century, proclaimed the equitable and beneficent social order appointed for the people; they sounded that acceptable year of Yahweh which was to bring comfort to all that mourned, in which the slavery of sin was to be abolished, and the true liberty of God’s children was to be proclaimed Luk 2:25; Isa 61:2; Luk 4:19; Act 3:21; Rom 8:19-23; 1Pe 1:3-4.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Stranger, or Gentile, who engages at least to keep the precepts given to Noe. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The stock, Heb. root, i.e. one of the root or stock. So the word root is elsewhere used for the branch or progeny growing from it, as Num 13:28; 2Ch 22:10. He seems to note one of a foreign race and country, transplanted into the land of Israel, and there having taken root amongst the people of God; yet even such a one, though he hath some privilege by it, yet he shall not have power to keep a Hebrew servant from the benefit of redemption.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 47-55. Rules are laid down for the case of an Israelite who has sold himself for a slave to a non-Israelite. In this case he is not set free at the end of six years, as he would be if his master were a countryman, but in other respects his treatment is to be like that of the man with an Israelite master. He may be redeemed by the value of his work down to the jubilee being paid by himself or his kinsman; he is to be set free when the jubilee comes at any rate; he is to be treated kindly while continuing in his master"s service, and his countrymen are to see that no over-severity is used.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The flock - Hebrew. root, that is, one of the root or flock. So the word root is elsewhere used for the branch or progeny growing from it. He seems to note one of a foreign race and country, transplanted into the land of Israel, and there having taken root amongst the people of God, yet even such an one, though he hath some privilege by it, shall not have power to keep an Hebrew servant from the benefit of redemption.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

after your fellow Israelite has been bought, he may be bought back. Someone in his family may redeem him

This can be stated in active form. AT: "after the foreigner buys your fellow Israelite, someone in the Israelite's family may buy him back" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

redeem

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

יד גר ותושב [AND IF] A גר ותושב WAX RICH — This means a stranger, he being at the same time a sojourner with thee, as the Targum renders it: ערל תותב an uncircumcised sojourner (the phrase is hendiadys). The end of the verse proves this, for it states: “and he sells himself unto a strange sojourner” (גר תושב, without the copulative ו before the second word).

וכי תשיג יד גר ותושב עמך AND IF A STRANGE SOJOURNER WAX RICH BY THEE — The last word suggests: What was the cause that he has waxen rich? His close connection with thee (עמך) (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 1).

ומך אחיך עמו AND THY BROTHER WAX POOR BY HIM — Here again the last word suggests: What was the cause that he has waxen poor? His intimacy with him (Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 1), — because of the fact that he learned evil from his (the stranger’s) evil doings.

משפחת גר — itself denotes a heathen; since, however, Scripture adds the word לעקר “to the stock of the heathen’s family” it thereby refers to one who sells himself to the idol itself — to be its servant; not to worship it as a deity, but e. g., to chop wood or to draw water which are to be used in connection with this idol worship (cf. Sifra, Behar, Chapter 8 1; Bava Kamma 113b; Arakhin 30b; Kiddushin 20a).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND IF A STRANGER WHO IS A SETTLER WITH THEE BE WAXEN RICH, AND THY BROTHER BE WAXEN POOR BESIDE HIM, AND SELL HIMSELF UNTO THE STRANGER WHO IS A SETTLER WITH THEE, OR ‘L’EIKER’ (TO THE STOCK OF) THE FAMILY OF ‘GEIR’ (A STRANGER). “The family of ‘geir’ — this means an idolater. Since Scripture [also] stated l’eiker (‘to the stock of’ the idolater), it refers to one who sold himself to the idol itself — to be its servant; not to worship it as a deity, but to hew wood and draw water for its service.” This is Rashi’s language derived from the Torath Kohanim. 5:1. And if so, the verse is saying: l’eiker ‘u’mishpachath geir [“to the stock of ‘and’ to the family of the stranger,” — since according to Rashi the verse speaks of two different people — and omits the conjunctive “and” and merely says, l’eiker mishpachath geir — literally “to the stock of the family of a stranger”]. Scripture calls the idol eiker [“plucking” or “uprooting”] because a person is dutybound to uproot thoroughly an object of idol-worship and to extirpate it.But Onkelos translated l’eiker — l’armai (“to a gentile”), and this is the correct interpretation. Scripture is thus mentioning [the case of a Hebrew who] sold himself to a stranger who dwells with us, or who sold himself ‘l’eiker mishpachath geir’ (to the stock of the stranger’s family), who is himself a gentile, the word eiker thus being related to the expression ‘ikar sharshohi’ (the stump of its roots). Scripture states ‘mishpachath geir’ (the family of the stranger) [in order to indicate that] the stranger or the settler who became rich with us brought it about that the brother [i.e., the Israelite] become poor beside him [because he had emulated his ways] and thus be sold to the stock of the family of the stranger. Scripture commanded that he must be redeemed, this being a positive commandment upon all Israel that we are to redeem him, and then it commanded his kinsmen that they are the first [in this duty]. The purpose of the commandment is clear, that he should not become assimilated and learn from the ways [of his purchasers]. For in the case of [all] other sales, the redemption by kinsmen is a matter of choice [but here it is an obligation]. Therefore He said here, For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants, meaning to say that “although the stranger who settled [with us] and the stock of his family do not have to observe the commandment of the Jubilee, they cannot buy My servants to be their [permanent] servants.”

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.