Leviticus 25:49

If he be able.

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

(49) Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him.—That is, any of his relatives are to redeem him, which is not the case when an Israelite sells himself to one of his own nation. Hence the Jewish canons enacted that “if a Hebrew is sold to a stranger, and is unable to redeem himself, his kinsmen must redeem, nay, the Sanhedrin are to compel his kinsmen to redeem him lest he should be lost among the heathen. If his kindred do not redeem him, and if he cannot redeem himself, every man of Israel is commanded to redeem him. But if he is sold to an Israelite his kindred may not redeem him, nor may he borrow money to redeem himself, nor redeem himself by instalments.” In accordance with this injunction we find the Jews declare “we after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews which were sold unto the heathen, and will ye even sell your brethren, or shall they be sold unto us?” (Neh_5:8).

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

Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him,.... it is father's brother or his father's brother's son, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan:

or any that is nigh kin unto him of his family may redeem him; from whence it appears, that it must be a near kinsman that has to be the redeemer, as in another case, the redemption of inheritances; hence the same word "goel" signifies both a redeemer and a near kinsman:

or if he be able he may redeem himself; who either has found something lost, or inherits the substance of anyone deceased, of his family, as Aben Ezra observes; that is, since he sold himself, which puts him into a capacity to redeem himself; the Targum of Jonathan adds,"or the land of the congregation;''for such a redemption was sometimes made at the expense of the public; see Neh 5:8. Baal Hatturim observes, that the words "Ben Dodo", translated "his uncle's son", wanting the letter "tau" as usual, as the same letters with Ben David, which is a known name of the Messiah with the Jews, and which that author seems to have in view; and another Jewish writer (f) expressly says,"this Redeemer is the Messiah, the son of David, of the tribe of Judah:''and indeed the whole of this case is applicable to the spiritual and eternal redemption of the people of God by Christ: they through the fall, and in a state of nature, are become poor and helpless, and in a spiritual sense have neither bread to eat, nor clothes to wear, nor money to buy either; and are in debt, owe ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay, and so are brought into bondage to sin, Satan, and the law; nor can they redeem themselves from these by power or price; nor can a brother, or the nearest relation redeem them, or give to God a ransom for them; none but Christ could do this for them, who through his incarnation, whereby he became of the same nature, of the same flesh and blood with them, and in all things like unto them, is their "goel", and so their Redeemer, and has obtained eternal redemption for them, not with silver and gold, but by his own precious blood.

(f) R. Bechai apud Patrick in loc.

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

Himself. He might have saved up something by greater industry. The Athenians allowed their slaves the same privilege. (Calmet)

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).

49. Nigh of kin — The Jews hold that the kindred of the enslaved Hebrew are bound, if in their power, to redeem him, lest he should be paganized, and we find that this was done on their return from the Babylonish captivity. Christians in the early centuries regarded themselves bound to ransom fellow-Christians in slavery.

He may redeem himself — This indicates that the servitude was not of that rigorous kind which absorbs all the energies, and precludes all accumulation of property for the servant.

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

The Kinsman-Redeemer. The word goel is used to indicate both the redemption-- "to free by paying," and the Redeemer--"the one who pays." The case of Ruth and Boaz Rth 2:1; Rth 3:10-18; Rth 4:1-10 perfectly illustrates this beautiful type of Christ. See "Redemption, (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").

redeem Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type).

(See Scofield "Isa 59:20").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

until the year of Jubilee

An Israelite could be a slave only until the year of Jubilee. These instructions are for when an Israelite wanted to buy back his freedom before the year of Jubilee.

the year of Jubilee

"the year of restoration" or "the year to return land and to free slaves"

The price of his redemption must be figured

The verb "figured" can be stated in active form. AT: "They must figure the price of his redemption" or "They must figure how much to pay for the foreigner to set the Israelite free" (See: Active or Passive)

in keeping with the rate paid to a hired servant

If the Israelite bought back his freedom, the foreigner would have to hire a servant to do the work that the Israelite would have done but will not. The verbs "paid" and "hired" can be expressed in active form. AT: "according to the rate a person would pay to hire a servant" (See: Active or Passive)

for the number of years he might continue to work

"for the number of years until the jubilee that the Israelite would have continued to work but will not"

translationWords

family

prosper

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